Page 155 of Lau Ahi
“What do you mean?” I thought it was admirable that she was open to being wrong and having her theories questioned.
“We have found no one else that fits this type of profile. No one that’s turned up with an organ missing. This doesn’t feel like the start of something bigger. It feels isolated. We tried to avoid the idea that she was target but every road seemed to lead to that.”
“An assassination?”
Her nose was wrinkled and she seemed to be thinking over Alec’s words. Weighing them to see if it fit with what was in her mind.
“Not that. Look at the victim.” Asha stood up and went to the board where we kept all of Natalie Rawlin’s information. The first thing she did was point to the photo of the victim. “She’s young and blonde with blue eyes. The type of girl that women are told to be. The foundation of what white society needs to survive. The very thing they would sacrifice to ensure it survived.”
“Like a ritual.”
She snapped her fingers and nodded at Alec. “Yes. I know that things have been hinted at for years but there have to be secret societies and things that exist in this world. We know there’s proof of baby mills and all kinds of depravity with women who look just like this. What if she was his way in?”
“You feel like this might have been some type of initiation.” Alec was nodding his head so much of what Asha was saying made sense.
“Yes, I just don’t understand why he would’ve gone for someone that was so well connected.”
“You’d expect someone that would fall through the cracks easier than this?”
"Hookers wouldn't get this kind of attention. FBI wouldn't have formed a task force and given this kind of publicity." I added my two cents because now I was intrigued with the direction she was going. In the back of my mind, I wondered if she was going to lead us to a dead end but my brain felt like this was a viable direction.
“That in and of itself is a tragedy.” Asha looked disgusted but I was just happy she’d talked to me.Gotdamn I was getting desperate. “Just because a woman is lured or falls into a profession many don’t see as honorable it doesn’t mean her life is any less valuable.”
“If this is what you’re saying it is, then someone who wasn’t seen as valuable wouldn’t have been the rightentrance feeso to speak.” It was a distasteful way to put it but it didn’t make my words any less accurate.
“It’s funny how all the media speaks on gang violence but never discuss the actual originators of this type of violence. Ritualistic killings have been around since almost the dawn of time. The Bible is littered with them as are Greek and Roman mythologies. If art imitates life one can only imagine just how depraved earlier societies were.” Asha walked back and sat down across from me. When our eyes met I dipped my head as a sign of my respect, which put a small smile on her face. She picked up her glasses and slid them back on her face, shielding her from me again. “Whichever one of these boys that she knows who have a clean background and upstanding family will be in a fraternity. Someone who likes the idea of secret societies and exclusivity. If it’s a ritual he’s someone who would already be familiar with acceptable organizations that require some form of sacrifice to ensure compliance.”
“So fraternities, athletes, hell even military could be a target.” Alec started flipping through his notes again as Asha’s comments seemingly widened the pool of suspects.
“The both of you know that military wouldn’t go for harming an innocent. Neither would athletics. They might cover up assaults and other bad behavior, but not this.”
“What makes you think a frat boy is the culprit?” Watching her think and come up with ideas was similar to someone manipulating the matrix.
“Panhellenic Organizations are all about conforming. Order. But also setting friendships and a network of favors that last a lifetime. They all have dirt on one another to keep them inline and to leverage later on. It’s how this entire city runs, gentlemen. And it starts at boarding schools and universities around the world. These are normally the men susceptible to the allure of gaining power. The Clancy boy fits every one of those markers. Has his girlfriend reached out to you lately?”
Her words were directed toward Vega who’d been communicating with the girlfriend of the suspect who’d reached out almost immediately. She’d been trying to link up so they could fuck. We’d gotten approval for Vega to continue to work her from Cochran not mentioning anything about the case to prevent any claims of entrapment.
“Offering to suck my dick isn’t really what is going to help this case.” He spoke bluntly before a giggle from Asha made him realize his misstep. “I’m so sorry, Asha. That was crass.”
She waved her hand in front of her; her ring noticeably absent. I was sure it was because of work but it felt like a low blow. “You’re fine. I know you don’t mean it in a bad way and truthfully she’s sexually harassing you. No harm done.”
I’d been tense since he’d answered me but I could relax now that I knew she wasn’t offended.
“I wonder if she knows he was gone that night.” She was taping a pen against her full lips, which of course had me thinking of the last time I’d felt them. It was insane for my dickto be getting hard in the middle of a murder investigation but its one-track mind was solely focused on Asha.
“What are you thinking?”
“If she’s being so cavalier about her desire for you it’s because she’s tired of him. Which means he’s been getting out of line.”
“She could just like having options.”
“I am a sexy motherfucker, Asha, though I doubt you’ve noticed.” Alec playfully stroked his goatee and even though I knew he wasn’t serious I still wanted to hit him with my chair.
“You are handsome, Alec but you all are missing a few things.”
I wanted to scream at her saying he was handsome but I had to let it slide to hear her insight. “And what is that?”
“On paper, he’s a catch. The type of person a girl like her is going to school to hook. The ultimate power couple. She wouldn’t risk that until she got a ring and an heir under her belt.” Asha leaned back and crossed her legs. It was a completely innocent gesture but my dick was yet again waking up.
