Briar’s heart skipped a beat. Given Ashton’s sharp instincts, it was only a matter of time before he started questioningn’s identity<b>. </b>
Still, she answered the phone, “Ashton?”
There was a lot of noise on Ashton’s end, and she could hear him ask, “Briar, isn with you?”
Briar nced atn, who looked like he was about to jump out of his skin. She replied, “Yeah, he’s at my ce. Are you looking for him<b>?</b><b>” </b>
“Yeah, pass him the phone. I need to talk to him,” Ashton said.
“Sure thing.” Briar handed the phone ton, a faint, teasing smile tugging at her lips as she caught his terrified gaze. She stated, “He says he <b>wants </b><b>to </b>talk to you.”
“Why couldn’t I reach you on your phone? You need to get over to theb right now. The cops want to talk to you,” Ashton said.
Right now, he didn’t want to see Ashton, the most influential guy in town.
“What do <i>you </i>think?” Ashton asked, his voice dripping with confidence, as if he understoodn’s fears perfectly. “Just rx ande over. I’ve got your back.”
Ashton’s following words maden even more anxious. “I’ve already sent Connor to pick you up. He should be there in about ten minutes. Just go wait <b>at </b>the front gate.”
Ashton hung up, looking satisfied.
Briar, who had listened to the whole conversation, pattedn on the shoulder, trying tofort him. She reassured, “Rx. If Ashton says he won’t make things hard for you, he means it. Maybe the police just want to ask you a few questions. Don’t panic over nothing.”
Briar couldn’t help butugh, “Come on, he’s not that bad. He’s pretty reasonable.”
A few minutester, Briar came out to join him, and the two of them stood there together. Sure enough, ten minutester, <b>C </b>time.
car pulled up <b>right </b>on
“Miss Jennings, you’reing too?” Connor asked, though he was already out of the car and holding the back door open for her.
As forn, Connor just gave him a look that made it clear he was supposed to sit in the front.
<b>Tue</b><b>, </b><b>19 </b>Aug
Briar slid into the car as she replied, “I heard whatn said, so I figured I’de along and see what’s going on
Connor nodded in response, “Got it. I’ll let Ashton know.”
‘Some of the scenes at theb were far too bloody and brutal for Miss Jennings to see, he inwardly reasoned
However, Briar didn’t mind. She had tagged along partly because she wanted to see what kind of live experimentbn had gotten hunself mixed up in and partly because… well, she was genuinely worried Ashton might scare fan to death
Moonspring Estate wasn’t far from theb, and it was just a fifteen–minute drive.
As Briar watched them pass intersection after intersection, she spotted the stretch of police tape marking off theb. Her brows drew together, and a cold shiver ran down her spine.
Theb was only three blocks from Shoneport University. It was so close, and yet two innocent girls had lost their lives right here.
As soon as they got out of the car, Ashton waved Briar over as he called out, “Briar,e here.”
Briar nced atn, and now that she was by his side, he suddenly seemed far braver than before.
No matter how ruthless Ashton was, there was no way he’dy inton with Briar standing right there.
As long as he survived today,n was determined to pretend any old grudges had never existed.
“So, what’s the situation?” Briar walked over to Ashton as asked, though she kept trying to get a better look at theb, her face full of curiosity.
There was quite amotion here, with a crowd of onlookers gathered outside the police tape. Ashton calmly stepped in front of Briar, shielding her from the prying eyes. “It’s pretty serious,” he said. “They’ve confirmed the organs came from at least ten different people. The earliest was an unidentified victim from five years ago, and the most recent were the two girls from Shoneport University who were killed this month.”
Briar’s face darkened as she asked, “These people are absolute monsters. What about Sawyer? Did you find any evidence on him?”
Ashton paused, watching her closely as he replied, “No. By the time my team arrived, all the surveince footage rted to Sawyer had already been forcibly reced. They’re still checking footprints and fingerprints at the scene, hoping to find any evidence connected to him.”
Briar let out a sigh, “They’re fast.”
Ashton nodded in response, “Yeah, these people are highly organized and disciplined, and they’re pros in a lot of ways. If we can’t recover the surveince footage, I’m afraidn’s testimony identifying Sawyer won’t be enough.”
In his rush to save the victims,n ended up disturbing the scene slightly, which gave theb personnel more time to destroy the evidence.
“Where’s Sawyer?” Briar asked as she nced at the time. It was Sunday<i>, </i><i>so </i>the school doctor wouldn’t be on duty. At this hour, checking his alibi
shouldn’t be too hard.
Ashton watched Briar’s furrowed brow. With so many people around, his hand hovered, itching to reach out and smooth her frown, but he held back.
Ashton knew exactly what she was getting at, and he replied, “He’s got a solid alibi.”
Briar clenched her jaw, probing, “Who’s backing up his alibi?”
“Emily, Robert, and Jewell,” Ashton replied, listing the names without hesitation.
Briar looked up in surprise and asked, “Jewell? He hasn’t been kicked out of Shoneport yet?”
Ashton finally gave in and reached out to smooth the frown from her brow. In a patient voice, he exined, “He can’t disappear just yet. We’ve still got other ns for him.”
Briar nodded in understanding, “So even if this ce gets busted, this case will probably just end up as another cold case, huh?”
<b>10:51 </b><b>Tue </b><b>19 </b>Aug
“Don’t worry. One way or another, I’ll make sure they pay the price,” Ashton promised Briar.
“Ashton, there’s nothing new for now. I’ll take the forensics team back to the station,” a member of the criminal investigation unit said as they waled
over.
Ashton nodded in response, “Alright, get back to your work. If anythinges up, let me know right away.<i>” </i>
“Understood,” they replied.
Just then,n shuffled over with an uneasy look as he asked, “Briar, are we heading out?”
He didn’t want to spend even a single second more around Ashton.
However, Ashton wasn’t givingn any chance to slip away this time as he instructed,, “<i>You </i>and Briar,e with me. I’ve got some questions for you<i>? </i>
“Alright, let’s head to my ce then,” Briar said with a chuckle as she grabbedn and dragged him along. She leaned in and whispered, “Come <b>on</b><b>, </b><b>have </b>some confidence and don’t chicken out now.”
AD