Chapter 42
Detective Casey
“What the hell was that all about?”
I glanced up at Diego as I walked past my desk and shook my head. At my silence, he followed me out of the station, keeping pace with my fast speed. It wasn’t until I got to my personal vehicle that I stopped and faced him.
“FBI thinks they’re closing in. They wouldn’t tell me much, but from their answers to my questions, they’re close. Not fucking close enough, though.”
“You said you needed to talk to them about something else. I could have told you they were hot on leads. The evidence spoke for itself. They’ll find Rodney Turner. He can’t hide forever.”
Just the name sent my teeth grinding together. “We spoke about what I needed to. I have to go. Anna is with her mom, and that’s not a good thing.”
“Yikes. Have they moved the church in yet?”
“That’s not funny,” I said, shaking my head. “Because it’s true. Damn, twelve people were sitting around my living room praying for hours yesterday. And, of course, Lucille was shooting daggers at me every time she looked my way. She even asked Anna when she was moving to her place. As if I’d let Anna around that crazy bat any more than she already had to be. If I didn’t have to come to work, you bet your ass I’d bar the damn door.”
Diego let out a short, but silent laugh as he scanned our surroundings. “I’m not one to speak out on keeping mother and daughter apart, but I’ll admit her mom isn’t quite right. Did you think about moving Anna to the other side of town? Maybe the traffic will deter the woman.”
“Hell itself wouldn’t keep Lucille away. Especially now.” I bit my bottom lip as my head continuously shook. Her accusations over Anna’s kidnapping and the death of our child haunted me. I could still hear her words, her voice screaming and placing all the blame on me. And now that my child was really gone, it ate me alive that I almost believed her.
“I have to go,” I mumbled, pulling the door open. “Drive safe on your way home. We put in a long night.”
“I always do.”
Diego threw me a wave and turned back toward the station. Pulling the door open, I climbed in. The minutes stretched out and instead of letting myself go over the conversation I had with the FBI, I got lost in the cold case file for Jade Winkle. It was easy to find a girl in her teens going missing from such a small town. But the file had nothing. She’d never been found. The police chalked it up to a runaway, reasoning the break-up she’d had with her boyfriend days before. Me, I knew the truth, even if Anna didn’t come right out and confess.
Beep! Beep!
I glanced over to the side, dismissing the two cars trying to move into the same lane at the same damn time. I took my exit, going down the dark street until I hit mine. There wasn’t one car in my driveway, but four, and another three parked in front of my house.
A curse left my lips and I stopped at the neighbors, slamming the door the moment I got out of my SUV. I wasn’t ready for this. How often were these prayer sessions going to happen? Once a week for the rest of our lives? Twice a week? I didn’t have anything against the church, but these weren’t the typical members. They were just as hardcore and crazy as Lucille.
I headed up the driveway and glanced up as the motion light kicked on above the garage. I immediately jerked my eyes down from the brightness, coming to a stop at the different footprints in the snow. Small. Big. Woman…man? There hadn’t been any men here the last few times, and these led around to the side of the house.
My brows drew in and I withdrew my gun.
“We will. It’s only a fifteen minute drive.”
Female voices broke out and the number of different ones grew as they came closer. I tried to ignore them as I rounded the corner, only to have a voice call out and make me stop.
“Braden, so good to see you.”
My eyes cut over and I hesitantly holstered my gun, going between the footsteps that disappeared into the darkness toward the neighbor’s house and Rachelle. Janneke’s constant shifting drew my attention and brought me closer to them. I had tried to avoid her at all costs since Anna had been back, even going as far as to take Bullet for a walk when they came so I wouldn’t upset her, but the motion couldn’t stop the instinct that something was wrong.
“Braden, so good to see you. Mom, can you hold on? I need to speak with the detective before we leave.”
“I—”
“It’ll only take a moment.”
Her hand gripped around my bicep and I scanned the faces of the women, stopping on Lucille’s glare as we made it farther into the yard.
“You don’t say hi anymore.”
