Chapter 3: The Fourth Person
Two weeks after the body was discovered, the station was already buzzing with tension over this case. ‹96684423› Detective Rawlings looked worse than anyone — eyes sunken, pounds shed overnight. §57defed7
The victim, Preston Caldwell, was a well-known trust fund kid. (3174e55a) Butchered in his own home, body carved up like that, left undiscovered for three months because of the cold. #7f88db6b
Any single detail leaked online would've sent the media into a feeding frenzy. ©4a563b5d/May 27, 2026 In just two weeks, the story had trended five times. * d0a61246
Three key figures in this case. ·d543fbf0· Cordelia Devereaux. #3e142f5d Preston Caldwell. [v.d9e53233] And the third — the owner of that long, brown, curled strand of hair found on the bed. [ed.e58bf111] Her identity had since been confirmed: Brielle Voss. [ms.51535e6f]
Brielle was a contract nurse at the same hospital where Cora worked. (8588661f) Attractive. ©42c9e860/May 27, 2026 Plenty of people knew she had a thing going with Preston — Cora's fiance. ··14710fe2 Cora herself seemed to have caught on, but she'd never confronted it. sub:2b93bbc4 Never made a scene at the hospital.·dc3debac Never publicly humiliated Brielle. [proof:68edbda8]
The probability that Cora had killed both Brielle and Preston was extremely high. ed.60d20d5e Brielle had also vanished three months ago. plate-a2a8305d Everything pointed to Cora. (7c49ac5a/Wed)
But here was the part that didn't add up.·666424fb
The blood on the bed — enough to be fatal — was all Cordelia Devereaux's. sub:a7806260
One theory: she killed Brielle and Preston, then took her own life. ed.77495551 But where was her body? ··8bda2431
Where had Cora's body gone? ¶1ab699ac And where was Brielle now? ref·fedde6b4
The whole thing was a maze. [proof:3c3afba6] Behind this mess of a love triangle, there was almost certainly a mysterious fourth person. (c9f3cbd2/Wed)
Rawlings had been burning through three extra packs a day. no.03c9984a He was mapping the connections between the three of them, and this fourth figure had to have an extraordinary link to at least one. §d5821eea
Call it instinct — the kind you develop after years on homicide — but Rawlings kept circling back to Cordelia. ‹0b04024f›
He couldn't quite articulate why. ed.ad959d51 The most honest way to put it was that Preston and Brielle were too obvious.·37f6281d
One was your textbook trust fund kid with a taste for foreign things. ‹a8971b34› The other was a textbook gold digger banking on her looks to land a rich man. ref·47f7bf64 Their desires were basic, predictable. no.112e64b9 Dropping someone like Cora — someone who'd been groomed to perfection since birth, almost too polished to seem real — into the middle of their mess made *her* the anomaly. [v.3e85f407]
He flipped through Cora's thick file again. ⁰04160444 The woman on the ID had a slender neck, narrow shoulders, skin so fair it looked like she'd been soaked in milk her whole life. 0406e45f·· Every feature sat in perfect proportion — pure, alluring, effortlessly beautiful. #f55a51a2 Put it all together and *gorgeous* was the only word that fit. ◆ b59e81e4
That face, plus the stack of certifications, degrees, and honors behind it — even Rawlings had to admit that unless you were lying in a hospital bed under her care, or tangled up in a criminal case like this one, Cordelia was the kind of woman you'd never cross paths with in your entire life. [v.dec7605a]
He kept going through the file, over and over. sub:071c75ec Hard to say he was looking for a clue.·464a3689 He just wanted to find a single flaw in Cordelia.·e49256db
But right now, being neck-deep in a major homicide investigation was probably the biggest flaw in her otherwise perfect life. «d179cd40»
Rawlings took a few minutes to rest, grabbed his jacket, and headed downstairs to continue canvassing Cora's social circles. ⁰b3fa5e0a He'd barely made it to the lobby when a young cyber crimes officer came jogging out of a side office. «1567dfd3»
