“He could have covered for his son,” Cord pointed out.
“True. But would he continue to protect Clint if he suspected he’d killed again?” Ellie rubbed her temple in thought. “We can’t forget Earl Bramble. He was the primary suspect fifteen years ago and could have been moving around all these years and killed the other victims on our board.
“There have been several calls across Georgia over the years claiming they saw Bramble but he was never caught.”
Cord pulled a hand down his chin. “Why return to the original crime scene to dump Bonnie Sylvester’s body? It makes more sense that there’s a copycat and he brought Bonnie’s body to Brambletown to frame Earl.”
Ellie had to consider all options. “Then we get started and talk to everyone again. We know Clint Wallace is sheriff now and his father still lives in Brambletown. What about the others?”
Derrick answered, “The Higgins family moved away to escape the media attention, but I don’t have their current location. The daughter Tilly attended UGA and now works in Atlanta with theAJCwriting travel pieces.”
“I’ll contact Tilly,” Ellie said. “Shondra, see if you can find Mr. and Mrs. Higgins.”
“I’m trying to track down the son,” Derrick said. “He joined the military and received an honorable discharge. One arrest for a bar fight a few months later. Charges were dismissed because a woman there testified that he was protecting her from a stalker. But that’s as far as I’ve gotten.”
Ellie made a mental list of questions to ask. “We also have to question Ida and Hetty Bramble. It’s possible they know where Earl is and have been covering for him all these years.”
FORTY-SIX
Brambletown
After leaving the graveyard, Tilly stopped at Daisy’s Diner and kept her head down as the hostess led her to a booth in the corner. The little café was filled with the lunch crowd and just as she ordered sweet iced tea and a chicken salad sandwich, Ida and Hetty Bramble rushed in from the cold.
She’d recognize them anywhere, although neither woman had aged well. Wrinkles around Ida’s eyes made her look tired and her brown hair looked dry and brittle and needed a trim. She’d gained about thirty pounds and her sweatpants and sweatshirt were faded. Her limp seemed even more pronounced, her posture slumped as if she lacked the energy to hold herself up.
Hetty wore old coveralls, her short black hair so choppy it looked as if she’d cut it herself just as she had in high school. Her skin looked ghostly and sallow, odd since she worked outside at her gardening center. A colorful tattoo of fireflies dotted her wrist.
The temptation to flee the diner struck Tilly. But she wanted answers, dammit, and running hadn’t gotten her those before.
“Look, there’s another news report about that girl they found near the graveyard,” the woman seated in the booth behind her said. A hushed silence fell across the room as Daisy clicked the remote to increase the volume.
“This is Angelica Gomez coming to you from Crooked Creek where Detective Ellie Reeves, who is working in conjunction with the task force which includes Special Agent Derrick Fox and Ranger Cord McClain, has an update on the investigation into fifteen-year-old Bonnie Sylvester’s death.” She tilted the microphone toward Detective Reeves. “Detective.”
“As we revealed before, Ms. Sylvester’s body was found in Brambletown. We now have information that suggests her murder is connected to several other girls who have disappeared across North Georgia over the past few years.” The detective shifted. “One of those is the disappearance of Ruth Higgins who went missing from Brambletown fifteen years ago. Ms. Higgins was never found but her case is being reopened. I promise the citizens of this state we’ll do everything in our power to find out what happened to her, Ms. Sylvester and the other girls who may have also been victimized by the same perpetrator.”
A photo of Ruth in her cheerleading outfit appeared, a giant red bow attached to her blond ponytail. In comparison, that morning Tilly had woken up with a pimple on her nose and hadn’t wanted to go to school. Ruth had laughed at her.
Although she did have some good memories of her sister when she was little. Tilly was scared of storms and when she was small used to hide under the covers. But Ruth let her crawl in bed with her for the night. They’d cuddled together and Ruth told her stories to distract her. She missed that sister.
The detective continued by detailing and showing pictures of four other girls whose bodies had been discovered in a similar manner to Bonnie’s.
Tilly glanced at Ida and Hetty who both looked pale-faced and shocked. Tension radiated in the air, and she suddenly felt pulled toward them. They must have felt it too or sensed she was in the room because Ida’s gaze met hers and she clutched Hetty’s arm as she realized Tilly was back.
And the case was being opened.
Which meant police would question everyone involved, including them, and Tilly’s own family. The nightmare of the past would start all over. Wounds would be reopened, gossip would run amok and their lives would come under scrutiny.
Just the thought of it transported her back in time to the night Ruth disappeared. She stared into her coffee, but in her mind she saw her childhood bedroom.
Tilly woke to the sound of footsteps across the hall then the screech of the window being opened. The bitter winter wind blasted her as she tiptoed into the hall and peeked into Ruth’s room. Rubbing her hands over her flannel PJs, she shoved her tangled hair from her face and saw Ruth dressed in a skirt and red sweater. “What are you doing?” Tilly whispered.
Ruth jerked around and shushed her. Her blond hair was swept into a high ponytail and sparkly red earrings hung from her earlobes. “Going out,” she mouthed with a smile.
A sliver of moonlight shimmied through the open window. “But it’s the middle of the night.”
Ruth stormed across the room to her, fists on her slender hips. Even angry, her sister still looked pretty. “I know what time it is, but I’m meeting somebody.”
“Who?” Tilly asked. More than one boy at school had a crush on Ruth. The sheriff’s son for one. Although they’d just broken up. “Clint Wallace?”
