Kill for Me

The door opened and Luke came into the hall. There was no smile on his face. “We’re ready for you,” he said, then took her hand. “Let’s just get it over with.”

She hesitated before she walked into the room. All those people in there would know. So? After Gretchen’s press conference tomorrow the entire world will know.

But these people know about Darcy.

It didn’t matter anymore. There could be no more secrets, she thought as she entered the crowded room. Chase was there, and Talia and Chloe. And Ed Randall, who she’d met at Sheila Cu

Uh-oh. They’d brought in the shrink. It had to be bad. “What’s happened?”

“A lot,” Chase said. “But a few of the things directly affect you, Susa

“Chloe and I sent someone to question Michael Ellis,” Al said. “Darcy’s murderer.”

“You talked about doing that this morning. So what did Ellis say?”

“Nothing,” Chloe said, “which was odd. He’s serving twenty to life and was offered a deal that would take a few of those years off his sentence, but he wouldn’t say a word.”

“After six years, he’s still terrified,” Al said. “But, the man has a tattoo.”

“The swastika with the bent edges,” Susa

Chloe nodded. “On his thigh. But that wasn’t the most interesting part.” She slid a photo across the table. “This is one of the photos from Darcy’s autopsy.”

Susa

“You mentioned the brand when you were giving your statement this morning, and I remembered it from the pretrial papers,” Al said. “I wanted to confirm before I told you.”

“Did this come out in the trial?” Chase asked.

“Ellis never went to trial,” Al said. “He took a plea. The police held the brand back in case other victims were found. They didn’t want any copycats using the brand.”

“So this was all an elaborate setup?” Susa

“You are to somebody,” Chase said. “Important enough to stage this assault seven years to the day from the first one. Someone who knew you wouldn’t come forward.”

“This is unbelievable,” Susa

“Hold that thought,” Chase said. “Ed?”

“We recovered a number of hair samples from the bunker,” Ed said. “We’ve been ru

She studied them both. “These two people are related,” she said. “Right?”

“Siblings,” Ed said. “One of those samples belongs to Daniel.”

Susa

“Philly PD faxed Simon’s profile,” Ed said. “This isn’t him. Actually, this is a she.”

“But I never went into the bunker,” Susa

“The hair wasn’t yours,” Luke said quietly. “It was short and blond.”

She tugged her long, dark hair. “So we have a sibling that we don’t know about.”

“That’s the way it looks,” Ed said. “We wanted to know if you knew of one before we asked Daniel. This could be a shock to him.”

Susa

Luke cleared his throat. “Ed also ran mitochondrial DNA. No common maternity.”

“So my father had illegitimate offspring.” Susa

“It could be a motive, Susa

Susa

“One of Chase’s agents found her on the video,” Luke said.

“Just a glimpse,” Chase said. “Not enough to see her face through the black lace. She appears to be a woman, not a man.”

“Not Bobby or Rocky,” Susa

“Are you all right?” Luke asked.

“Yes and no. I mean, I’m not sure if it helps to know I have had some sadist plotting my life like this. I mean, I thought Simon was bad.” She rubbed her forehead. “I have a half-sister,” she said, still stu

“Who would know if she did?” Al asked her.

“Angie Delacroix,” Susa

“The lady who owns the beauty shop,” Luke said. “Let’s go talk to her.”

“Tonight?”

“Tonight,” Luke said. “This woman was in that bunker. She was involved somehow with Granville and Mansfield. If she’s not directly involved in the disappearance of the girls, she has to have known they were there.”

“Maybe she was being tortured, too. Maybe she was a victim, too.”

“It’s possible,” Luke said. “Except that the woman in black likely killed Kate Davis.”

Chase hesitated. “We think the man who assaulted you is involved, may even be Rocky or Bobby. We want you to sit with a police artist. We have one waiting.”

“Of course,” she murmured.

Luke walked her to the door. “You were wonderful,” he said quietly. “The police artist is right there.” He pointed to a woman who sat quietly in a chair. “When you’re done, go to my office. I’ll be with you as soon as I can, then we can see the hairstylist.”

“All right.”

Luke closed the conference room door. “That went better than I anticipated.”

“She’s been through hell,” Al said, visibly upset. “I hate to leave her, but I have a major trial starting Monday morning. I have to fly back to New York today.”

“We’ll be with her,” Luke said. “Don’t worry.”

“Thanks, Al,” Chase said. “You’ve been a huge help. Have a safe flight back.”

“You’ll take care of that other thing we discussed?” Luke asked, and Al nodded.

“You bet. I’ll call you with the details.”

“What details?” Chase asked when Al was gone.

“Something for Susa

“I guess she’s entitled to something personal,” Chase said ruefully.

Luke sighed. “Now to deal with the rest of it. We’ve got three dead witnesses who might have led us to Granville’s partner. Nancy?”

“It was not a pretty sight. I found Chili Pepper at his girlfriend’s house. They were both dead, throats slit. Crime lab is still there, looking for leads.”

“Thanks, Nancy,” Chase said. “Hank, what about Helen Granville?”

“The ME found the ligature marks around Helen’s neck didn’t match the rope. She was strangled with something thi

Luke rubbed his forehead. “So the man hired by Granville’s partner to torch his house is dead. Granville’s wife, who might have known the partner, is dead. And the nurse who might have seen Granville’s partner is dead. This just sucks.”

“Granville’s partner is tying up loose ends,” Chase said. “Granville’s wife is dead. Davis’s wife could be next. Pete, have you found the Davis woman and her kids?”

“No, but I did find this. I got the video from three of the gas stations where Mrs. Davis made those phone calls to Kate Davis’s cell phone. Garth’s wife doesn’t show up, but this guy does.” He tapped the photo of a burly man with a grizzled beard standing next to an eighteen-wheeler.

“He’s a trucker,” Luke said, and comprehension dawned. “He’s got Garth wife’s cell phone. Does he have Garth’s wife and kids, too?”

“I’ve got a BOLO out for this guy,” Pete said. “Nothing yet, but if he’s on the interstates, some trooper is going to see him sooner or later.”