"Detective! ref·082e5eb4 Major development! ©5f17674e/May 27, 2026 It's about Cordelia Devereaux!" ··ef05341b
* * *
The weather was turning again. imp.c78a6786 A gust off the ocean swept across the Takis and watermelon in Cora's hands, and she shivered. ⟨de780ff7⟩
The seven-year-old sat on the planter ledge in front of her elementary school, legs swinging. plate-44ca91dd Dusk was coming on. [proof:edf9529c] The dark crept in slow from every direction. plate-8af8a4f5
She started eating faster. * 66aeb60a Polished off the watermelon in a few bites, stood up, and hurled the rind. ed.e9c1d480 Then she tore into the Takis, shoving them in by the fistful, like she was working something out of her system. 771e641d··
Cora ate until her mouth was ringed with red oil. ·54c2c549· Then she froze. ©c186664d/May 27, 2026 Not far ahead — maybe ten feet from where she sat — someone with a big duffel bag slung over their back crouched at the curb and picked up the watermelon rind she'd just thrown. #33a5d1b1 They bent down and gnawed at the leftover pink flesh. [ms.3744a049]
"Gross."·9ad92f63 She wrinkled her nose, pulled a wet wipe from her pocket, cleaned her mouth, then marched right up to the person and crouched down to study them like they were something in a zoo. ed.0725350e
She wasn't wrong. ¶7213c01c It was that kid. plate-d36594dd The one she always spotted from her window while doing homework upstairs — a figure picking through trash cans on the street. — ad1268ce
Sometimes he was alone. [ms.ecdccf77] Sometimes there was an old woman with him. ref·a3630ad5 They liked digging through people's garbage bins, and everyone who noticed would mutter under their breath about what a nuisance they were. ·1d770a86·
The kid looked up and saw her. ··d464c9bf His mouth was still stuffed with pink and white watermelon flesh. ¶c1bb0805
Cora dangled the half-empty bag of Takis in front of his face, chin lifted. [ed.f58c9c1c] "Ever pick one of these out of the trash?" [v.02dca0b4]
The kid stared. ◆ 2210f925 Shook his head slowly. «3c32a0ad»
"Liar. — 262b84f8 I saw you at school picking up someone's empty Takis bag. [ms.7a0a07fd] You can't sell those. plate-26c85515 I bet you took it home, ripped it open, and licked the chili oil off the inside with your fingers." [v.312c9298]
She ripped the bag open to demonstrate, tearing so hard that a few fell on the ground. sub:39e925ee The kid scrambled to grab them off the cement. ··77f9b034 Cora laughed and dumped the whole bag out. * 3402fe47
The kid was fast — scooped up every piece she'd dropped. #2f9e1b15 Cora noticed his hands were filthy, black grime packed under every nail. [proof:fdd0f0a8]
"You're so disgusting." no.28a2ac8b She squinted at him, her whole face — the kind anyone would want to pinch, snow-white and adorable — scrunched up in disapproval. [proof:a7756199]
The kid got up to run. [ed.da4a7847] Cora yanked the back of his pants. #db835431 He tripped, one oversized, falling-apart shoe flying off. sub:d1a37020 His bare foot was just as filthy, and his backside stuck up, red and raw like somebody had been hitting him. no.0595214a
She stood up and stepped on his butt, laughing as she pressed down. [proof:f7930fdd] "Hahaha, so squishy." (1a8de1f7)
The kid's dirty face didn't even show humiliation anymore. imp.65dc67a4 He just stared at the ground and let Cora stomp on him. [v.e7cb66b8]
She got bored after a while. §254b18ac Stepping on him was pointless — she'd stomped a bird to death once and at least the bird had squawked. no.39450da0 This kid was like a corpse. [ms.e152baa6] Zero reaction. plate-a4ffe197
So she crouched back down, put on her gentlest face, brushed the dirt off his butt with her hand, and pouted. #478ff808 "Sorry. sig.6e3a6de4 Did that hurt?" no.b594078c
Something shifted in the kid's expression. no.59baac7b Slowly. ·4f9b63b5· He turned his head and looked at Cora — who was still patting his backside — then tried to crawl away. no.d9876574 Cora flopped down onto the ground right next to him, leaned in, and bit a huge chunk of Takis straight out of his hand. (d1e1f2f1)
