He was crossing it now, too.
Cord slammed the door to the safe in an effort to silence the guilty voice in his head and shut down the emotions gripping him like a vise.
Still, if he had to do it all over again, he would.
Maybe Ellie would understand…
He shook his head, then stripped his shirt as he went to the bathroom. His reflection stared back in the mirror above the sink, and he turned and surveyed the scars crisscrossing his back. Maybe she wouldn’t care if she knew the truth about him. But what if she was repulsed?
Ellie was the only good thing that had ever happened to him. He couldn’t chance losing her.
He turned on the water and cranked it up as hot as he could tolerate, then stepped inside and let the spray beat at his skin. Jaw tensed, he scrubbed hard to erase the dirt and sweat from his body.
But no amount of scrubbing could cleanse the darkness living deep down in his soul or the image of Bonnie Sylvester’s skeletal remains from his mind. She was barely a teenager, should have looked innocent and living her life, not decaying in the ground.
A pain he understood well. He’d been that kid once, been left to the wolves. And he’d run away to escape them just like she had.
Only she’d run straight into the wolves’ den and paid for it with her life.
THIRTY-NINE
DAY THREE
Crooked Creek Police Station
Ellie picked up breakfast sandwiches and pastries at the Corner Café to fortify the team for their morning meeting. The owner and Cord’s former girlfriend, Lola, looked tired today and kept rubbing her pregnant belly. At one time Cord believed the baby was his and planned to marry Lola, but Lola lied to him about the paternity which triggered their break-up. She still hadn’t divulged the identity of the baby’s father, but Ellie hoped he’d stepped up to support Lola.
As she entered the station, she set the food on the counter in the conference room beside the coffee station, then poured herself a mug. By the time she organized her notes, the team was filing in. Derrick was first and grabbed coffee and a pastry for himself, then claimed a chair across from Ellie and placed his briefcase on the table.
Cord came next, took a ham and egg sandwich and seated himself near Ellie. The men acknowledged each other with a quick hello, the tension between them palpable. When they’d first met, the men hadn’t gotten along but over the cases they’dinvestigated, they’d learned to respect each other’s work ethic and skills.
Deputies Landrum and Eastwood trailed in along with her boss and Dr. Whitefeather. Morning pleasantries were exchanged then Ellie took the lead by placing Bonnie Sylvester’s photo on the whiteboard.
“This is our victim,” she said. “Thirteen-year-old girl from Cleveland, Georgia, whose body was found in Brambletown. She was a foster child, bounced from one home to the other, described as shy and had a difficult time making friends. Her last foster family, the Wileys, claimed she was defiant and ran away.” Ellie placed their pictures on the board under the title Suspects. “I drove to their house to question them, but their house was cleaned out and they’re in the wind. An APB and a BOLO have been issued.”
She angled her head toward Deputy Landrum. “What did you find on them?”
He shook his head. “Not much. No remaining family members and no paper trail. No properties in their name, no credit or debit cards, and no luck locating their car yet.”
“Keep digging.” Ellie gestured to Shondra. “Deputy Eastwood canvassed people in Brambletown but no one recognized Bonnie. At this point, we have no information on how she ended up in Brambletown, if she’d been somewhere in town or if the killer snatched her in Cleveland or elsewhere and dumped her body in Brambletown hoping no one would find her.
“So our unsub could either live in Brambletown or another town. With all the curiosity seekers visiting the memorial, he could be hiding among them.” Ellie turned to the ME. “Dr. Whitefeather, do you have autopsy results?”
Laney stood. “I do. COD was strangulation. Particulates on the red scarf found in the grave and ligature marks on her neckconfirm it was used to choke her. No signs of sexual assault, but she did have bruises on her arms, chest and legs indicating she fought her attacker. Bruising on her wrists suggests her hands were bound at some point. Other signs are consistent with prior abuse dating back years.”
“Probably from the Wileys.” A muscle ticked in Cord’s jaw. “How long did Bonnie live with them?”
“About nine months,” Ellie answered.
“Nine months of hell,” Cord muttered.
Ellie wondered if he was thinking of his own hell, but now wasn’t the time to ask.
“Actually, some of the bruises were there longer than that,” Laney said. “Striations on the bones indicate some have been there for years.”
“Then prior, maybe long-term abuse,” Ellie said in disgust. The poor girl had no kind of life and now she died before she had a chance to live. “There’s one more detail.” Ellie posted a picture of the red sandal on the board. “Bonnie was found shoeless although Dr. Whitefeather recovered a red sandal from the grave. And Ranger McClain found a necklace by the pond on the Wiley property. We’re testing it for prints.”
Her boss cleared his throat. “The lab called and confirmed the DNA matched Bonnie Sylvester’s.”
