Capricorn
Page 16
Hannah glared at Lizzy through her tears. “If he said he didn’t, then he didn’t. My brother was not a monster. He was the victim, sure, but let’s not get that confused with being vengeful. He wouldn’t have ever hurt our uncle, and like I said. He was in the hospital. He couldn’t have committed the crimes. Not when you’ve stated they occurred. Someone hurt him. They threatened me and him, and I’m afraid they got to him and made him do it. I talked to him just a while before he did it. He was distraught and scared. I was going to go to him, but my stupid phone battery died and—”
She broke down into a fit of tears. “I couldn’t call him back. I tried to find my charger, but it was gone. I didn’t get to say goodbye. Maybe if I had stayed on with him, then he wouldn’t have jumped.”
“He was a guilty man. Guilty men do strange things.” Lizzy let out a deep sigh, but Hannah’s eyes hardened.
“I beg your pardon? You don’t get to declare what my brother was. I suggest you find his phone and look into this case. He didn’t do it.”
Lizzy gave the woman a smug look, and Darek could feel the tension between them. “Are you and your brother close, Ms. Halston?” he asked.
“Are you for real? He was my brother. Of course, we were close.”
“Yet, you didn’t know anything about the abuse your brother suffered at the hands of your uncle?” Lizzy asked.
Hannah’s eyes closed, and she shook her head. “People have their secrets.”
Darek felt sorry for the woman and thought that Lizzy was crossing the line with her, but he didn’t want to undermine her authority.
“Yes, they do,” Lizzy said. “I suppose you never knew your brother had a brand, either.”
“A brand? Are you talking about the stupid burn scar he had on the front of his shoulder?”
“Yes, that stupid mark that was also found burned into one of our victim’s foreheads. What do you know about that, Ms. Halston, since you know your brother so well?” Her voice was so harsh, and Darek hoped Hannah didn’t know a damned thing about it. None of us were supposed to say anything, but she might remember when he’d gotten it.
Hannah leaned across the table. “I can tell you when and where he got it, and I know it didn’t have a damned thing to do with our uncle.”
Lizzy leaned forward. “Let’s hear it then.”
Darek held his breath as Hannah folded her arms across her chest. “He got that when he was just a kid, the summer a year after we left our uncle’s house. I remember this because it was the first summer he went away to camp. Camp Victory in Virginia.
Lizzy’s head turned toward Darek as her mouth popped open. “I’m sorry, did you say Virginia?”
“Yes, it was at least ten to twelve years ago, but like I said, my brother is innocent. He was at the hospital at the time of the death of my uncle. Check it out.”
Lizzy didn’t bother apologizing to Hannah, and she sure as hell didn’t waste any time going for her case file from Virginia. Once they’d dismissed Hannah, they went back to the office, and she bee-lined for it.
“Do you believe me now? I knew my hunch was right.”
Max was lost. He glanced back and forth from Darek to Lizzy. “Will one of you tell me what’s going on?”
“The suspect’s sister just showed up with a pretty solid alibi and a direct link to Virginia. A summer camp. Camp Victory to be exact. I’ve done some research, and this camp was not far from the diner.”
“So, this guy could have killed the girl in Virginia?” Max asked.
“Either that, or he knew who did. Regardless, I’ve got news for you guys, and you’re not going to like it.”
Darek sure as hell didn’t.
Lizzy gave him a proud smile. “This case is officially reopened.”
Darek went back to his hotel room for the night after making a few stops and gathered his things. He wasn’t going to stay in the hotel much longer, especially since now he knew for sure that there was someone coming after them. They’d gotten to Tad, but he hoped the others were stronger.
He took out the burner phone he’d bought at the store around the corner, and he put the phone number he’d gotten from Tad in the contacts. He wanted a direct link to the killer to see if he could get them to talk. Assuming they still had the number. Then he wiped all prints off the other phone and stashed it in a plastic baggie until he could get rid of it. For the time being, if it were being traced, they’d know it was at the hotel, and that was where he intended to leave it. No sense in having a dead man’s phone grow feet.
He called the number and got no answer, so he messaged, just in case they were still listening and watching. I’m coming for you.
It was a clear message and the truth. He’d make sure that whoever did this, whoever had gotten the best of Tad, would be held accountable.
A moment later, the phone vibrated. When Darek looked down, he saw that they had sent a picture. When he opened the text, a symbol showed up on the screen.
“Aquarius.”
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About the Author
WL Knightly is a thriller/murder mystery co-writing pen name for USA Today Best Selling Authors Lexy Timms and Ali Parker.
When she’s not writing, Lexy can be found dealing in Antique Jewelry and hanging out with her awesome hubby and three kids.
Ali is a CPA turned fiction writer who is married to her best friend and lives in Texas. She spends her days writing and chasing three kiddos around the house.
The two friends met years ago when they both started writing and publishing in various young adult genres and needed a critique partner. The rest is history…
Capricorn
Zodiac Killers #2
Copyright © 2017 by WL Knightly
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
The novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and plot are all either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons – living or dead – is purely coincidental.
First Edition.
Editor: Eric Martinez
Cover Art: Kellie Dennis at Book Cover by Design