Content Warning: This story includes references to trauma, abuse, physical violence, and death. While not graphically described, this may be emotionally distressing. Reader discretion is advised.
👉Need to catch up? Read Chapter 1 & Chapter 2!
Recap: When last we saw Smith, he had escaped police custody after being framed for murder. After making a clean getaway on a train heading out of town, his fate was sealed by the sight of a car belonging to his nemesis. Pulled under by the weight of retribution, Smith leaps.
Chapter 3
Back at the crime scene, an officer gave a clipped rundown to a man in plain clothes. The detective nodded once, grim, and walked off without a word.
Sliding into his car, Melville opened the file on the passenger seat. The name flashed under the dash light: Smith.
He stared through the windshield and sighed.
Melville wasn’t a hero—and he wasn’t given to wishful thinking. He still couldn’t help feeling that they had the whole thing wrong. Turning his ignition, he threw the car into gear and drove off quietly toward the cornfield in the distance.
He pulled into a convenience store and headed for the restroom, raising a finger in greeting as he passed the clerk. Coming back out, he grabbed a cup of coffee and a doughnut. As he was heading toward the register, he changed his mind and backtracked to the little medicine section. There, he picked up a roll of Tums.
Better safe than sorry.
After making his purchase, Melville walked back out to his car. He situated his purchases and started the car, looking outside the window.
He saw a figure moving in the distance and watched for a minute. He recognized the profile, sparing a glance at the file sitting on the passenger seat. He knew it had to be Smith.
