Unseen (Nell Brach Book 2), page 12
“We know. What have you found?
“Her name was Skye Oliver. Her body was found in a dumpster in Knoxville. She’d been dead three days. Overdosed on a cocktail of things—heroine, coke, alcohol. This happened the week before Paige Bell was murdered. Skye was the daughter of one of Knoxville’s wealthiest men.”
Lisbeth clicks on a new picture, bringing up a family photo taken from a Knoxville paper. It shows Skye standing in front of her parents, all dressed formally for a fundraising event. Other people are in the photo as well. Lisbeth points to each. “Captain Bacote and his wife, the mayor, a commissioner, and this one is Preacher Mitch’s brother who later becomes chief of police.”
I lean in, studying Skye’s parents.
It’s been ten years, but I point as I look up at my partner. “Recognize that person?”
He squints. “Ah, damn.”
“Keep this to yourself,” I tell Lisbeth. “No one knows anything until we’re sure.”
FORTY-NINE
Saturday, 10:15 a.m.
With her ever-present backpack fuller than usual, Rebecca cuts across Wal-Mart’s parking lot. I pull in, slowly trailing behind her.
After a few seconds, she glances over her shoulder, frowning when she realizes it’s us.
Vaughn’s already opening his door before I put my vehicle in park.
She looks between us. “Everything okay?”
“Where are you going?” my partner asks.
“Like I said, moving on.” She shrugs. “Nothing for me here anymore. Glad to hear you arrested Twitch. Glad to hear Cathy’s murder will be avenged.”
“You manipulated us,” Vaughn says, his tone much calmer than I expect. “Your name is Rebecca Oliver. Ten years ago, you were married to Henry and you had a daughter, Skye. You lived in Knoxville. Your husband made a fortune in real estate. Fast-forward a decade and here you are homeless with a daughter who overdosed and a husband who committed suicide.”
Rebecca doesn’t blink, doesn’t shrug, doesn’t do anything. She simply keeps looking at Vaughn.
I say, “Your daughter got mixed up with Cathy. Those pornos made her big money where you and your husband were concerned. You were a bottomless blackmail pit when it came to Skye. First, came her death. Found in a dumpster like discarded trash. Within days your husband caves. He can’t take it. He commits suicide. Then you lose it. You decide vigilante justice is the way to go. You knock on Cathy’s door, and her sister opens it. They’re identical twins, you didn’t know. You stabbed the wrong sister.”
Rebecca still does not comment. No movement. She doesn’t even swallow.
Vaughn says, “You planted the knife in Rylan Scott’s truck. Thanks to your close friendship with Captain Bacote, you were able to keep tabs on the case. That’s when you discovered that you killed Paige, not Cathy, and that a nine-year-old girl witnessed the whole thing. Hell, he probably even told you where to find Cathy once you were ready to finish the job. But why wait? You and Cathy have been ‘friends’ for a long time. Why wait until now to carry out your sentence on her?”
Rebecca continues to remain silent.
Folding my arms, I study her, working through everything. “Because you figured Cathy was the key to finding Destiny. No one knew where she was, not even your good friend Captain Bacote.” I hold a hand up. “Now I’m not saying he knew what you were doing, but you certainly used his knowledge of the case.”
Still, nothing from Rebecca.
“Rylan went down for Paige. With Twitch being the asshole he is, he makes an excellent fall guy for Cathy. You planted that knife and that photo.” Vaughn cocks his head. “How pissed are you that Destiny committed suicide? What were your plans with her? Another violent stabbing?”
“Eye for an eye,” I say. “Her whole family for yours. Was it a coincidence it all happened the same week, just like your family? Or was it planned? Probably a little of both. You didn’t realize Cathy would see her daughter right here in our little county. But she did. And it all started to click into place.”
Finally, Rebecca says something. “You can’t prove any of this.”
“Let me see your right arm,” I demand.
“I’m not letting you see my right arm.” Her chin lifts.
I step forward. “You can either let us see your arm on your own or we will slam you into this pavement and rip your sleeve off. What’s it going to be?”
“You wouldn’t do that.”
“Oh. Yes. I would.”
She hesitates, and I visualize the wheels turning. She doesn’t know about the one piece of evidence that will link her to this. Vaughn and I stay rooted to our spots, staring her down, ready if she sprints. She’s weighing that out as well. She knows if she runs, we will catch her without an issue.
Her chest lifts and falls with a heavy breath. The backpack slides from her shoulders. Her oversized tee hangs past her elbows. She pushes up the sleeve, revealing a row of X’s circling her upper right arm. “It means not to mess with me. I got it a very long time ago.”
“We know what it means,” I say. “Your daughter had the same one.”
“She did?”
Skye was unhappy. She ran from home. She may have hated her mom, but something about that tattoo carried with her.
Rebecca swallows. The shirt sleeve falls back into place. Her eyes swim with tears. “I never knew…”
“Destiny. Rylan. Paige. Cathy.” The names punch into me. “All dead because of you.”
“Skye. Henry. Dead because of Cathy.” Rebecca straightens. “Avenged because of me.”
FIFTY
Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Standing beside me, Captain Bacote stares through the two-way mirror at Rebecca sitting in the interrogation room.
“I haven’t seen Rebecca in years,” he says. “I didn’t realize she was in this area. My wife used to check on her now and again. Then one day she told me Rebecca’s number had been disconnected and the house they lived in had been sold. I figured she moved somewhere where no one knew her to get a fresh start. I never imagined this would be her.” He nods toward the mirror. “Boy, does she look different.”
