Ghost and evidence
955 Words
Mitchell's breath came in ragged bursts as she ducked into a narrow alley two blocks away from the Macview hotel. Her coat was soaked, her heels scuffed from running over the uneven pavement, but she barely noticed. All she could think about was the blood. The mirror. The message. Daniel.
She leaned against a brick wall, trying to steady her hands enough to unlock her phone. Her thumb hovered over the screen.
Call the police. A voice within her said.
But the moment she imagined herself explaining what had happened, how she'd been summoned to a crime scene in the middle of the night alone-- how the victim was a man who had abandoned her five years ago -- panic surged again. Who would believe she wasn't involved? Who would believe she didn't kill him?.
Her fingers closed around her purse. She needed to think. She needed time. And she needed help.
There was only one person who came to mind. Someone she hadn't spoken to in almost a year, not since things had ended between them messily.
Detective Ethan Rynes.
Mitchell hated the idea of calling him. He was the last person she wanted to owe a favor to. But he was also the only person who might give her chance to explain herself before she ended up in handcuffs.
She opened her contacts and tapped his name.
It rang three times before a gruff voice answered.
"Rynes".
"Ethan.... it's Mitchell."
A pause. "Mitchell?"
"I... I need your help." Her voice cracked. "Something happened. I didn't know who else to call."
"Where are you?" Ethan asked.
"Near the Macview hotel. I was supposed to meet someone --he's dead. There's blood. A message. I-- her words came too fast, tumbling over one another. "I didn't kill him."
Silence.
Then: "Stay where you are. Don't move. I'm on my way."
Fifteen minutes later
A black sedan pulled up beside the alley, headlights off. The drivers door opened and Ethan Rynes stepped out, coat collar turned up against the rain. He looked the same-- broad-shouldered, controlled, sharp-eyed. But Mitchell could tell that the moment he saw her, he wasn't just thinking like a cop.
He was thinking like a man who used to know her heart.
"Mitchell. " His voice was lower now. "What the hell happened?"
She launched into it, fast and breathless,hands shaking as she described the message, the room, the blood, the mirror. She didn't spare the emotion-- the fear, shock,anger. And when she finally fell silent, Ethan was staring at her with a mix of disbelief and something else. Something unreadable.
"You're saying Daniel Carter--- the same man who left you at the altar five years ago --- is dead?" He asked.
She nodded.
"In a hotel room he summoned you to?" He asked again
"Yes". She replied
"And you touched nothing?"
"I... I think I might've touched the doorframe. And I leaned over him."
Ethan swore under his breath and ran a hand through his damp hair. "This is bad. If someone wanted to frame you, Mitchell.... They just did a damn good job."
Her heart dropped. "You think this was a setup?"
"I think someone lured you there knowing you'd look like hell." He opened the passenger door. "Get in. We need to talk somewhere safe." Ethan said.
Thirty minutes later, Ethan's apartment.
The place hadn't changed... Still neat,still cold. Dark leather furniture, a half-finished bottle of scotch on the kitchen counter, and a bulletin board on the wall filled with case notes and crime scene photos.
Mitchell sat on the edge of the couch, staring at her hands.
Ethan poured two glasses, handed her one, and sat across from her.
"You need to tell me everything you know about Daniel," he said. "Not just who he was to you, but what kind of life he was leading before tonight. Do you think he was into something shady?"
She hesitated.
"I never really knew," she admitted. "After he disappeared,I tried to find out where he went. But it was like he vanished. No bank activity,no social media. I hired someone to track him once. He found nothing."
"And tonight was the first time you heard from him?" Ethan asked
"Yes." She replied.
Ethan took a long sip of scotch. "Then this wasn't even random. This was planned "
"I don't understand why. What could he have been involved in?"
Ethan stood, crossed to his bulletin board, and pulled a photo from a stack. "You're not going to go like this."
He handed it to her. Her breath caught.
It was a surveillance photo. Grainy, but clear enough. Daniel. Two weeks ago. Standing beside a man in a dark suit, exchanging a flash drive.
Mitchell looked up. "Where did you get this?"
"I've been building a case. Human trafficking, international laundering, corrupt corporations.... Your ex-fiancé just became the missing link."
She gripped the armrest. "Are you saying Daniel was involved in a criminal ring?"
"I'm saying he was in deep. And whoever killed him didn't want him to talk."
The room fell into a heavy silence.
Then Ethan added, "But they might want you to talk."
Mitchell's skin prickled. "What does that mean?"
"It means you might have seen the message. Not the target."
She stood, pacing. "What do I do? I can't go home. What if someone's watching me?"
"Don't go anywhere," Ethan said firmly. " Just stay here tonight. I'll have someone check your apartment.
In the morning, we start digging."
Mitchell turned to him, a flicker of fear running through her spine and was ob
vious in her eyes. " I don't know who to trust, Ethan." She said.
He met her gaze. "Then trust me. Just this once."
- Writer
