Chapter 54 The partner
VICTORIA
My jaws dropped, throat knotted, hands clenched as I stared wide-eyed at him. There was no way I could forget that face, not after what happened that night. It was still fresh in my head: his grunts, his whispers, his hands against my skin, and those eyes, those blue eyes full of sinister glee that still hadn't left his eyes even as he stood there.
“Hello, Miss Victoria, I'm Skylar, Skylar Atticus," he said as he stretched out his hand. I stared at his outstretched hand for a moment, feeling shivers rush down my spine at the thought of those fingers sliding into my hole.
I gulped hard, slammed my eyes shut, and cursed silently until Mr Thompson broke me out of my misery.
I looked up, my eyes falling on Mr Thompson's face. He had a confused expression on as he stared at me.
Roseanne stepped forward, forcing a smile onto her face.
“Victoria, won't you shake hands with your new partner?” she asked and covered it up with a chuckle.
I looked at him and realized that his hand was still stretched before me.
My heart skipped a beat, and I forced a smile on before finally taking his hand.
His hand was warm yet caused chills to run down my back. I stared deep into his eyes, searching for surprise, shock, or anything similar to the feeling I felt, but I found nothing. He seemed to be quite happy and unsurprised to see me. Like he planned it.
“I look forward to working with you. I hope we solve multiple cases together, especially this one," he muttered, and my throat knotted.
I should have replied with a smile, a nod, or a yes, but I didn't. I remained silent, staring blankly at him.
Mr Thompson pushed himself between us, cutting off our clasped hands to my satisfaction.
“Well…” Mr Thompson began and placed his hands on our shoulders.
I wondered why he looked so happy about the new detective.
“We'll be solving this case together, every one of us," he said, grinning.
"Yes!” We all responded.
I didn't know how to explain it, but something about his large grin made my heart warm and lifted the heavy weight in my chest.
Mr Thompson looked at me and nodded before turning away to his desk after patting our shoulders.
“Why does he look so happy?" Roseanne asked as she sneaked up behind me.
“I don't know, I wonder the same," I muttered, staring at him.
"Your partner is hot as hell, though, Mr Thompson has finally got a competition,” Roseanne whispered. Her words forced me to look back at him.
She wasn't wrong, though. He was quite the kind of man who would make women go crazy if he ever appeared on the front cover of a magazine.
His blue eyes looked like a sparkling ocean that could swallow you up into its depths if you went too close, and his lips were the kind that you would want to never stop kissing.
His toned abs and ripped muscles under the black leather jacket and tank top, sculpted long legs, and stone-cut jawline made my belly churn.
He looked so breathtakingly handsome that I had no doubts about why I let him fuck me when we met at the club.
I sighed and turned towards Roseanne, who was still staring at me with a smug smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
“More like a guy you can finally go after," I muttered as I turned around and headed to my desk.
Roseanne cackled at my words, biting her lower lip in a subtle agreement.
I didn't know why my heart tightened at my own words, and I didn't care to think about that either.
Silence fell in the room as everyone focused on the work assigned to them. Surprisingly, he didn't talk to me like I expected him to. Instead, he focused on looking through the case we had at hand and the evidence we got.
I tried to keep him out of my mind, but I couldn't stop glancing at him to know what he was up to.
At some point, he would pause and look up. I knew he was aware I was watching with the way his lips slanted into a smirk whenever he looked up.
I signed and ran my hand through my hair, still upset over making him the partner.
“Okay, we need to talk," Mr Thompson said as he walked into the office with a bunch of files.
He walked over to the large table and slapped the files down, then nodded at us.
We all got up and walked to the table, then took out various seats.
“We need to tell the public that we have found who the killer is. The chief of police is on our neck for a solution," Mr Thompson said, and my stomach.
"Was there another murder?” Sam asked.
“Not yet, but there will be soon," he replied.
"We need to track down the man,” Kevin said.
“No, we need to make an announcement first and put him on a wanted list. He'll be on the run, and we won't be the only ones looking for him," he said, and my hand ran cold.
