Topher Lydon

Yes, I noticed that as well. Part of what makes Peter and West work so well is that they fight/bicker/tease each other. It's always been the healthiest out of all the relationships in the Carter books for it, they can fight accept each other, make up, West apologizes, Peter refuses... they fight some more... and then end up having sex in awkward spots. Peter likes the way West annoys him. Jason is too calm for that. Different dynamic, they're passionate, but in a different way.

Have to give a little hope before it gets dark.

small correction of the timeline, somehow in the original Jason was teleporting. Managed to correct it so that I fixed it.

Peter and Jason being Peter and Jason. A bit of domesticity before Merrick gets his claws into the family

The bedroom smelled like Jason. Not the old Jason—the one who'd arrived in Toronto with nothing but a dirty cast and a head full of screams—but the new one, the one who showered regularly and used the fancy soap Will kept in the guest bathroom and left his clothes on the floor for Peter to trip over. It was a specific alchemy: sandalwood shampoo, the faint metallic tang of the art supplies Peter tracked in from school, the clean cotton of sheets washed every Sunday whether they needed it or not.

It is a much broader story, but designed to be an entry point for those that are curious

The real murder was the friends along the way.

Vickie Morrison's end.

FRIDAY NIGHT – TWO WEEKS EARLIER The woods behind Grey Harbor High School were dark. Not the soft darkness of a summer night, full of fireflies and distant laughter. This was a November darkness, cold and wet and heavy, the kind that pressed against the eyes and made every shadow look like a threat. The trees were bare. Their branches reached toward the sky like skeletal fingers, scratching at the clouds. The ground was soft with fallen needles and the rot of autumn leaves, each step

Kellerman has his own, entirely personal, agenda. He sees something in Andrew, and intends to forge him into the kind of Lawyer that can survive at the firm. Between him and Tanaka, Andrew's about to get a first-class education.

Be careful what you wish for.

The old Bastard is about to meet the Dark Sovereign So I wouldn't rule it out.

That, or it's a trap designed to test him This book is about Allistair Merrick, and the true nature of evil.

:: blinks :: we're discussing Schlorp Nodes again (Is convinced he's doing something wrong that this KEEPS coming up )

Tanaka, at his Kurasawa film noir best.

And the new one

Come along with me, with the butterflies and the bees. Kellerman has no idea what he's unleashed on the Firm.

Welcome to the dark side. This book covers the other half of the two years between Carter's Duty and Carter's War. Showing what Andrew was doing behind the scenes of those books. Good Morning.

The next three weeks passed in a blur of logistics. Andrew sublet his apartment in Ottawa, arranged for mail forwarding, and spent a weekend driving back to Merrickville to see Walter and say goodbye—or something like it. Walter was in the garage, as always, his massive frame bent over the engine of a rusted-out Ford. He straightened when Andrew walked in, wiping his hands on a rag that had long since ceased to be clean. "Heard you got the job," Walter said. No preamble. No congratul

The boardroom of Gable, Strathmore & Pierce occupied the entire twenty-seventh floor of the Commerce Court West tower, and it was designed for one purpose: to make you feel small. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered a god's-eye view of Lake Ontario, the water stretching to the horizon in a sheet of hammered silver, while to the north the entire downtown core sprawled like a circuit board of ambition and capital. The table was a single slab of black walnut, thirty feet long, polished to a mirror

A broken law student. A traumatized teen. A high-stakes infiltration of a corrupt firm. Andrew infiltrates Gable Strathmore & Pierce to bring down the man who enabled his foster son’s abuser. But Jason is being seduced by a conversion therapist—and the firm is photographing every secret. When Andrew’s ex, Will, gets caught in the crossfire, their reunion becomes their last chance to save their found family before Merrick’s trap snaps shut.

True, but Park has no idea what evidence Vickie managed to accumulate, she's been winding the crank of his paranoia for years. That, and the guilt, and the Police all over the place arresting people. He was a ticking time bomb.

