Page 112 of Ash and Poison

POISONS DON’T LIE

DIYA

Ismiled when Layne launched herself into my arms.

“Hi, babe.”

“Hey. God, I’m finally here,” Layne whispered, pressing her nose against my shoulder, wrapping her arms around me, holding me tighter.

Oh, I missed her. I missed the scent of turpentine and paint that clung to her skin.

When we pulled away, Asher was looking at us with a smile. Layne turned to him and studied him, lips pursed. “I can see why she’s obsessed with you and why she imagined you when she used her toy. It used to be Dex.”

He choked on nothing before he threw a look in my direction, eyes narrowed, cheeks flushed.

“You’re going to scare him, Lay. Leave him alone.”

“He doesn’t look like he’d get spooked easily. So, what are we doing now? Tell me more about this asshole we’re going to kill.”

Asher stood up, looking at the clock.

“See you later.” He walked out.

“Dee, you lucky bitch.” She licked her lips with a wink as soon as he left.

“I don’t feel lucky, though.”

“What? Is Declan still hassling you?”

Trust Layne to call it a hassle when someone was trying to kill me!

“He left a dead rat on my front porch. Other than that, I haven’t seen him since that day.”

Layne laughed. “Boring. Oh, and I got the report from Liam. He fast-tracked it. He said the brown stain is blood, but it’s too degraded to get a DNA match. Here’s the real kicker. The white powder? Mercury Sulfate.”

Bloody hell.

“Wait. Liam mentioned something…” Layne said. “Ah, yes. Mad Hatter Syndrome.”

“Sweet Krishna, I want to kiss Liam.”

Layne laughed. “He’d shit his pants, but why are we kissing him?”

“Mercury Sulfate. Poisons never lie. It fucking tracks,” I said, reading the report, my heart racing. “Riley said he made her drink tea or something, and her letters became increasingly chaotic as time passed.”

“He poisoned them with mercury?” Layne asked.

“Yes. He pushed them until he broke them. Mercury poisoning would cause hallucinations and paranoia, severe memory loss, and delirium. It will eventually lead to full-blown psychosis.”

“Fuck, and combine it with the trauma, the abuse, and mental torture… it would be easy to push them straight to death,” Layne said with a wince. “That cruel bastard.”

“I don’t even know what to think anymore, Lay. This one is not someone we can dismiss as just another serial killer. He’s better than most I have met. He has planned every detail from the very beginning. When I told Ash I’d help him, I was sure I’d catch him, but now…” I sighed, handing her the pictures Millie drew, telling her more about what I knew about Riley and the other girls. “I don’t know.”

“Dee, these pictures…”

“If Millie recovers her memories, we will get an advantage over him, but I don’t think she’s ready for that yet. I don’t think she’ll ever be.”

Layne nodded, leaning closer to me. “He killed everyone. Why didn’t he kill Millie, Dee?”