showing gruesome images from a murder scene. Blood was bright and thick, in a huge pool with a man lying in the center of it. His limbs were twisted at odd angles, fingers clearly broken, and dark purple bruises covered his face and torso. He’d been tortured before being murdered.
“Officer Murphy was one of the cops assigned to Liliana White’s surveillance and protection,” Belladona filled in.
Son of a bitch . Mike swallowed dryly and flipped through the next few pictures. More photos of the body. And then photos of a different body. This one had burn marks as well as blood snaking down from an open mouth, a handful of teeth on the floor next to his head.
“Officer Carson,” she continued. “Murphy’s partner. Also assigned to Liliana White.”
Mike cycled through the remaining photos—there were two more bodies and he didn’t need Belladona’s commentary to know why they were included in the folder. All were tortured by someone who likely knew what they were doing. All murdered afterward.
A stack of files were beneath the photos but Mike left them for the moment, sitting back and running his head over his face. “This isn’t the Hartleys.”
“Not directly,” Benji said. “But the chatter I’ve heard suggests hired help is in town and given the mess here, I think it’s pretty clear they did the hiring.”
“The Huntsman,” Bellandona said.
“Huntsman?” Name wasn’t ringing a bell for Mike.
“Contract killer. Particularly brutal, as you can see. So nicknamed because he hunts his targets. He’s focused, relentless, and sometimes uses a bow and arrow, so that’s a fun change of pace.”
“He’s never worked this area before.” Benji leaned back in his seat and seemed to be deliberately looking at everything but the photos on the table. He saw plenty of gruesome things in their line of work but wouldn’t seek it out and stare if he didn’t have to, Mike knew. “Crosses country borders easily. No one has a name or a description on him. Sometimes he leaves bodies, like this, to leave a message. Other times he’s a ghost.”
“I’d guess his reasoning for going after the cops and previous private security is twofold,” Belladona said, raising her hand to count off on her fingers. “One, as you probably guessed, he is torturing them for info on Liliana White’s location. She is his ultimate target.”
Thankfully, no one but Jann knew of Mike’s involvement now, and his friend would’ve taken precautions to avoid being tied to this. Mike had spoken to temporary private security people at the hotel he’d picked up Liliana’s things from, but he’d used a fake name and fake ID—the disposable kind that couldn’t be traced back to Seven Security. Their hotel bookings were done in a similar fashion and untraceable.
“Second,” she continued, “this is a splashy statement. He’s not hiding what he’s doing—he’s making sure it gets back to whoever has White now. He’s trying to spook you out.”
Mike couldn’t argue with her assessment—it seemed about right. The Huntsman was no doubt very good at what he did and any further moves would have to be done with extreme caution.
“Kristof thinks this is serious and we should all be here to help,” Benji said, indicating another member of the company’s staff. “The more people on this the better.”
Mike stared absently at the coffee table without really seeing it as he thought, the photos blurry in his peripheral vision. “The problem there is that a clump of us will stand out. Two vehicles for the seven of us plus Liliana. Three to four rooms, depending on how we organize it, and grouped together it will draw attention. A huge amount of room service, no housekeeping. It wouldn’t take long for someone who knew what he was looking for to find us.”
Belladona drummed her nails on her knee, fidgeted in her seat. “You on your own is suicide, though. Don’t be stupid, Mike.”
“I didn’t say I was on my own
“Officer Murphy was one of the cops assigned to Liliana White’s surveillance and protection,” Belladona filled in.
Son of a bitch . Mike swallowed dryly and flipped through the next few pictures. More photos of the body. And then photos of a different body. This one had burn marks as well as blood snaking down from an open mouth, a handful of teeth on the floor next to his head.
“Officer Carson,” she continued. “Murphy’s partner. Also assigned to Liliana White.”
Mike cycled through the remaining photos—there were two more bodies and he didn’t need Belladona’s commentary to know why they were included in the folder. All were tortured by someone who likely knew what they were doing. All murdered afterward.
A stack of files were beneath the photos but Mike left them for the moment, sitting back and running his head over his face. “This isn’t the Hartleys.”
“Not directly,” Benji said. “But the chatter I’ve heard suggests hired help is in town and given the mess here, I think it’s pretty clear they did the hiring.”
“The Huntsman,” Bellandona said.
“Huntsman?” Name wasn’t ringing a bell for Mike.
“Contract killer. Particularly brutal, as you can see. So nicknamed because he hunts his targets. He’s focused, relentless, and sometimes uses a bow and arrow, so that’s a fun change of pace.”
“He’s never worked this area before.” Benji leaned back in his seat and seemed to be deliberately looking at everything but the photos on the table. He saw plenty of gruesome things in their line of work but wouldn’t seek it out and stare if he didn’t have to, Mike knew. “Crosses country borders easily. No one has a name or a description on him. Sometimes he leaves bodies, like this, to leave a message. Other times he’s a ghost.”
“I’d guess his reasoning for going after the cops and previous private security is twofold,” Belladona said, raising her hand to count off on her fingers. “One, as you probably guessed, he is torturing them for info on Liliana White’s location. She is his ultimate target.”
Thankfully, no one but Jann knew of Mike’s involvement now, and his friend would’ve taken precautions to avoid being tied to this. Mike had spoken to temporary private security people at the hotel he’d picked up Liliana’s things from, but he’d used a fake name and fake ID—the disposable kind that couldn’t be traced back to Seven Security. Their hotel bookings were done in a similar fashion and untraceable.
“Second,” she continued, “this is a splashy statement. He’s not hiding what he’s doing—he’s making sure it gets back to whoever has White now. He’s trying to spook you out.”
Mike couldn’t argue with her assessment—it seemed about right. The Huntsman was no doubt very good at what he did and any further moves would have to be done with extreme caution.
“Kristof thinks this is serious and we should all be here to help,” Benji said, indicating another member of the company’s staff. “The more people on this the better.”
Mike stared absently at the coffee table without really seeing it as he thought, the photos blurry in his peripheral vision. “The problem there is that a clump of us will stand out. Two vehicles for the seven of us plus Liliana. Three to four rooms, depending on how we organize it, and grouped together it will draw attention. A huge amount of room service, no housekeeping. It wouldn’t take long for someone who knew what he was looking for to find us.”
Belladona drummed her nails on her knee, fidgeted in her seat. “You on your own is suicide, though. Don’t be stupid, Mike.”
“I didn’t say I was on my own
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