“I want my sister back, Elena.”
Elena hugged her. She knew that fate was often unkind.
CHAPTER 25
DA Hall showed up at Jessica’s house the following afternoon.
Tucci and Carlyle were with her and all three of them stood beside an unmarked police car after getting out of it. They were also staring at Samantha.
The family had been outside enjoying the nice weather, but the chill coming from DA Hall was sending a tingle of apprehension up Jessica’s spine.
“Why are they looking at me like that?” Samantha said.
“Because they’re very rude,” Jessica told her.
Her husband was sitting on the steps and watching the twins play with a ball. When Mr. White started to rise, Jessica placed a hand on his shoulder.
“You watch the babies; I’ll take care of this.”
Jessica walked over and stood before Hall.
“Why are you here?”
“I’ll explain that. Is there somewhere that we can talk in private?”
Jessica pointed towards the road.
“I have to walk out and get the mail; we’ll talk along the way.”
Jessica answered the questioning looks of Mr. White and Samantha by sending them a small shrug.
Hall said nothing for a few moments, but then she gave Jessica the news.
“Your lawyer, Wentworth, he’s dead.”
Jessica stopped walking.
“What?”
“Before he died, he confessed to killing Martha Ryan.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, he called me yesterday morning and told me he had to talk. He talked all right. He said that it was an accident. He told me that he panicked and decided to loot the safe to make it look like a robbery had gone wrong.”
Jessica began walking again.
“How did he die?”
“Wentworth was released on bail and had returned home. As he was leaving to visit his office, a man named Thad Howard shot him to death. Unfortunately, for Mr. Howard, one of Wentworth’s neighbors is a Homeland Security official. The man wounded Howard, who is a British fugitive and was here under a phony passport.”
“Did you believe Wentworth’s story?”
“Yes and no. I think that he was hiding something else. The man also handed in five million in diamonds that he took from the safe. That’s what Howard was after. They’ll be sold along with the rest of the estate to satisfy Brendan Ryan’s creditors.”
They reached the box and Jessica removed her mail. After giving it a quick glance, she asked Hall a question.
“Why did you come all this way to tell me this?”
Hall pointed back at the house.
“That child is dangerous. She didn’t kill her grandmother. I was wrong about that, but she will kill again. A smart woman would reconsider adopting her.”
Jessica crossed her arms over her chest.
“Why do you dislike Samantha so much?”
“It’s not that I dislike her, doctor, it’s that I see her for what she is, a sociopath. That child has no soul.”
Hall reached into her purse and took out a bundle of photographs. They were bound together by a rubber band and sitting inside a clear plastic bag. Jessica uncrossed her arms and took the photos from Hall.
“We found those in a shoebox inside the child’s treehouse. To say that they’re sick is an understatement. As a psychiatrist, you know better than most what those photos indicate, as well as what they say about her future.”
The photos were of dead animals. Some had been freshly killed, while others were in various states of decomposition. Samantha’s late grandfather had first sought Jessica’s help after realizing that Samantha had been killing animals.
Jessica and her husband had spoken to Samantha about it at the time. They had explained to her that animals were like the innocent, and that the innocent weren’t to be harmed, but rather, they were to be protected. Samantha had understood, and she had told them that she would stop killing animals.
The rear of the photos had dates on them. Jessica was relieved to see that they were all old. Samantha had changed, was changing, and she would never become a mindless killer. She was better than that.
Jessica handed the photos to Hall and began walking back towards the house.
“I know Samantha seems strange to you, Miss Hall, but she is neither heartless nor a sociopath. She has a sense of morality and a conscience.”
“Did you know that she visits the man who kidnapped her?”
Jessica slowed her pace, but kept walking.
“She visits Jack Elmore at night and tortures him by cutting off his air supply. Elmore claims she crimps his tracheostomy tube until he nearly passes out, then laughs at his agony. I have no love for that bastard, but my God, what sort of child does something like that?”
“I want you to leave,” Jessica said, as she sped up again.
Hall increased her speed to keep up with her.
“She’s also sneaky. We found her prints all over the safe and its contents, including the wills. No, she didn’t kill her grandmother, but I would bet you anything that she was planning to murder her someday.”
When they reached the house, Jessica spoke to Tucci and Carlyle.
“I want all of you out of here now.”
“We’re leaving,” Hall said, “and you’ve been warned.”
Hall took one last look at Samantha before getting back in the car. Jessica watched until the vehicle drove out of sight.
“What was that about?” Mr. White asked.
“I’ll tell you the details when we’re alone, but it would seem that Lionel Wentworth murdered Samantha’s grandmother.”
“Mr. Wentworth? But why?” Samantha said.
“He claimed it was an accident,” Jessica said, and then she stared at Samantha. She broke eye contact when Samantha took notice, then, she bent down to pick up Emma. “Why don’t we go inside? I’ll make lunch.”
