Particles of Obsession (A Shadow of Death Romantic Suspense Book 2) Read Online Free
Author: Charlotte Raine
okay?”
“I’m fine.”
He shakes his head like he doesn’t believe me, but he doesn’t press the issue, either.
"It does seem strange," he says. "Maybe it was Alex’s accomplice that killed your ex."
"With poison?" I ask. "That seemed to be Alex's area."
"Yes, Alex seemed very smart though," he says. "We never suspected him. He acted like the womanizing, stupid frat boy and we believed it. We never thought he was the killer because he knew how we expected him to act and he acted that way. And clearly, most students in chemistry are rather intelligent. So...why would he make such a big mistake?"
"Why would someone else kill Andre?" I ask. "Alex could have figured out about Andre's connection to me, but no one else would really know about it."
"He could have just said something that alerted the accomplice to his motives for being there," he says. "I don't know. I can ask the people who live in Alex's apartment building if anyone else went into his apartment."
I nod. "That's a good plan. I mean, I doubt anyone did notice because I don't really notice anyone in my building, but I'll go for any plan right now."
"Good," he says. "I don't want you to go to prison."
I stare at him. He's still mostly a stranger to me, but he's the only person I could rely on. For some reason, this isn’t as terrifying of a thought as I would expect it to be.
"I guess...since I came here...you know that I'm not really close to anybody," I say, sitting down on his couch. "I...I suppose you want to add that to your story. Redheaded pain in the ass does not have any friends ."
He smirks. "I got the impression that you were close to your family. You just can't go to them right now because the police will be watching them. I understand. Besides, you know the same thing about me now. I've only had one real relationship in my adult life and...it was never real. It's more like we were both lonely, so we decided to travel in this life together for short bursts of time. There was never any sense or feeling that it was true love."
"You think that's real?" I ask. "Do you think there's true love?"
"I saw true love in your expression when you were talking about Andre and your happiest memory," he says. "So...yes. I've seen it in other people's faces as well. Hell, maybe I've even felt it and the other person just didn't feel the same way. You can love someone completely and maybe they just don't feel the same thing. It's okay. It hurts, but it's okay."
I remember his expression after I told him about Andre. He was hurt, but I can't imagine I'm the one he would fall far.
Then again, why else would he protect me from the police?
* * *
E ight days left until all of the students leave for winter break. They have a little over a month off. As soon as they’re gone, the killer could be gone too.
And the police aren’t even looking for the killer, because they assume Alex killed everyone and I killed Alex.
“And I can’t do anything because you fuckers are trying to track me down,” I say aloud, though nobody is in the house. I’m going stir crazy. I have to find something to do.
I walk over to John’s desk in his living room. I sit down and pull open the center drawer. At least a dozen sheets of paper and scraps of paper have been stuffed into it. Some of them are covered with printed text, and some of them have his handwriting scribbled over them. I pull out a handful.
P ossible jobs : dog walker/groomer/breeder or guitar manufacturer?
M ain conflict ? Pressure from parents, pressure from fiancé, impending deadline of two scholarships
S etting : Maine, New Jersey, along border of Mexico, Tennessee?
I have acted like a good person, but immorality seems to be a genetic factor in my biological family. My father was a gambling addict, who had a fondness for prostitutes. He was arrested for beating up one of those prostitutes he was so fond of when I was six years old. I’ve told a couple of people about how he was arrested and
“I’m fine.”
He shakes his head like he doesn’t believe me, but he doesn’t press the issue, either.
"It does seem strange," he says. "Maybe it was Alex’s accomplice that killed your ex."
"With poison?" I ask. "That seemed to be Alex's area."
"Yes, Alex seemed very smart though," he says. "We never suspected him. He acted like the womanizing, stupid frat boy and we believed it. We never thought he was the killer because he knew how we expected him to act and he acted that way. And clearly, most students in chemistry are rather intelligent. So...why would he make such a big mistake?"
"Why would someone else kill Andre?" I ask. "Alex could have figured out about Andre's connection to me, but no one else would really know about it."
"He could have just said something that alerted the accomplice to his motives for being there," he says. "I don't know. I can ask the people who live in Alex's apartment building if anyone else went into his apartment."
I nod. "That's a good plan. I mean, I doubt anyone did notice because I don't really notice anyone in my building, but I'll go for any plan right now."
"Good," he says. "I don't want you to go to prison."
I stare at him. He's still mostly a stranger to me, but he's the only person I could rely on. For some reason, this isn’t as terrifying of a thought as I would expect it to be.
"I guess...since I came here...you know that I'm not really close to anybody," I say, sitting down on his couch. "I...I suppose you want to add that to your story. Redheaded pain in the ass does not have any friends ."
He smirks. "I got the impression that you were close to your family. You just can't go to them right now because the police will be watching them. I understand. Besides, you know the same thing about me now. I've only had one real relationship in my adult life and...it was never real. It's more like we were both lonely, so we decided to travel in this life together for short bursts of time. There was never any sense or feeling that it was true love."
"You think that's real?" I ask. "Do you think there's true love?"
"I saw true love in your expression when you were talking about Andre and your happiest memory," he says. "So...yes. I've seen it in other people's faces as well. Hell, maybe I've even felt it and the other person just didn't feel the same way. You can love someone completely and maybe they just don't feel the same thing. It's okay. It hurts, but it's okay."
I remember his expression after I told him about Andre. He was hurt, but I can't imagine I'm the one he would fall far.
Then again, why else would he protect me from the police?
* * *
E ight days left until all of the students leave for winter break. They have a little over a month off. As soon as they’re gone, the killer could be gone too.
And the police aren’t even looking for the killer, because they assume Alex killed everyone and I killed Alex.
“And I can’t do anything because you fuckers are trying to track me down,” I say aloud, though nobody is in the house. I’m going stir crazy. I have to find something to do.
I walk over to John’s desk in his living room. I sit down and pull open the center drawer. At least a dozen sheets of paper and scraps of paper have been stuffed into it. Some of them are covered with printed text, and some of them have his handwriting scribbled over them. I pull out a handful.
P ossible jobs : dog walker/groomer/breeder or guitar manufacturer?
M ain conflict ? Pressure from parents, pressure from fiancé, impending deadline of two scholarships
S etting : Maine, New Jersey, along border of Mexico, Tennessee?
I have acted like a good person, but immorality seems to be a genetic factor in my biological family. My father was a gambling addict, who had a fondness for prostitutes. He was arrested for beating up one of those prostitutes he was so fond of when I was six years old. I’ve told a couple of people about how he was arrested and
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