Chapter 178: Escaping A Crime Scene
The hum of the office air conditioning usually provided a soothing backdrop to Levi’s workday. Today, however, it seemed to mock him, a constant, irritating drone that mirrored the frantic beating of his heart.
He had finally managed to drag himself away from Lyse’s intoxicating presence, the promise of tonight fueling him through the morning. He had even arrived at work with a spring in his step, a lightness in his heart that had not been there in months. He had believed that it was going to be a very beautiful day, propelled by the excitement of seeing Lyse later. Now, that lightness had been replaced by a cold dread that settled deep in his gut.
He had originally barely glanced at his emails, at first assuming that they were the usual barrage of work-related correspondence that he could deal with later. Then, one subject line caught his eye: Regarding Sutton. His blood ran cold at the words.
He clicked the email open, his hand hovering over the mouse, a sense of foreboding washing over him. The image that loaded made his breath catch in his throat. It was him, driving a car. The photo’s quality was not very great and it was grainy but anyone could see that it was undeniably him. And the location... a shiver ran down his spine.
Beneath the image, the message was short, brutal, accusatory and straight to the point: Here is a picture of you conveniently near Sutton’s house on the day that she died. I know that you killed her, and I won’t let you get away with it.
Levi felt a wave of nausea wash over him and he shut his eyes. His mind raced, trying to make sense of it. Who could have sent this? Who knew about... about that? Who had seen him? He scrolled down, his eyes scanning the sender’s information. His blood ran cold. Brett.
A guttural curse ripped from Levi’s throat. He slammed his laptop shut, the force of the action echoing in the quiet office and making Ethan Jump and stare at him googly eyed, a mixture of concern and fear from the outburst on his face. Levi stood abruptly, knocking his chair back with a clatter.
"Is everything alright, sir?" Ethan asked, his brow furrowed. "Is there a problem?"
Levi did not answer. He could not. He just glared at Ethan for a moment, his mind a whirlwind of anger and panic, then he stormed out of the office, leaving Ethan staring after him, completely bewildered at his actions.
Levi practically ran to the parking garage, his fingers fumbling with his keys. He needed to confront Brett immediately. He needed answers and he needed them now! He needed to understand how, even though he had been so careful and he had thought that he had covered all the bases, this had still come back to haunt him.