Mr. Park is VERY MUCH guilty of several crimes: 1. Failure to Render Aid as a Passenger (Gross Misdemeanor) Washington's "hit and run" statute (RCW 46.52.020) does not just apply to drivers. It explicitly applies to "the operator or any passenger" of a vehicle involved in an accident that results in injury or death. The law requires every person involved (including passengers) to stop, provide their name and address, and "render reasonable assistance" to any injured person. By crawling out of the wreck, seeing the mother dead and Vickie crying in the backseat, and walking away without calling 911, trying to free Vickie, or flagging down help, Mr. Park committed this crime. Because the accident involved a death, this is a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine. 2. Criminal Mistreatment (Reckless Abandonment of a Child) This charge still stands, and it becomes even more damning because he was a passenger with no excuse of being incapacitated by the crash: Under RCW 9A.42.060, a person is guilty of Criminal Mistreatment in the second degree if they are a person entrusted with the care of a child and they "recklessly" abandon the child, creating an "imminent and substantial risk that the child will die or suffer great bodily harm." Vickie was a five-year-old, strapped upside-down in a car seat, in a wrecked vehicle, in the rain. Mr. Park was the only conscious, mobile adult at the scene. He had a legal and moral duty to get her out or get help. Leaving her there in that life-threatening condition fits the definition of reckless abandonment (a Class C felony). 3. Rendering Criminal Assistance (Class C Felony) His reason for walking away—to avoid being ruined by the affair—is precisely what makes him guilty of this crime under RCW 9A.76.050: He knew he had just been involved in a fatal crash. He intentionally concealed himself from law enforcement, destroyed his alibi by telling everyone he was alone, and allowed the police to rule it a simple accident. He hindered the investigation into the crash itself (depriving the police of a witness) and hindered the investigation into the death of Vickie's mother.

GREY HARBOR COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER'S OFFICE AUTOPSY REPORT Case Number: GH-2026-0892 Decedent: Victoria Anne Morrison Age: 17 Date of Death: November 15, 2026 Date of Autopsy: November 16, 2026 Pathologist: Dr. Helen Olegov, M.D., F.C.A.P. Time of Examination: 09:00 EXTERNAL EXAMINATION: Decedent is a well-developed, well-nourished Caucasian female, measuring 163 cm (5'4") and weighing 59 kg (130 lbs). Rigor mortis is fully established. Livor mortis is fixed. Head and Neck: No evidence of blunt force trauma. No skull fractures. Eyes show bilateral petechial hemorrhages. No ligature marks. No fractures of the hyoid bone or thyroid cartilage. Torso: No visible trauma. No rib fractures. Extremities: Forearms: Multiple linear abrasions and contusions, consistent with defensive injuries. Palms: Abrasions present. Evidence of rust consistent with climbing a metal structure. Subungual debris: Collected from beneath fingernails (see below). INTERNAL EXAMINATION: Respiratory System: Approximately 350 mL of frothy, blood-tinged fluid present in the airways. Lungs are edematous and heavy. Froth present within bronchioles. Cardiovascular System: Unremarkable. Gastrointestinal System: Stomach contains partially digested food material and approximately 150 mL of fluid. Central Nervous System: No abnormalities detected. TOXICOLOGY: Blood alcohol: 0.00% Screening for common drugs: Negative FORENSIC ANALYSIS: Subungual Debris: Contains epithelial cells consistent with human skin. DNA ANALYSIS (Received November 18, 2026): Epithelial DNA obtained from subungual scrapings matches Billy Hernandez (DOB: 01/12/2010). Probability of random match: 1 in 7.8 billion. OPINION: Cause of Death: Drowning Manner of Death: Pending investigation Summary of Findings: Decedent died as a result of submersion in fresh water. Bilateral conjunctival petechiae are consistent with asphyxia. Abrasions and contusions to forearms and palms are consistent with defensive injuries—indicating the decedent attempted to fend off an assailant or resist submersion. DNA recovered from beneath the decedent's fingernails matches Billy Hernandez, indicating physical contact during the terminal event. Evidence of bruising on right ankle consistent with a twist or strain. Unknown Iron Oxide flakes found on palms. Bruising consistent with a recent climb. Addendum: The presence of defensive injuries in combination with foreign DNA under the fingernails is consistent with a physical altercation preceding death. Dr. Helen Olegov, M.D., F.C.A.P. Chief Medical Examiner Grey Harbor County DISTRIBUTION: Grey Harbor County Sheriff's Office District Attorney's Office, Grey Harbor County