“I suppose living homeless for years on end will make anyone look different,” I say.
Bacote glances over at me. “This is unbelievable. Our families used to do barbecues. Henry and I were on a bowling league together.”
“Did they come to you when they were blackmailed?” I ask.
“Yes. I had a little talk with Natalie, or rather Cathy. I threatened her. She was a piece of work. My threat fell on deaf ears. She didn’t care. A few months later everything happened with Paige’s stabbing. All fingers pointed to Rylan. I regretted bringing your grandfather in. All he did was add more doubt to a case I needed closed. We found the murder weapon. It’s not the like the Scotts were some upstanding couple. They were trash. I had enough to put Rylan away. I certainly never thought the real killer was Rebecca Oliver.”
My respect for the captain has continuously fluctuated since video chatting with him. Now it’s completely gone. “Trash or not, an entire family has been wiped out. Rylan had his faults, but he was a good man. Doubt is not your enemy. It’s there for a reason. You should’ve listened. Look at everything that’s happened because you didn’t.”
With that, I walk out.
FIFTY-ONE
Sunday, 6 p.m.
I stand beside Vaughn at the tracks where Destiny ran headfirst into the train. From the envelope the guard gave me, I take out the letter that Rylan wrote. I’m nervous as I unfold it and begin to read aloud:
Mackenzie,
As I sit down to write this, I’m reminded of the first day I held you in my arms. I promised myself that I would not let anything happen to you. You may blame me for all that has transpired, but for me, your safety was above everything else.
My life changed the day you were born. I never knew my heart could beat for someone and that I would start caring for you and your future.
I want to tell you that I love you from the bottom of my heart. You may not know, but you are the reason why I smiled every single day.
If there is a tomorrow when we’re not together, there is something you must always remember: you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
Life is not always fair and square; you will have proud moments as well as not-so-proud ones. The key to happiness is to stay humble, live truthfully, learn from mistakes, and try not to make them again. And when you’re not sure if you are doing the right thing or are on the right path, trust your intuition. It will guide you down the correct path.
But the most important thing is… even if we’re apart, I’ll always be with you.
Love,
Daddy
My emotions rob the last few lines from being said. Vaughn speaks them for me. When he finishes, he hands me a lighter. I flick it and touch the bottom left corner. Together, we watch the paper curl and turn black, then flash with the growing flame.
The wind kicks up. I release it. It drifts across the tracks, scattering ashes in its journey. Eventually, there is nothing left.
Vaughn shifts, putting his arm around me. I lay my head against him. We stay very silent and still for a long while.
Then we turn to walk back to his Mini Cooper.
“I’m leaving,” I tell him.
“Only two weeks. You’ll be back.”
“No. I’m leaving. For good.”
Vaughn stops walking. He takes his Ray-Bans off to look at me.
“Mom’s parole officer approved the paperwork,” I say. “She’ll finish probation in Georgia. Tyler wants to go. I plan on putting my grandfather’s house up for sale. I’ll get a place of my own in Georgia, near my parents. Tyler will have all of us nearby. It’ll be good for him. And me. Mom too. There are a lot of bad memories for her in this area.
“I’m going to take time off. I need to think about the next steps. Because I’m not sure this is the right career. Once upon a time I wanted to join the military. Maybe I will now. Or go back to school for my master's. I don’t know. But what I do know is that I haven’t been making good decisions. And that bothers me. I don’t like being Sheriff Brach’s legacy.”
“What about your father?”
“Everyone deserves a second chance,” I repeat back Rylan’s words.
“Well, this news sucks.”
Playfully, I punch his shoulder. “You’ll be fine.”
He pulls me in for a hug. I’m not sure how long we stand, tightly gripping each other, but when we pull away both of us have tears in our eyes.
With a sniff, I wipe mine. “It’s not like I’m dying. I’m simply moving to Georgia. You can visit, Sergeant London. Congratulations by the way.”
“Thanks.” He grins. “Want to celebrate my promotion?”
“Hell, yeah.”
We finish walking to the car. He opens the driver’s side, but he doesn’t get in. Instead, he looks at me over the top.
“What?” I ask.
“Did I ever tell you I’m a little psychic?” He pinches his thumb and index finger together. “Just a little.”
“And?” I laugh.
“And… I say you’ll be back.”
THE NELL BRACH SERIES
Gone (Prequel)
Silence
Unseen
(Note to reader: Gone can be downloaded for free at the author’s site segreen.net)
OTHER BOOKS BY S. E. GREEN
The Lady Next Door
How well do you know your neighbor?
Killers Among
Lane swore never to be like her late mother. But now she too is a serial killer.
Monster
When the police need to crawl inside the mind of a monster, they call Caroline.
The Third Son
All he wants is a loving family to belong to, to manipulate, to control…
Vanquished
A secret island. A sadistic society. And the woman who defies all odds to bring it down.
Mother May I
Meet Nora: Flawless. Enigmatic. Conniving. Ruthless.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
S. E. Green is the award-winning, best-selling author of young adult and adult fiction. She grew up in Tennessee where she dreaded all things reading and writing. She didn’t read her first book for enjoyment until she was twenty-five. After that, she was hooked! When she’s not writing, she loves traveling and hanging out with a rogue armadillo that frequents her coastal Florida home.
S. E. Green, Unseen (Nell Brach Book 2)