Samantha helped Liam to navigate the steps and Jessica watched how gentle and patient she was with him.
That child has no soul. Hall had said.
Jessica pushed all thoughts of DA Hall from her mind. Samantha wasn’t soulless, just in need of strong guidance, and she would receive it, along with love.
Love conquers all. Jessica thought, and from long experience, she knew it to be true.
COMING SOON!
TAKEN! – INTENTIONAL ACTS OF VIOLENCE
A PLEA
Thank you, precious reader, for spending time with one of my books. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please consider writing a review. Without reviews, an author's books are virtually invisible on the retail sites. Let other readers know what you thought! You can leave a review by visiting the book's page and I will greatly appreciate it.
Thank you!
—Remington Kane
ALSO BY REMINGTON KANE
The TANNER Series in order
INEVITABLE I - A Tanner Novel - Book 1
KILL IN PLAIN SIGHT - A Tanner Novel - Book 2
MAKING A KILLING ON WALL STREET - A Tanner Novel - Book 3
THE FIRST ONE TO DIE LOSES - A Tanner Novel - Book 4
THE LIFE & DEATH OF CODY PARKER - A Tanner Novel - Book 5
WAR - A Tanner Novel - Book 6
SUICIDE OR DEATH – A Tanner Novel – Book 7
TWO FOR THE KILL – A Tanner Novel – Book 8
BALLET OF DEATH – A Tanner Novel – Book 9
MORE DANGEROUS THAN MAN – A Tanner Novel – Book 10
TANNER TIMES TWO – A Tanner Novel – Book 11
OCCUPATION: DEATH – A Tanner Novel – Book 12
HELL FOR HIRE – A Tanner Novel – Book 13
A HOME TO DIE FOR - A Tanner Novel – Book 14
FIRE WITH FIRE – A Tanner Novel – Book 15
The TAKEN! Series in order
TAKEN! - LOVE CONQUERS ALL - Book 1
TAKEN! - SECRETS & LIES - Book 2
TAKEN! - STALKER - Boo
k 3
TAKEN! - BREAKOUT! - Book 4
TAKEN! - THE THIRTY-NINE - Book 5
TAKEN! - KIDNAPPING THE DEVIL - Book 6
TAKEN! - HIT SQUAD - Book 7
TAKEN! - MASQUERADE - Book 8
TAKEN! - SERIOUS BUSINESS - Book 9
TAKEN! - THE COUPLE THAT SLAYS TOGETHER - Book 10
TAKEN! - PUT ASUNDER - Book 11
TAKEN! - LIKE BOND, ONLY BETTER - Book 12
TAKEN! - MEDIEVAL - Book 13
TAKEN! - RISEN! - Book 14
TAKEN! - VACATION - Book 15
TAKEN! - MICHAEL - Book 16
TAKEN! - BEDEVILED - Book 17
Also
THE CONTRACT: KILL JESSICA WHITE – A TAKEN!/TANNER NOVEL
REDEMPTION... Someone's taken her
DESOLATION LAKE
SLAY BELLS
MONSTERS – A Detective Pierce Novel – Book 1
DEMONS – A Detective Pierce Novel – Book 2
ANGELS – A Detective Pierce Novel – Book 3 (Coming Soon!)
PARKER & KNIGHT (Coming Soon!)
Join my Mailing List and Learn about New Releases. Also, get access to FREE Books and Short Stories, including The TAKEN! ALPHABET SERIES, THE FIVE STAGES OF TANNER, QUICK – A TANNER Short Story, and A LITTLE OFF THE TOP – A TANNER Short Story. REMINGTON KANE http://www.remingtonkane.com/contact.html
Did you love Taken! - Bedeviled? Then you should read Inevitable I by Remington Kane!
Inevitable I by Remington Kane
Hired killer Tanner escapes from a Mexican prison and goes in search of revenge against the man who was to be his latest target.
Mobster Albert Rossetti thought he was safe after he framed Tanner for drug possession and had him locked away inside a Mexican prison--but Tanner broke out.
Rossetti's made peace with the man who hired Tanner to kill him, and the contract was cancelled, but that means nothing to Tanner, who lives by his own rules.
Tanner is coming for Rossetti, despite the man's hit squad, or the determined and troubled female FBI agent chasing him.
Tanner is coming, Tanner is deadly, and Tanner never fails.
Inevitable I - A Tanner Novel - Book 1
Read more at Remington Kane’s site.
About the Author
REMINGTON KANE is the author of the wildly popular TANNER SERIES as well as the equally thrilling TAKEN! SERIES.
While The TANNER Series and The TAKEN! Series are similar in that they're both packed with action, the hit man Tanner has a little more grit to him.
Please visit www.remingtonkane.com to learn more.
Read more at Remington Kane’s site.
Taken! - Bedeviled (A Taken! Novel Book 17) Page 12
