‹ Prequel: Beyond
Status: Last story in the Avidity trilogy.

Sinister

Blood

When the sun rose, I was still at the precinct. I was sitting in the lobby, a cup of coffee in my hand. People who passed gave me looks. Not the unfriendly kind, but the pitying kind. I hated those.

Then I saw Ray. He looked like he hadn't slept; his dark hair was messed, and there were shadows under his eyes.

"Did you even go home at all?" he asked as he sat next to me. He studied me. "No, you didn't. Charlotte, this isn't healthy. This isn't a case you can't figure out—you know what happened—you were there. Nothing more you can do."

I stared at him. He didn't understand at all, did he? How could he? He hadn't killed two people in cold blood, and he sure as hell wasn't being haunted by them.

"You don't get it," I said, standing. "You just don't. I appreciate your help, I do, but could you just stop? I'll be fine."

Ray looked hurt, but nodded. "You got it," he answered, then walked to his office and shut the door.

As I walked down the hall toward my own office, someone fell in step next to me.

"You still have to kill him," John told me. "It's the only way to keep him from snooping. You know he will."

I did.

I knew what I needed to do—what John wanted me to do.

Before the day was over, there would be more blood on my hands.