36. Lucy

O llie was up to something. Half the time, when Ollie was up to something, we spent a night in the cells and we couldn't afford to do that with Mom sick and a bunch of new people who barely knew how to run the tavern without us.

"Why are we getting Aimes drunk and asking him about serial killers again? Didn't you lie for him? You need to be as far away from this as possible."

"Okay, so Beck is my boyfriend, and he asked me to poke Aimes for answers, but you're my girlfriend, so I can't keep secrets from you. So, I'm keeping you in the loop. There are two killers. One of them is from Guttertown and he's only killing people who deserve it.

"There's a second one who is butchering entire families, and he even killed in Lower Cutwart. The first one kills men like the second one, so if we can get some details about the investigation and pass them along to the good serial killer, he'll take care of the bad one before he makes his way to Guttertown."

"Why are you and Beck hanging out with serial killers again?"

"Well, technically he's not a serial killer. He gets really upset if you call him one. He said there's a different between what he does and a serial killer. I'm explaining this wrong."

"You're explaining this pretty terribly, Ollie. I don't like that you and Beck are involved and I certainly don't want to be."

"Okay, so let me explain. You know how the Jagged Key Isle people brought over their culture when they came here? An assassin is a legitimate job over there. People pay them money to kill people and they basically decide if they want to take the job or not. It's supposed to be different from a serial killer."

"Okay, that's worse. You see how that's worse, right?"

"Nah, assassins are more like pest control. It's not this urge to kill where they slaughter entire families. They get in, kill their target, and get out. It's a job and if they don't agree with the kill, they don't take it."

It hit me. Was this a test? Ollie had given me a ton of clues. That kind of thing was a massive secret, but so was me being Lucy. I told them all my truth. They could have told me before we all had sex. I didn't particularly appreciate the passive-aggressive tests.

"It's Beck, isn't it? Beck is the Blight."

Ollie fell out laughing, and I'd never wanted to punch him in the face more than I did right now.

"Beck is Jagged Key Isles, but he basically thanks the animal for their sacrifice when he kills them for food and he's such a softie, he won't smash bugs. He brings them outside. When they sneak back inside, he scolds them and brings them back out. He'd only kill to defend himself or his loved ones and it would upset the fuck out of him. Beck isn't the Blight. I don't even know if he'd be offended or think it was hilarious you thought it was him. You know Beck."

I knew I did. I also spent a long time lying to Beck about who I was. I knew they were all together, and I was on the outside because I had to be. It was lonely a lot of times, but it was how it had to be until I could tell them the truth. They never made me feel left out, but I guess I had a moment of self-doubt where I thought everything I knew about Beck was a lie and they were all in on it.

"You didn't have to laugh at me."

"Yeah, I did. You thought because you kept Lucy from us that Beck kept the Blight from you and that you deserved it. But all you kept from us was what was underneath your clothes. You're still the same mean person who hits me and has brilliant ideas for the tavern whether you're Lance or Lucy."

"I want to hit you for laughing at me," I grumbled.

"That's not really fair. I won't hit you back anymore."

"Because I'm Lucy?"

"Because you're now my girlfriend and I won't. Now, I know the logical portion of your brain needs to hear this. The Blight is from Guttertown and he only kills bad people. The other killer kills indiscriminately and he's moved to Lower Cutwart.

"The Barons aren't going to pressure Trevils to look into it as much if that's his new hunting grounds. If he starts killing in Guttertown, they will just let him because they don't give a shit about us. And you know how this works. If he's anyone important, the Barons won't do anything to him. They'll deliberately point him towards Guttertown and tell him to do his killing away from them. If we get the Blight enough information, he can deal with it."

Ugh. Ollie was right, and he knew exactly what I needed to hear. I still didn't want any of us involved in this. If this blew back on us, it wouldn't be a night in the cells. We'd hang. If they thought any of us were killing people in the Trulos District, they'd punish our families, too.

"You're leaving something out. If it is someone important, they are going to have to pin it on someone and hang them. It's usually someone they have a problem with but if we're publicly involving ourselves in the investigation, any one of us could be that scapegoat."

"That's why we're talking to Aimes and not Trevils. Aimes will know everything Trevils does because they are old military friends and drinking buddies. Aimes loves to tell stories when he's drinking. You just need to give him a little nudge in the right direction. You aren't going to be having that conversation. I'm better at that than you are. You're going to keep the drinks and food coming."

"Fine, because I don't want to risk anyone in Guttertown. But if I noticed Aimes is working you back, I'm putting an end to it."

"That's why we make such an amazing team."

"Is Ronan in on this, too?"

Did everyone know who the Blight was but me? I didn't want to know. I was good at keeping secrets, but I didn't particularly like keeping them. It was too much stress. I was constantly worried about doing or saying the wrong thing and being exposed. Everyone finding out I was really Lucy would have been devastating if I ever needed anything from my father. If I slipped up in front of the wrong person and let them know I was protecting the Blight, it would be fatal.

I didn't want to know.

"Ronan knows who the Blight is, but he's in artist mode at the moment. He's excited about the new project the Madame threw his way. We probably won't see him for a while and the only reason he's remembering to eat is because someone at the brothel threatens to beat his ass."

"We'll also have to go over there and threaten that pretty face because I know how he gets."

"Aimes has been on one of his walkabouts, but he'll be in soon. Hopefully with information."

Ugh. I hated this. If it wasn't Beck, it was probably one of his relatives. Panas, maybe? No. I didn't want to know. I didn't really want to be anywhere near this. Ollie was always dragging me into his shenanigans.

I hoped we didn't hang this time.