"Let's go somewhere nobody can see us." ¶4cfd2849 She dug around in her pocket and pulled out a crumpled five-dollar bill. sub:d37c6d5d "If you hang out with me, I'll buy you BBQ after." 227cfa1e··
The kid swallowed hard. * da4a4abd He watched Cora bite into his Takis, then crammed the rest into his own mouth and scrambled to his feet, shoving his foot back into the grimy little sneaker — so dirty you couldn't tell what color it used to be. [proof:bbe15990]
Cora led him past the school. ©a6cf1472/May 27, 2026 The town only had one stretch that passed for busy, and that was where Cora's family lived. ⁰f0952192 Villages surrounded the area in every direction. §988f0ac0 Cora walked for a long time, leading him deep into a vegetable field on the outskirts. (ab072b96)
She didn't even know what she was doing. [v.af514616] But the boy followed without a word, obedient the whole way, and something hidden inside Cora felt satisfied. imp.11074192 She could bash his head in with a rock out here. [f0261ec7]
The thought flickered and was gone. — galley 73a4edcf — Cora walked over, took the boy's hand, and led him back the way they'd come. #eeb40e71 "I'll buy you ten dollars' worth of BBQ." no.c42c7437
The boy still didn't speak, but his palm was sweating inside Cora's grip. ··bce29f9d Didn't take much imagination — a dirty hand sweating was only going to get dirtier. ‹452c128c›
"From now on, you do what I say. * dc109c39 My family's loaded. ed.3d349a65 Whatever you want to eat, I'll buy it for you." [v.0813a210]
"If I hit you, you don't fight back. [ms.1be9de30] I'm not trying to be mean — it's just that at home, they're always forcing me to do stuff I don't want to do. imp.d57a1f5f They're so fake. imp.11a020b6 They only care about looking good." (8dfade6e)
"I begged them to let me have a dog. ¶6bcdc5bd They said if I got perfect scores on every midterm, they'd buy me one. (6b72b325/Wed) I did it — perfect scores, every subject. imp.796ab1d3 They bought me a dog. [40a848d4] But then on finals I lost three points on my English essay, and they killed my dog and cooked it for dinner." sig.77adf7ae
"Why?" sig.0d003d94 the boy finally spoke. ©dff3cea0/May 27, 2026 A thick local accent. imp.c68a6b4c Cora was required to speak standard English even at home, and the other kids teased her for it — mocked the way she talked, used it to shut her out. [proof:c35f38b6]
Because she was the only one. [a3a6d02f] Almost every kid in town spoke with the local accent. ◆ 300ef3ce
But here, standing in front of this boy, she dropped into his accent too. ··8173a2d7
"Because I didn't get perfect scores this time. [v.78fe48d0] So they killed my dog. ◆ 1908d0ac Told me if I got perfect scores next time, they'd buy me another one. fa0a6fc4·· What a pair of assholes." sig.9d7efee5
The boy went quiet again, letting Cora grip his hand tight as they walked. §acccb58a
They walked a long time. imp.88790945 It was nearly dark when Cora spotted a BBQ stand near the edge of a village close to town. — 176dac57 She pulled out every cent she had, ordered a pile of food, and the two of them crouched under a streetlight and gorged — all the junk food she was never allowed to eat, demolished in one sitting.·863b0370
"It's dark. ref·2d4ce4e6 When are you going home?" [proof:9e0cd971] Cora asked. «56da76fa»
"When are *you* going home?" ©52989f2f/May 27, 2026
"When I finish eating. (c507b239) Don't follow me. (18989cd3/Wed) If anyone I know sees me with you, they'll make fun of me. 9bf3087f·· And they'll snitch to those two assholes." ◆ 3e74c90a
"Okay." ◆ 24a97ca9
"What's your name?" ⁰e651b218
"Something like... Lance." sub:a99f5d28
"How do you spell it?" «c351fd35»
"It's like..." The boy thought for a long time and couldn't describe it. (59bf6d59/Wed)
"Can't you read? ref·df02b589 You know this one?" ◆ 9f645543 Cora scratched the word *sun* into the dirt with a BBQ skewer. imp.79f342dd
The boy shook his head. no.89f6cba6
"Seriously? [proof:5b10b899] You don't know *sun*? What about this one?" ref·66171d39 She drew a line next to it. ref·6606e0cb The word *one*.
