by Kelly Irvin
But not today.
The legal wrangling complete with finger-pointing continued. Cole had changed his story in the interrogation room. He claimed Chase and Joanna killed Julie and dumped her body in Teagan’s yard. He said he only wanted to goad Teagan with his story of having enjoyed killing her friend. He also took back his earlier assertion that he’d killed Kristin Moreno, claiming he didn’t have the expertise to do it.
A deep dive in his computer records supported his earlier story that he arranged to buy the rifle and take “lessons” from a dark-web mercenary who taught him well. Well enough to shoot a police officer in a moving vehicle at two hundred yards. Chase claimed Cole had bragged about his long days of preparation. The rifle had not been found. Charity had been Cole’s “girlfriend” for six months before her death. Only he could’ve gotten close enough to garrote her with an electrical cord.
Cole faced capital murder charges. His lawyer had asked to be relieved. A hearing on the request was scheduled for this week. Every time his attorney asked for a hearing, the media resurfaced in Teagan’s life. In Max and Leyla’s lives. Fortunately, a family of cops kept them at bay.
Plea bargains would get Chase and Joanna out of prison in their fifties or sixties.
Joanna hoped to get a deal that would get her out in time to meet her grandchildren, should there be any. Her children were in foster care. Chase’s sister had traveled from Connecticut to pick up her niece and nephews so they could live with her on the East Coast. Their grandmother had declined custody.
Leo Slocum had been indicted on capital murder charges for the string of killings in the Valley. Cole’s case would not be tried in Teagan’s court. She, Max, and Leyla could be called in the trials of the other three perpetrators. Despite that grim prospect, she didn’t want plea bargains. Only the full weight of the law collapsing on the Slocums like an Egyptian pyramid crumbling during an earthquake would be enough.
Work might be the only antidote. The belief that the justice system worked. Would work for her and Leyla and Julie and Charity and Evelyn and Kris. And all the other women caught in a killer’s crosshairs. Teagan’s fingers on those fourteen blank keys might calm the shakes inside her. Those familiar words:
13On the 5th day of June, the following
14proceedings came to be heard in the above-entitled
15and-numbered
16cause before the Honorable Simon Ibarra, Judge presiding,
17held in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas.
Or would it mean that more horrific crimes would visit her at night, keeping her from sleeping?
Leyla had decided not to return to law school in the fall. She would live at home until she decided what to do next. She and Teagan visited the same counselor, a woman Rick found for them, twice a week. Some weeks, three times.
Leyla spent a lot of time on her parents’ front porch, reading or staring into space. Dad and her cop siblings took turns sitting with her. Jazz slept on a cot in her room. The therapist said it would get better. She would get better.
No one knew if that would take months or years.
Something else to be blamed on Cole Reynolds.
Max pulled up in Evelyn’s 1966 Ford F150. It looked good on him. A bag marked Herman’s Bagels in one hand, he strolled across the yard, stuck a book in the Little Free Library, and plopped down next to her on the porch. He kissed her softly on the lips and leaned back. “Breakfast?”
He’d been tempting her with her favorite foods for weeks. She’d gained three pounds.
“Blueberry or raisin cinnamon?”
“Both.”
“A man after my own heart.”
He grinned, opened the sack, and made a tiny picnic between them using napkins and plastic silverware. The bagels were still warm and fragrant. He handed her a tub of cream cheese. “There’s apply jelly too.”
“Naw. I’m a purist when it comes to my bagels.” Her mouth watered. “You’re still trying to fatten me up, aren’t you?”
“Maybe, or maybe I’m trying to bribe you.”
“With breakfast? Spit it out, bud.”
“CPS is having an informational meeting this evening for couples interested in becoming foster parents.”
Teagan took a swallow of coffee. It still tasted good. The sun still shone. It warmed her face just as it had a few seconds earlier. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I hope you’ll seriously consider marrying me. I’m saying I can live with not bringing children into this world. After what we went through, I’m acutely aware of your reasons for not wanting to do that.” He wiped at his mouth with a napkin, laid the bagel aside, and took her hand. “I’m saying what about the children already in this world who don’t have the most basic of all requisites for living—parents who love them and care for them? They’re already here. Through no fault of their own—”
“Stop, stop.”
“Teagan—”
She tugged the brochure from under her phone and held it up. “I’m in.”
“You’re in?” Max took her offering and stared at the cover picture of a laughing child sitting on a smiling woman’s lap. A man stood next to them looking equally happy. “A CPS foster program brochure?”
“I love you. I want to marry you. I’ve been thinking about foster parenting since Noelle brought it up at church. I’ve been thinking about Joanna Dean’s children and little Kyle Patterson before he became Cole Reynolds and all those other kids dumped into an overwhelmed system. Some are blessed with good foster parents, but many are not. It’s a sad fact.”
“You’ve been thinking a lot.”
“I’ve had some time on my hands. It wasn’t an easy decision, but not to try when there’s such a desperate need would be an act of cowardice. And I’m no coward.”
His amber eyes filled with liquid emotion, and Max stared at her. His jaw worked. His Adam’s apple bobbed.
“Max, say something.”
“I think I’m in shock. I was expecting this big discussion, and instead you said yes. Not only yes, but you’ve already done research. You’re all-in.”
“I was willing to kill for you. I am willing to kill for you. That fact opened my eyes to many things. I stopped being afraid that day. Life is short and sweet and too lovely to be wasted on an emotion like worry.” Too short to live without the love of her life. Too short to waste one more day.
