Josh Aterovis

Why thank you! And there's only one way to find out... I will say that the investigation picks up a bit moving forward.

Having a real plan and knowing my friends were behind me filled me with a sense of purpose and renewed energy. With the art show out of the way, I could finally fully focus on figuring out what really happened to Joey. Naturally, I waited until Monday to start my very first assignment. Nothing says "dedicated" like procrastinating all weekend. All I had to do was get the medical examiner's report from Detective Grafton. Easy, right? I spent so long marinating in the police station lobb

I'm still working on the novella that gives more of Adam's backstory. That's the one that I got bogged down in because it basically had to be rewritten from scratch. His original backstory was written so long ago that it no longer fit the timelines of these current books. I hope to come back to it at some point. Or maybe we'll just get a glimpse of it through Seth's eyes. His backstory was rewritten more recently.

Nikki is very much based on several real people I've known throughout my life, and being very active in the arts community here in Baltimore, I can say with confidence that she'd fit right in with JW's people. 🖤

I'll do my best!

Can't say I blame Asher either. 🤣

To be fair, they are amateurs. 😉

Laura and Caitlin are certainly going to butt heads...

Aidan and I drove to the gallery in his truck, and Nikki drove her own car. We didn't talk much. I was too nervous and, after a few monosyllabic responses, Aidan gave up any effort on his part. Dante had the gallery open when we got there, but, thankfully, no one else had arrived except the guitarist Nikki had hired to provide live music. The food was all laid out on the tables, and the bartender was hard at work polishing glasses. Nikki had beat us there and immediately pulled me into

When I left work that afternoon, I drove directly to the police station. I did not pass Go. I did not collect $200. The lobby was a little more crowded for my second visit. There was a Hispanic family crowded onto the couch, a woman with dirty hair and threadbare clothes in one of the chairs, and a very twitchy fellow who was mumbling under his breath in the other. The same scrawny guy from before sat in the same seat at the far end, still enthralled by the TV. Was he just always there?

I had the same thought. Or they at least knew him.

Most definitely. The murder investigation really picks up once Killian arrives back on the scene, however.

My partner's mother (who lives in Arkansas, for reference) was recently chased by a someone in a car who repeatedly tried to run her off the road, followed her all the way home, and held her at gun point while screaming at her and calling her names. She'd never seen this man before. He fired his gun to scare her, then left after making more threats. She called the police, who took almost an hour to respond (while she hid, scared to death), then when she showed them the shell casing from the gunshot, the deputy PICKED IT UP WITH HIS BARE HANDS AND STUCK IT IN HIS POCKET. When she asked him, "What about fingerprints?", he shrugged and said they wouldn't bother with fingerprinting it! Then she showed them the footage from her security cameras and the guys told her, "I doubt we'll catch this guy, so if you were my daughter I'd tell you get a gun." America.

See also: Any Michael Bay "movie"

Some excellent theories here! And that's all I'll say...

I thought you were going to say that Will keeps jumping from various heights...

Josh does, indeed, know more about Joey's father. Whether I tell you remains to be seen... The suspense will only continue to ratchet up from here. Like I said back in Chapter 1 (I think), this book is very much a slow burn. We're halfway through and just getting around to the bodies! But in a lot of ways, it's not a traditional murder mystery. I think it's just as much a character study/coming of age story. And maybe a bit of an exploration of mental illness and depression.

MORE EXPLOSIONS!

Man, wouldn't this be a boring book if Will minded his own business? 🤣

When I got back to the apartment, I told Aidan what Mrs. Taylor had said. "So the police are looking for you?" he repeated, looking as exhausted as I felt. I shrugged. "Sounds like it. What should I do?" "Do you have anything to hide?" "No." "Then you should go talk to them before they have to hunt you down. That makes it seem like you're guilty of something." "But... I don't want to." I sounded like a whiny little kid even to myself. "I'm scared," I added, which di

You are correct that it is a St. Christopher medal. 😊

Very insightful! I think a lot of people raised in extremely religious families are very sheltered and often emotionally stunted. Add to that the fact that they've been brainwashed for their entire lives and you end up with...well, Will. 😬 I'm honestly loving all these references to John. 🖤

I mean, we're all waiting eagerly for Charlie and Kips Christmas adventure, right?

Killian will soon return...