Cover of King of Ashes: A Novel

King of Ashes: A Novel

by S. A. Cosby


Genre
Crime, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery
Year
2025
Pages
316
Contents

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Overview

Neveah interviews Lawrence, the man her mother was with the night she vanished, and becomes more convinced Keith murdered Bonita, though she sees no path to justice. Meanwhile, Detective Chauncey confronts Roman with surveillance photos and attempts to extort $25,000 while demanding Roman become his informant against the BBB. Roman refuses, threatens him in turn, and afterward calls Khalil, marking Chauncey as a problem to be eliminated.

Summary

Neveah visits Lawrence, the man her mother was kissing the night before she disappeared, at a senior living center. Lawrence explains they were close friends, not lovers, and that the night in question was the only time anything physical happened. Bonita had been crying about Keith loving the crematory more than her. When Keith caught them, Lawrence describes a heartbroken, terrifying look on his face, and notes Bonita slipped her heart-shaped diamond ring back on. Lawrence admits he has long suspected Keith killed her.

Driving away, Neveah wrestles with confirmation bias versus her gut feeling that her father murdered her mother. She acknowledges that even if true, Keith's incapacitation in the hospital is the only justice she'll ever get, and questions what she's doing with her life.

Meanwhile, Roman uses hackers to track Lil Glock's partner who absconded with four million dollars, recognizing that if the funds are in Bitcoin they may be unrecoverable. He reflects uneasily on how he is now contemplating violent interrogation methods through Khalil, becoming the maker of messes rather than the cleaner.

Detective Chauncey Mansfield arrives, looking disheveled, and presents Roman with surveillance photographs linking him to the BBB, Jae, Dante, and Neveah. Chauncey lays out his theory connecting Roman to the BBB's recent violence and the disappearances of Yellaboy and the snitches. He demands $25,000 and for Roman to become his confidential informant, threatening to expose him to Torrent as a snitch otherwise, framing the fee as payback for Neveah's role in his marriage troubles.

Roman refuses, mocks Chauncey's deteriorated state, invokes his father's connection to the mayor, and threatens harassment charges. The confrontation nearly turns violent when Chauncey reaches for his gun; Roman makes clear he will not back down. Chauncey leaves with a warning. Roman immediately calls Khalil, signaling that Chauncey has become a problem to be solved. Khalil mentions plans to drop stolen guns in GTC territory.

Who Appears

  • Roman Carruthers
    Tracks Lil Glock's partner via hackers; rebuffs Chauncey's blackmail with threats and mockery, then enlists Khalil to handle him.
  • Neveah Carruthers
    Visits Lawrence to ask about her mother's disappearance, growing more certain her father killed Bonita while questioning her own purpose.
  • Lawrence
    Elderly man Bonita was kissing the night she vanished; describes Keith's devastating, terrifying look and his long-held suspicion Keith murdered her.
  • Detective Chauncey Mansfield
    Disheveled, possibly thrown out by his wife, attempts to extort $25,000 from Roman with surveillance photos and demands he become a CI against the BBB.
  • Khalil
    Roman's fixer; agrees to handle the Chauncey problem and plans to dump procured guns in GTC territory.
  • Keith Carruthers
    Comatose father, increasingly implicated in Bonita's death through Lawrence's account of his heartbroken rage.
  • Bonita Carruthers
    Roman and Neveah's deceased mother, recalled by Lawrence as lonely, neglected by Keith, who slipped her ring back on when caught.
© 2026 StoriLuna