Page 155 of Sincerely, Butterfly

TWENTY-SEVEN

JASPER

“Where are you going?”my mother asks me as I make my way down the stairs.

At the sound of her voice, I look up, and I can’t help but smile. She smiles back, making me huff out a laugh. “Just going for a drive, I need to clear my head.”

Her smile falters a bit, and I hate that I’m the reason for the crinkle at the corners of each eye.

“It’s fine, Mom, I swear. Just a lot on my mind.”

“Is it the murders?” she questions.

I stop in front of her, sliding my leather jacket on.

“Mostly.” I nod.

The things we’ve had to do to prove our loyalty to the Brotherhood are downright horrendous.

I fully believe that if it wasn’t for the woman standing in front of me, I’d have become the very monster I’ve spent years fearing I’d turn into.

My parents’ marriage might have started off as an arranged marriage, but the moment they met, they knew they were meant for one another.

Despite my mother being a part of the same twisted and corrupt world as my father, she is nothing like him.

While I believe nothing in this world is a hundred percent pure, she's pretty damn close.

No matter what hell I’ve gone through, she was always there to keep me together. Her love and kindness was everything I needed.

But it wasn’t enough to keep all the darkness away.

It didn’t take long before my humanity, morality, and sanity started to be affected by the world I’ve grown up in.

“Have they been giving you a hard time?”

She means the Brotherhood.

“I have it handled.”

They are not happy about someone running rampant and making a mess out of New Orleans’ streets. I assured them that I’d do everything in my power to get to the bottom of this, but that will only satisfy them for so long.

I tried to work my connections at the NOPD to get answers; to see what they’re doing about this or if they have any leads, possibly a suspect.

Nothing. They have nothing. No idea who could be doing this or why.

They’ve attempted DNA testing, but nothing is left behind. They’ve looked through all the surrounding camera feeds of the places the bodies were found, but there was nothing they found that could pinpoint any suspects.

It doesn’t make sense. No one gets away with being a fucking serial killer in this day and age. Not with how far forensic science and technology has gotten.

It’s either someone who’s really good at covering up their tracks, or they’re working with the NOPD.

I still believe it’s Roscoe Landry trying to frame us. The guys think that because the deaths stopped being women we’ve slept with, that it’s just some creep out there killing young girls.

And while that might be true, the fact is, these other women who have found themselves dead might not have been women we’ve slept with, but they are women we knew in some sort of capacity.

In a way, there’s still a connection to us. These women are daughters of men who have a connection to the Brotherhood. Business partners, family members, friends of friends. It’s all connected.

This is why they’re breathing down my neck, demanding I do something about it.