Paint It All Red (Mindf*ck #5)(42)

Nothing I stood for was worth more than her.

Nothing I valued held any true value at all.

Everything I have is pointless without her.

I could have saved her, but I walked away instead. She’s dead because of me.

Reading over the report one last time, I print it off and stand up. Leonard eyes me on his way to the copier, watching me as I place the papers in a folder.

“Day one back, and you’re already putting together a new case file?”

I shake my head. “No. I’m fixing the old report they refuse to go public with.”

He sighs harshly. “Let it go, Logan. They’re never going to admit any of the truths to the public. The entire Bureau has been humiliated by everything out there. They’ve given all the concessions they’re going to.”

“Yet they still claim the allegations of falsifying DNA evidence is a hoax and a lie. They’re claiming the video evidence isn’t authentic. And they’re also not redeeming the name of Robert Evans.”

“And they’re not going to,” he says softly, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Like I said, they’ve given all the concessions they’re going to. The director is gone now. Johnson is dead. No more corruption from this point on, Logan.”

I look at the file in my hands.

“Whatever Collins says today will determine if that’s true or not,” I say when I look back up.

He blows out a breath, and I place the file back on my desk. I have an appointment with Director Collins very soon. Whatever he says will determine my future course.

For the past three months, I’ve been on leave. Everyone agreed I needed a break after the breakdown I had. I was also relieved of my duties temporarily until I go through a department psych evaluation.

If anyone knew what I’d lost, no one would question my sanity. They’d know for certain I’m too fucked up to be here without needing a piece of paper to tell them as much.

During my forced leave, the only way I could keep myself together was to look into the original killer case. No one tried to stop me, and Collins gave me all the information I needed or requested. He even had Leonard drop it off by my house.

At first I couldn’t figure out the mystery.

At first, it made all the sense in the world for it to be the sheriff, with the exception of his daughter. That threw the entire thing into a tailspin.

But finally, I realized the women were surrogate kills. And once I figured out why they were surrogates and who they were surrogates for…everything made perfect sense.

Especially when I linked the trigger to a specific date—the date of the first kill. It’s not surprising that Johnson never linked the two together. He focused on one man and made the evidence fit.

He never took the time to look around, which was my problem, until I finally forced myself to rule out the sheriff.

It didn’t make sense that Lana would kill so many in such grizzly ways without ever going after the original killer that started all this. It didn’t make sense that she wouldn’t have figured it out, given how fucking brilliant she and Jake were.

But then I discovered how genius they actually were.

I realized the true depths of their forethought and their planning that went into each and every detail of the masterful plan they put into play.

I just wish I had realized how little the rest of the world meant to me post-Lana before I lost her. I could have been with her right now. The two of us could have survived that firestorm together.

Instead, I let her think my career and morals meant more than she did.

I was wrong.

Nothing else fucking matters but her.

Time passes by slowly as I get the rest of my information, printing off everything in case this thing with Collins doesn’t go as I hope it does.

Hadley comes up to my desk, hopping up on the top of it.

“Why are you running searches on this Olivia chick?” she asks curiously, holding up a page she brought with her.

“Because I needed some information.”

She grunts. “Obviously. But why are you looking into a microbiologist who also happens to be one of the original killer’s victim’s sister?”

“Because she was getting payments from a dummy account I linked to Jake. All that money in that account transferred directly to Olivia’s account the same day as D-day.”

She hisses out a breath. “Why?”

“Because they knew who the original killer was. Now I do too. And I know why I couldn’t find any evidence of retaliation before now.”

“Why?” she asks quietly.

“Because they’re fucking brilliant.”

My eyes dart to the clock on my computer, and I stand, shuffling together the file I’ve compiled.

“I’ll talk to you about it later,” I tell her, smiling tightly. “I have a meeting right now.”

She nods, knowing what’s to come, both of us hoping we’re wrong. I’ve supported Collins for so long. He’s always been a man of integrity. I hope the position hasn’t already corrupted him.

Her phone dings, and she cocks her head before darting off to her cubicle. I watch for a moment as her fingers fly over the keys, but then remember I have my own mission right now.

I head up to the director’s office, clutching the file in my hand. Every detail is accurate. It’s from the original case that needs to be reopened and the true suspect arrested, so he can spend the rest of his days in misery.