And there it was -– the supernova.The blast of white-hot clarity that seared away the cobwebs and lit up the dark corners of this godforsaken case like the Fourth of July.
And suddenly, Ella was back in that musty office at Eagle Eye Publishers, listening to Sophie’s friend tell her that no one had access to Sophie's office – except one person.
Janitor might have been in, the woman had said.
Of course.Who else would have access to Sophie Draper’s manuscript pile?A pile she kept in a locked drawer?
The janitor.The only person other than Sophie who might be in their alone, after hours, when the office was barren.
Everything snapped into crystalline focus.Ezra wasn't just LaChance's caregiver.He was the goddamn janitor at Eagle Eye too.That's how he'd gotten his hands on the manuscript.That's how he'd known which pages to remove, which scenes to bring to life.
Ezra Borgman was the Angel Maker.
‘LaChance.You said earlier you thought you’d never have any fans.’
‘Yes, I did.’
‘I don’t think that’s true.Where would I find Ezra?I need details,now.’
‘Not sure.He might have his own place, but… he’s not well.Ezra is sick, like me.’
You’re not kidding,Ella thought.‘Hence the pills,’ she said.
LaChance smiled, possibly for the first time in years.‘It’s weird, really.Ezra is a lot like Cain, from the book.Even looks like him.When he showed up, I thought I was imagining it.’
No, he’s very real,Ella thought.She stepped back from the cell, dialed Ripley.The clock on the wall read 8:20PM.Forty minutes until Blythe pinned all of this on the poor sap in the cage behind her.
One ring.Two.
‘Dark,’ Ripley answered.‘How’s your little…’
‘Mia, where are you?I need to find someone, quickly.’
‘Who?’
‘Can you get to LaChance’s house right now?His caregiver is our killer.’
‘Who?His caregiver?’
‘No time for questions.Can you get there or not?’
‘No.I’m in the car, dropping Roger Blackwood home.Blythe slapped an assault charge on him.Who is this…’
‘Forget it, I’ll go there myself,’ she snapped.
‘Dark, LaChance’s house is crawling with cops.I just talked to techs on site.They’re gonna be there all night.’
‘Got it.Speak soon.’Ella killed the call and looked back at LaChance behind her.Forty minutes left and given the pattern so far, angel number four might already be getting fitted for their halo.
But where the hell would Ezra go?His den of iniquity at LaChance's place was crammed with blues.No self-respecting angel-maker was gonna waltz back there to pick up his arts and crafts supplies.And if Ezra knew that LaChance was already in chains, she doubted the guy was dumb enough to go home and wait for the police to bang on his door.
Furthermore, a vision-oriented offender like this wasn’t going to quit until his mission was complete.He was going to see his grand vision through to the end, even if it killed him.Especiallyif it killed him.Suicide by cop was a hell of an encore for a narcissist with an Icarus complex.
Only one way to end this.
Ella spun back to LaChance.The man looked like he was trying to melt into the concrete.
She said, ‘I need to know about victim number four in your novel.That part was missing from the manuscript we found.’
