I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t add something new at the last possible second…

Right before submitting the files for publication, I realized there probably should be one last transcript alluding to future events… after all, the last one was BEFORE Halloween. It seemed only right there was one last glimpse into the future before the book ended.

This is included in the published versions, but for those of you who read the ARC… here ya go.

***it’s between Ch. 40 and 41.

It doesn’t add anything new, per se, but it does play a role in understanding Vale/events that happen later on. That’s all imma say. 👀

This happens with just about every book I write. I edit until the last possible second (my editor probably secretly hates me 🤣) Which is why I don’t let my alpha or betas or really anyone read until the majority is written and polished.

Anyway, enjoy this brief little whatever-the-fuck.

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Transcript of Recorded Interview

DL: WHY DID YOU GO VISIT MISTER SAINT JAMES?

VR: TO MAKE SURE HE WAS OKAY. I’M SURE YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHY I WAS WORRIED, GIVEN ALL THAT YOU NOW KNOW.

[PAUSE]

DW: AND AFTER THAT?

VR: I KEPT MY WORD. DID WHAT I THOUGHT WAS BEST FOR BOTH OF US AND STAYED AWAY.

DL: AND THIS WAS A MUTUAL DECISION?

VR: NOT QUITE, BUT HE RESPECTED IT.

DL: YOU SOUND SURPRISED.

VR: I WAS. I DON’T KNOW WHAT I SAID THAT FINALLY GOT THROUGH TO HIM, BUT...IT WORKED. HE RESPECTED MY CHOICE, AND KEPT HIS DISTANCE.

DW: BUT IT DIDN’T LAST?

VR: OBVIOUSLY NOT.

[PAUSE]

VR: LIKE I SAID...IT’S DIFFICULT TO PINPOINT THE MOMENT I STOPPED FIGHTING MY FEELINGS FOR HIM. STAYING AWAY WAS...IT WAS HARDER THAN I EVER EXPECTED IT TO BE, AND EVEN IF WHAT HAPPENED NEXT DIDN’T HAPPEN...I STILL PROBABLY WOULD’VE CAVED. IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME. I KEPT TELLING MYSELF IT WAS FOR HIS SAKE. THAT IT WAS THE BEST THING I COULD DO FOR HIM. HE...HE DESERVED BETTER. BUT--

DL: WHY IS THAT?

[PAUSE]

VR: BECAUSE IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE HE REMEMBERED.

DL: REMEMBERED WHAT?

[PAUSE]

VR: WHAT HE DID TO ME.

DL: AND WHAT IS IT THAT HE DID TO YOU?

[PAUSE]

DW: MISTER RIVIERA, WE UNDERSTAND THIS SUBJECT MIGHT BE DIFFICULT--

INTERVIEWEE’S LAWYER: HOW IS THIS RELEVANT TO THE CASE?

[PAUSE]

DW: WE DON‘T WANT TO LEAVE ANY STONE UNTOUCHED. THE MOTIVE--

VR: HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS.

DL: YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND, GIVEN WHAT WE FOUND AT THE CRIME SCENE, WHY WE MIGHT SUSPECT DIFFERENTLY.

[PAUSE]

VR: IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK.

DW: THEN TELL US WHAT IT IS, MISTER RIVIERA.

[PAUSE]

DL: YOU SAY YOU STAYED AWAY FROM MISTER SAINT JAMES IN THE WEEKS FOLLOWING THE FIRST MURDER FOR HIS SAKE. BECAUSE YOU FELT HE DESERVED BETTER GIVEN YOUR SHARED ABUSE AS CHILDREN AND THE MEMORIES YOU DIDN’T WANT HIM TO RECOVER. AND YET...LET’S BE HONEST HERE. WE ALL KNOW WHAT REALLY HAPPENED BACK THEN. HIS ROLE IN THE ABUSE THAT TOOK PLACE.

DW: AND DESPITE TRYING TO KEEP YOUR DISTANCE, ULTIMATELY YOU COULDN’T. YOU CLAIM IT’S BECAUSE YOU DEVELOPED FEELINGS FOR MISTER SAINT JAMES, BUT GIVEN YOUR HISTORY, CAN YOU SEE WHY WE MIGHT HAVE OUR DOUBTS? OFTENTIMES, IN SEXUAL ABUSE CASES LIKE THESE, WE FIND THERE IS--

VR: YOU STILL THINK I MIGHT BE THE KILLER. BECAUSE I HAVE, WHAT, A MORE JUSTIFIABLE MOTIVE TO SET HIM UP, GET RID OF HIM, THAN--

INTERVIEWEE’S LAWYER: I THINK IT’S TIME FOR A BREAK.

VR: YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW HOW SERIOUSLY FUCKED OUR SITUATION IS? YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW HOW...UNBELIEVABLE IT IS I CAN HAVE FEELINGS FOR SOMEONE WHO--

[PAUSE]

DW: WE’LL GIVE YOU A FEW MINUTES TO COLLECT YOURSELF.