THE ALTER: A Psychological Crime Thriller Read Online Free Page B

the trigger, looking back at him.
    “You shouldn’t have shot that kid, Ryan. Now I have to kill you before you get us both killed,” he said. His finger braced against the trigger setting off a loud explosion that plunged Ryan into darkness.
    Ryan jumped from his sleep, screaming and drowning in sweat.
    “It’s ok. It was only a dream,” Alice comforted him.
    An enormous relieve came over him and he began to calm. The nightmare was over, but left him with a reminder of the fearful reality that he faced.
    The next morning Ryan sat at his desk with little awareness of his surroundings as he hung his head in concentrated thought. Bret watched him from several feet away as he chatted with fellow officers. He was less animated than usual and mostly listened while he looked back at his pensive partner. Ryan sighed and lifted his head making unexpected eye contact. Neither betrayed an expression, but both knew the strict code of silence that bound them.
    Ryan turned and looked at Ava seated at her desk and making a deliberate attempt to avoid him. He recalled her suspicions about the Williams case and the details that no longer seemed as coherent as they once did. She was convinced that there were inconsistencies, but Ryan felt apprehensive about opening another can of worms.
    The doors of the precinct opened and an enormous hush came over the room. Mateo Alverez stood at the doorway looking around. He wore an expensive suit and was accompanied by an assistant, his attorney, and the mayor himself. They walked calmly down the corridors and as they passed, everyone watched with a reverence worthy his reputation. Bret looked across at Ryan, but said nothing. The chief of police opened his office door and welcomed them in, then closed it behind them. As the door clicked shut, the outside erupted with intrigue.
    After a few minutes, the door opened and the chief summoned Ryan and Bret inside. The two braced for the unexpected.
    “Tell me again what you saw when you went to the young woman’s apartment?” the chief asked while the others listened in silence.
    “The young woman was lying on the floor with gunshot wounds while the young man was sitting on the other side dead with a gun in his hand,” Bret quickly summarized. Ryan nodded, but remained silent.
    “So you’re saying that the only shots fired were from the gun allegedly found in his possession?” the attorney questioned.
    Ryan grew nervous at the question and maintained his downward gaze.
    “We weren’t there to see it, but that’s what the evidence suggests,” Bret explained.
    “The evidence. Right,” the attorney said with a smirk. “Like the gun found in his right hand?”
    Ryan’s heart skipped a beat. Perhaps they had made a common but faulty assumption. He glanced up at Bret who skillfully maintained his icy composure. Then he glanced at Alverez who was already surveying him with a penetrating stare.
    “Satisfied?” the mayor said, addressing the attorney who said nothing in return.
    Alverez rose quietly from his chair, followed by his attorney and assistant.
    “Good,” said the mayor. “We just want to make sure everyone’s satisfied, for the good of the city.”
      The infamous businessman looked at the mayor, then at the chief, both of whom had difficulty deciphering his expression. As he turned towards the door, he looked at Ryan. Ryan made a brave attempt not to appear suspicious and looked back at him for a few seconds until he stepped through the door.
    As they marched towards the exit, Bret whispered into Ryan’s ear, “You might as well have told him you shot his boy.”
    Ryan looked around at him in silence. He was already nervous about Alverez, but Bret’s words had a condemning twist. He shot Luis, but Bret was the one who killed him.
    “Men’s room in two minutes,” Bret said then walking away.
    Ryan entered the men’s room ahead of time and waited. He leaned against the basin counter and looked himself in the mirror,