Her Last Word(88)

“Where are you going?” Ricker asked, following.

“It’s a hunch.”

“What’s that mean?” he asked.

“Kaitlin said Hayward liked sitting in his tree stand.”

Adler strode toward the wooden platform mounted between two sturdy, naked branches. A makeshift ladder made of scrap wood ran up the tree in twelve-inch intervals. It looked sturdy enough to support his weight.

“What are you doing?” Ricker said as he approached.

“I want to see what Hayward saw.” He shrugged off his suit jacket and handed it to Ricker. Fifteen feet up he reached the small platform and sat.

This high he could see everything surrounding the excavation. If Hayward needed a place to sit and remember what he’d done to Gina, this would be the spot. It wasn’t uncommon for a killer to return to a victim’s burial site and relive the crime.

“What do you see?” Ricker asked.

A cold wind chilled his skin. “A bird’s-eye view of Gina’s final resting place.”

Ricker cursed, understanding the implication. “Hayward is a sick bastard.”

As Adler was turning to descend, his gaze skimmed the grassy rolling landscape. At first glance, he almost missed it, but then something about the indented patch of grass caught his attention. For several beats he said nothing, simply staring.

“What is it?” Ricker asked.

“I’ll be damned.”



Kaitlin changed into sweats and downed three over-the-counter painkillers, opting to skip the prescription meds because the sooner she was off the stuff, the better. She owed it to Gina to stay awake until Adler called. She should have rested and put her feet up. God knows she was exhausted, but the four walls of her apartment seemed to creep inward with each passing moment.

She’d already texted Adler twice but not heard back from him. He was doing his job. He would call her when he could, but the waiting was agonizing.

Finally, too restless to sit, she grabbed her phone and wallet. There was a small bar down the block. It wasn’t too far. There she could get a soda, maybe something to eat, and listen to the buzz of conversation.

Down the elevator, she pushed aside the tingle of warning and headed down the brick sidewalk. The streets weren’t too crowded yet, but after five the area offices would let out. The city found a second life after the sun set.

She pushed through the front door of the Irish pub, found a booth in the back, and ordered a soda and a bowl of chili. As she waited, her phone buzzed with a call. She didn’t recognize the number and normally didn’t answer unknown numbers, but with so much pending, she accepted the call. “This is Kaitlin Roe.”

“This is Ashley Ralston. Jennifer’s sister.”

“Ashley.” They’d not spoken in almost fourteen years. “How did you get my number?”

“I can be persuasive.”

“With whom?”

“Your apartment manager.”

She gripped her phone. She’d deal with him later.

“Look, I’m not trying to freak you out. I just want to talk about Jennifer, Erika, and Gina. Are you doing anything right now?”

“I’m at an Irish pub grabbing a bite to eat. If you want to see me, it’ll have to be here.”

“Sure. Give me the address.”

She read the street number off the menu as the waitress set down her food and soda.

“Great, I’ll see you in twenty minutes,” Ashley said.

Kaitlin took a bite, not expecting to be so hungry, but the chili tasted good and this was her first real meal since last night’s pizza. The soda was cold and refreshing.

A couple across from her leaned in for a kiss. They were smiling and enjoying themselves. She envied their connection. She’d never really had anything like that before.

The pub was starting to fill, and she missed Ashley’s entrance until she was right on top of her. Kaitlin lowered the soda from her lips and slowly, gingerly rose.

Ashley regarded her with a mixture of curiosity, anger, and pity. Neither leaned in for a hug, so Kaitlin extended her hand to the opposite side of the booth.

Kaitlin settled in. “I’m so sorry about Jennifer.”

Ashley sat and tapped her index finger on the table. A waitress appeared, took her order of vodka soda, double. “The medical examiner’s office released her body yesterday.”

“This must be terrible for you.”

“It was. I never thought I’d ever go through something like this. After Gina vanished, it was bad enough, but this is almost unbearable.”

“I’m sorry.”

Her drink arrived, and she took a sip. “The funeral home cleaned my sister up and let me see her. I could tell they were proud of her. ‘So lifelike,’ the attendant said. I didn’t think she looked anywhere close to a living person. It was still and plastic, nothing like my Jennifer.”

“When is the funeral?”

“The viewing is tomorrow, and the service is on Sunday afternoon.”

A clawing sadness scraped the inside of her throat. She struggled for words that would make all this better but knew there was nothing she could say.

Ashley reached for a paper napkin and folded it in half and then in quarters. “She told me about your interview. She was actually relieved after you two spoke. That night had been bottled up inside her and was preventing her from being happy.” Ice clinked in the glass. She took another big swallow.