results came back in, Mr. Ashwood. I’m sorry. The man you killed wasn’t Percy Blevins.”
Disbelief punched me in the gut. My surroundings darkened. I felt myself falling.
Hands grabbed me, and I felt myself eased into a chair. With a gasp I took a deep breath. I felt like I was going to be sick. Finally I ground out, “What do you mean, it wasn’t Percy? I saw him. I killed him. He can’t hurt Nicholas anymore.” The detective pulled a chair up to me and shook his head. Not Percy. It wasn’t Percy. I started to shake. The detective laid a hand on my shoulder.
“We’re still trying to ID him. He looked very similar to Mr. Blevins, but he wasn’t him.”
“Then where is Percy?”
The detective hesitated. “He’s in jail, in Los Angeles.” I stared at the detective. “What do you mean? In jail?”
“He committed murder eight years ago, Mr. Ashwood, and has been there ever since.
He’s not the person who’s been blackmailing you all this time. And we don’t think it was the guy you killed, either. We found a number of incriminating things in his apartment that lead us to believe he was being paid by someone, starting only about six months ago.” I looked at the detective then, shocked and confused. “What do you mean? I -- I don’t understand.” Blevins wasn’t who had been blackmailing me? Wasn’t the guy who I’d killed?
But who else could it be? It made no sense. “Blevins, it had to be Blevins. He’s the only one that it could’ve been.”
56 Carolyn Gray
The other guy who had attacked Nicholas that horrible day had died years ago in a car accident.
“Does a company called Hallifax mean anything to you?” I shook my head. I felt dizzy. Disoriented. “No. No it doesn’t.”
“Apparently, Hallifax is a company in name only, drawing on funds in a Swiss bank account. This man, whoever he was, was being paid by Hallifax to torment Mr. Kilmain, according to what we found on his computer. He had specific instructions what to do, and when, to Mr. Kilmain. And there was more.”
I covered my face with my hands. “What else did you find?”
“Tapes. About a hundred of them. They were in envelopes, ready to be mailed out to different rags. There’s a possibility some already had been -- we have postal receipts. We’ll do our best to track them down.”
Oh, my God. My face blistered with humiliation. Now I really did feel like throwing up. “What was on the tapes?” I said dully.
“You and Mr. Kilmain. In Hawaii.”
Hawaii. Our first real vacation. I sat back in my seat. There’d be no doubt now that Nicholas Kilmain and Brandon Ashwood fucked each other, and had been doing so for a long, long time. I wanted a cigarette right then, bad. I hadn’t smoked in more than a year, but at that moment I didn’t give a damn about my lungs.
I was afraid to look up at the detective. See the disgust in his eyes -- he’d seen the tape.
That was apparent. How could he not be disgusted? What had been so beautiful, a private thing between me and Nicholas, had been twisted by this madman, reproduced and ... and mailed out.
I hadn’t killed Percy, so who the fuck had I killed? Who’d been blackmailing me, all these years?
“So now what, Detective?” I asked, my voice hollowed, defeated. All the joy was gone.
How was I going to tell Nicholas?
“I’ve placed a twenty-four-hour watch on you both. The press conference is cancelled.” I looked up at that. “What?”
But he didn’t get a chance to answer; a blood-curling scream echoed through the halls and straight into my heart.
Nicholas!
A Red-Tainted Silence
57
Chapter Five
The detective shot from his chair, drawing his gun. I froze for a moment, my heart beating wildly in my chest as the echoes of Nick’s scream reverberated in my mind.
I kicked into action, grabbing my crutches, but the detective reached the door before I could get them under my arms. “Keep him here,” he said to the cop, then disappeared through the
Disbelief punched me in the gut. My surroundings darkened. I felt myself falling.
Hands grabbed me, and I felt myself eased into a chair. With a gasp I took a deep breath. I felt like I was going to be sick. Finally I ground out, “What do you mean, it wasn’t Percy? I saw him. I killed him. He can’t hurt Nicholas anymore.” The detective pulled a chair up to me and shook his head. Not Percy. It wasn’t Percy. I started to shake. The detective laid a hand on my shoulder.
“We’re still trying to ID him. He looked very similar to Mr. Blevins, but he wasn’t him.”
“Then where is Percy?”
The detective hesitated. “He’s in jail, in Los Angeles.” I stared at the detective. “What do you mean? In jail?”
“He committed murder eight years ago, Mr. Ashwood, and has been there ever since.
He’s not the person who’s been blackmailing you all this time. And we don’t think it was the guy you killed, either. We found a number of incriminating things in his apartment that lead us to believe he was being paid by someone, starting only about six months ago.” I looked at the detective then, shocked and confused. “What do you mean? I -- I don’t understand.” Blevins wasn’t who had been blackmailing me? Wasn’t the guy who I’d killed?
But who else could it be? It made no sense. “Blevins, it had to be Blevins. He’s the only one that it could’ve been.”
56 Carolyn Gray
The other guy who had attacked Nicholas that horrible day had died years ago in a car accident.
“Does a company called Hallifax mean anything to you?” I shook my head. I felt dizzy. Disoriented. “No. No it doesn’t.”
“Apparently, Hallifax is a company in name only, drawing on funds in a Swiss bank account. This man, whoever he was, was being paid by Hallifax to torment Mr. Kilmain, according to what we found on his computer. He had specific instructions what to do, and when, to Mr. Kilmain. And there was more.”
I covered my face with my hands. “What else did you find?”
“Tapes. About a hundred of them. They were in envelopes, ready to be mailed out to different rags. There’s a possibility some already had been -- we have postal receipts. We’ll do our best to track them down.”
Oh, my God. My face blistered with humiliation. Now I really did feel like throwing up. “What was on the tapes?” I said dully.
“You and Mr. Kilmain. In Hawaii.”
Hawaii. Our first real vacation. I sat back in my seat. There’d be no doubt now that Nicholas Kilmain and Brandon Ashwood fucked each other, and had been doing so for a long, long time. I wanted a cigarette right then, bad. I hadn’t smoked in more than a year, but at that moment I didn’t give a damn about my lungs.
I was afraid to look up at the detective. See the disgust in his eyes -- he’d seen the tape.
That was apparent. How could he not be disgusted? What had been so beautiful, a private thing between me and Nicholas, had been twisted by this madman, reproduced and ... and mailed out.
I hadn’t killed Percy, so who the fuck had I killed? Who’d been blackmailing me, all these years?
“So now what, Detective?” I asked, my voice hollowed, defeated. All the joy was gone.
How was I going to tell Nicholas?
“I’ve placed a twenty-four-hour watch on you both. The press conference is cancelled.” I looked up at that. “What?”
But he didn’t get a chance to answer; a blood-curling scream echoed through the halls and straight into my heart.
Nicholas!
A Red-Tainted Silence
57
Chapter Five
The detective shot from his chair, drawing his gun. I froze for a moment, my heart beating wildly in my chest as the echoes of Nick’s scream reverberated in my mind.
I kicked into action, grabbing my crutches, but the detective reached the door before I could get them under my arms. “Keep him here,” he said to the cop, then disappeared through the
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