"So, we're making him the serial killer?” Roseanne asked, and the silence fell on us.
I took a deep breath and looked in Roseanne's direction.
“With the way you talk, it would look like we knew who the killer is and were just trying to shift blame," I said, and Roseanne's face fell.
Everyone exchanged glances, tension slipping in.
“But isn't it obvious that he is the killer?" Kevin asked.
"A chopped finger and a board doesn't prove that he is the killer, though,” Roseanne argued, and my fist clenched.
“He kept that as evidence of the people he killed. Let's not forget that the pictures of most of the women belonged to the victims of this case!” I spat out, trying hard not to sound pissed.
“It still proves nothing!"
"It proves a lot! That man is the serial killer, and that is it! Where do you think those things came from? From the sky?” I groused, and the place went quiet.
Roseanne sighed and ran her hand through her hair.
“I still think we should dig deeper," she muttered.
"There is nothing to dig,” Mr Thompson snapped.
He straightened up and looked at our faces.
“So, we all agree he is the killer we've been looking for, right?" He asked.
"Yes!” I said.
Mr Thompson nodded and picked up the files that must contain the evidence we gathered.
I would do anything to end that man. Anything.
“But, y'all seem to be missing a whole point, don't you think?" Skylar finally spoke, and my heart clenched.
Mr Thompson paused and looked at him, trying to keep the smile on his face.
“Missing what?" Mr Thompson asked.
Skylar pushed his chair back and leaned on the table, his eyes fixed on the table.
“What if this is all a set-up?" he blurted out.
Murmurs filled the room, and my eyes darkened. Was he defending that devil?!
“What makes you think it is a set-up?” I snapped, breaking down the murmurs.
Skylar turned his head in my direction, his lips twitching up.
“Why would a smart serial killer leave evidence and plans in his living room and not an underground room or someplace hidden?" He asked.
My heart raced, and I gripped my shift, not ready to give up.
“Because his house is hidden!" I snapped.
"A house on a hill is hidden?” He scoffed, and everyone chuckled.
My heart clenched, and I huffed loudly.
“So if he's not the serial killer, then who is?" Mr Thompson asked. I could see anger in his eyes as he spoke.
“The person who set him up! He's definitely doing this to buy more time and keep the attention away while he continues–"
"You're not making sense!” Mr Thompson growled and slammed his fist on the table. I flinched, staring at his fiery eyes.
Skylar didn't move at the loud bang that got us jumping.
“With all due respect, sir, I don't agree that he is the serial killer," he muttered calmly.
Mr Thompson scoffed and straightened up, nodding his head. I could tell he was burning with rage at Skylar's disagreement.
“Fine, let's cast a vote," Mr Thompson said as he raised his hand.
“With all the evidence gathered, raise your hand if you agree that he is the serial killer," Mr Thompson said.
I quickly raised my hand, and so did Kevin. Skylar, Roseanne, and Sam still had their hands down, making it a draw.
“Is that all?" Mr Thompson asked.
Sam looked at Kevin and shivered when he received a glare in return.
He slowly raised his hand, nodding his head in agreement. This was the only time I would agree with Kevin bullying Sam into submission.
“In conclusion, we are announcing him as the serial killer and a wanted criminal," Mr Thompson said.
My heart leaped for joy, and I smiled widely.
“This isn't right," Skylar said as we all got.
I frowned deeply and spun around to face him. I had had enough of his pickering and would put him in his place.
“No one cares about your opinion. You're new here, shut up and stick to the rules!” I snapped.
Gasps filled the room as everyone stared at us, wide-eyed.
Skylar's face remained blank, still processing the insult.
His lips twitched into a smile, and he tilted his head to the side.
“Miss Victoria, are you doing this because he chopped off your mother's finger?" He muttered.
My jaw dropped, and my heart dropped into the pit of my belly as his words crushed me.
I gasped out, my lips trembling in disbelief.
“What… did you say?”