“I don’t know what the future will look like as far as my job. I’m still trying to figure that out. It’s unlikely I’ll be at the door with supper ready when you walk in from a day’s work. I’ve been thinking about how lovely your six acres in the country are. How peaceful it would be. I’m not sure about any of that yet. But I am sure I will love, honor, and kiss the heck out of you every day for as long as we both shall live.”
“I’m still back at you said yes.”
“I did. That usually means kissing and hugging and celebrating.”
Max shot to his feet. He snagged the Houston Astros cap from her head and tossed it in the air. “She said yes!”
His shout scared the blue jays in the mountain laurel. They scolded him in return. A guy passing by on a scooter hooted and lifted a fist in acknowledgment.
Tigger barked. Huck stood and looked confused. He often looked confused these days.
Max clasped Teagan’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “Snoopy-dance with me!”
They had no music, but Teagan took his hand and they jitter-bugged across grass that tickled her bare feet. Next came a dramatic tango, followed by the twist, and then the boot scootin’ boogie. Barking, Tigger and Huck raced around them in widening circles.
Laughing, gasping for air, Teagan collapsed against Max’s chest and closed her eyes. His kiss took her breath away all over again. His hands cupped her face. He took his time. She slid her fingers over his and relished the fervor of his grip.
The Cole Reynoldses and Leo Slocums of the world would not take this from them. They would not take the essence of who she
and Max were or who they were yet to become as individuals or as people who loved each other and wanted to spend the rest of their lives figuring out how they fit together.
Scripture promised joy in the morning.
It had arrived right on time.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I had more fun than a person should writing Closer Than She Knows. Sometimes authors have so much fun they fudge on the facts or just plain don’t get them right. I am so blessed to have had two subject-matter experts to rein me in on this project. My deepest thanks to Kay Gittinger for allowing me to pick her brain about the life and work of a court reporter. Before my writing career took off, I proofread court records for Kay and several other court reporters. I learned a great deal about how the court system works and all sorts of nice details about crime investigations that I can use in my books. But I’m still no expert. Kay’s insight into her profession was invaluable.
Once again retired Homicide Detective Richard Urbanek shared his expertise regarding police procedure and homicide investigations. His feedback was indispensable. He also saved me from an egregious and possibly mortal error regarding Texas A&M and the University of Texas mascots. Woe to the writer who gets this wrong. I also found Jennifer Dornbush’s Forensic Speak an excellent resource.
As usual, any mistakes are all mine.
My thanks also go to Eileen Key for her eagle-eye proofreading that caught the ridiculous typos my eyes refused to see. Her attention to detail saved me from myself.
Whipping this book into shape was a long, arduous process. I’m so blessed to have Becky Monds as my editor. She read the first version and saw not only the big picture but the small details that didn’t jive. Line editor Julee Schwarzburg waded through the nitty-gritty details to correct discrepancies in every aspect of the whodunit while polishing the writing. Thinking like a serial killer and solving his crimes were truly a team effort. Bless you, ladies!
A tremendous amount of research went into the writing of a book about serial killers. I think it’s important to acknowledge the work done by experts in the field that allowed me to enrich these pages with historical details and information. I spent many nights poring over Whoever Fights Monsters by Robert K. Ressler and Tom Shachtman; Ann Rule’s The Stranger beside Me; and Double Lives by Eric Brach, among other resources that outline the history and study of serial killers in the United States. I hope Closer Than She Knows is a better story for it.
None of this would be possible without the loving support of my husband, Tim. Love always.
To my readers, God bless you and keep you.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1.Teagan has chosen not to have children for several reasons, including the state of the world. What do you think of her reasoning? Do you believe Christian families must or should have children in order to be complete? Why or why not?
2.How do you feel about Max being a youth minister given his history of drug and alcohol addiction, PTSD, and depression? If you were a parent of a child in his youth group, how would you feel about it? Do you think he has something to teach the youth because of his background?
3.Teagan didn’t want her siblings to become police officers because she feared for their lives. Does her worry show a lack of faith? How would you react in her situation? How do you balance being realistic with being hopeful in these situations?
4.The Bible says 365 times, “Do not fear.” How do you cope with fear when the diagnosis is grim, the marriage is rocky, a child goes off to fight a war, or natural disasters loom?
5.Teagan has a deep-seated belief that violence is never the answer, that capital punishment is wrong. Yet she’s willing to kill to save her loved ones. It’s easy to have a philosophical discussion about these issues, but what would you do if you were in her shoes? Take the shot? Or let the system work?
6.How do you reconcile the belief that God is good with the fact that He allows (but does not cause) bad things to happen to good people? What does Scripture tell us about His reason for not always stepping in to change the outcome of a particular situation?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo by Tim Irvin
Bestseller Kelly Irvin is the author of eighteen books, including romantic suspense and Amish romance. The Library Journal said her novel Tell Her No Lies is “a complex web with enough twists and turns to keep even the most savvy romantic suspense readers guessing until the end.” She followed up with Over the Line. The two-time ACFW Carol finalist worked as a newspaper reporter for six years writing stories on the Texas–Mexico border. Those experiences fuel her romantic suspense novels set in Texas. A retired public relations professional, Kelly now writes fiction full-time. She lives with her husband, photographer Tim Irvin, in San Antonio. They are the parents of two children, three grandchildren, and two ornery cats.
Visit her online at KellyIrvin.com
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Twitter: @Kelly_S_Irvin