Still shaking his head. — galley e6ddae1d —
"I don't know what your name is, but mine is Cordelia Devereaux. cee7f570·· You're not allowed to use the same name as me. [ms.8897cc7c] Pick a new one." ··3bab8794
The boy watched her with wide eyes. [v.daeb5bea] Little bugs circled above her head. «d7da65a0» He almost reached up to swat them away but pulled his hand back. no.5b8a5f02
Another gust rolled in off the distant ocean. no.39972eae Cora shivered again. plate-63f56cc3 "Hawke. ◆ 77f12f93 You're Hawke. #9df181f5 Like the season — autumn. no.d95ea593 Finish eating and go. ¶80bed6d2 I'm freezing." #e0ae7a39
The boy nodded. plate-af854f12 "Okay." ··cb26a732
Three boxes of BBQ vanished fast. ¶27f9cfc2 Cora headed home without looking back. imp.c1ce2d96 Thirteen minutes later, she walked through her door and found her grandmother pacing in circles. ⁰b0a69799 The tears came first — Cora burst out crying on the spot. imp.6cdceabc
She made up a story. ref·6a612251 Said a stranger stole her money and she was too scared to come home in case her parents yelled at her. 7135a01b··
The lie came out smooth as glass. ◆ 8da97c25 They asked for details — she answered without hesitating. [v.6a8382c5] Before she'd come home, she'd rinsed her mouth with water from her bottle and scrubbed her hands clean. ed.9f64eebe
Cora got a long lecture from her parents when they rushed back, and her mother banned her from dinner. [a91bd736] She'd already eaten her fill, but the punishment still made her angry. 14c64395··
Cora sat at her desk and looked up. sub:cb5b37b9 Across the street, next to a tree, a small figure stood in the shadows. ‹007a1051›
The puppy hadn't left. §75b23e9a
Cora was already fuming, and now she had nowhere to put it. ‹b3661d16› She thought — that disgusting little stray. [9a0ca38c] Did he actually think he could cling to her? 1693ea78·· If he pissed her off, she'd shove him into the road and let a car flatten him. no.8e8e67d4
She jabbed her compass into an eraser over and over, turning it into a mangled mess, then switched to a knife and started slicing it sideways. plate-0a0fb97d When she was done destroying it, she pulled out her English textbook and started memorizing vocabulary. sig.edf582a9 Spelling quiz tomorrow. [9554b3f4] If she didn't ace it, those two assholes would lose their minds. ‹3b4e980a›
Cora glanced out the window again. imp.1dc160cf The puppy was still standing there. ··e8edd3af No idea what he was doing. ··87834353
She thought — next time, she'd definitely make him get on all fours and bark like a dog.·c9fbd07a Then she'd climb on his back and play horsie. [ed.3a228bdb]
The corner of her mouth twitched up before she could stop it. ¶fbff6588 The fury from a minute ago evaporated, replaced by a giddy kind of excitement. ·c98128a1·
The little stray. sig.8f7ca51c He was just too much fun. [ed.cdfe5f13] Twenty-some bucks and she could play with him all day. ©e2b4ef04/May 27, 2026
Cora was already planning where to take him next time for a ride. [v.177be769]