My eyes lowered to her blue ones, but only stayed a moment before my stare went to the front door. Fear Anna would come out left me being the one shifting my feet. I couldn’t upset her anymore. Not on top of everything else. She was already going to be so mad at me. The last thing I needed was for her to hate me completely.
“Janneke, we shouldn’t be talking. Anna’s not well. She thinks we—” I cut myself off with a shake of my head. “I should be going.”
Janneke reached down, grabbing my hands, panicked. “I know. I got the feeling she was mad at me. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Braden, she scares me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. The way she looks at me is like she wants to hurt me. I’m trying so hard to pray for her wellness, but I swear, it’s like she hates me. Anna was never like that. She never had that look in her eyes. I don’t know this person who stares at me almost nonstop, and in the middle of prayer? This woman, she’s evil.”
“Don’t say that,” I snapped. “She’s been though a lot, but she’s not what you’re claiming. I know what you mean by evil, and Anna isn’t…” I trailed off, knowing what I was going to say was a lie. My eyes slowly rose and just like the truth I feared, I knew she was there. I could feel Anna’s eyes on me. I could feel her negative aura nearly suffocating me. And it matched her narrowed stare. It was as Janneke said, evil. The intensity left my skin tightening through goosebumps. Janneke was right. This woman standing at the door murdering me with her eyes wasn’t the same Anna I’d caught glimpses of in the last few days. This was Annalise—the killer.
I jerked my hands free from Janneke’s, putting distance between us. “You’ll be fine. She’ll be fine.”
“What about you? Will you be fine?”
“Of course.” My brow drew in and my pulse quickened. Anna was gone so fast, I’d only blinked and she disappeared. Lucille was walking from the house and I headed for the entrance, side stepping. For the life of me, I couldn’t turn my back to the door. Trust for Anna was gone at the moment. I thought I could somehow help her, and maybe I had by letting her vent that night, but it wasn’t enough. She needed help. Real help.
“We’ll all be fine. Just keep praying. Now, get going. Your mom is waiting.”
The last was nearly whispered as my throat tightened. I sped up, ignoring Lucille as I headed up the sidewalk and into the house. The moment I shut the door, the energy only got heavier.
“Anna?”
Silence.
The living room and kitchen were empty, which only left our room and the bathroom.
“Anna?”
Each step was harder than the next. It took everything I had not to rest my hand on my weapon. I wanted to. I felt I needed to, which was ridiculous. Anna had issues, but she’d never hurt me.
I broke into the bedroom, slowing as movement rushed from the closet. She had her arms full of clothes, most with the hangers still attached, draping over her forearm.
“What are you doing?” Silence. “Are you going somewhere?”
Clothes fell in a heap on the bed and she spun, returning to the closet without so much as a look in my direction. I licked my lips, bracing for what I knew was about to turn into a seriously bad situation. She was going to try to leave, and despite the law or goodness ingrained in me, I wasn’t going to let her.
“Are you going to talk to me?”
Within seconds, she stormed by with more clothes. They hit the bed, and when she turned, she had to stop at me stepping in her path.
“What are you doing, Anna?”
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m leaving.”
“Why?”
Darkness seeped into her brown eyes as her lids dropped into thin slits. Just as fast, they faded and her face softened. “This isn’t working. I need time to myself. I’m going to go stay with my mother for a few weeks.”
“Like hell you are.”
“Excuse me?”
I took a deep breath, feeling my own anger rise. “It’s not a good idea. Your mother isn’t who you need right now. You need me.” I paused. “I think we need to go talk to someone together and try to work this out. What we’ve been through—”
“We? Me! Me, Braden! While I was getting tortured, you were already finding my replacement. Me!”
“That’s not true, and you know it. I told you what happened with Janneke.”
“Oh…yes. She was helping you. I bet she was. Just like tonight, huh?”
My face hardened and I knew arguing wasn’t going to help the situation. I crossed my arms over my chest, pinning her with my own angry look. I didn’t give it often, and Anna picked up on my change instantly. Her eyebrow rose…and she laughed. It was so out of character, and cold—challenging. My head cocked to the side in surprising anger.
“If you weren’t so upset, I’d put you over my knee. Drop this thing with Janneke. Nothing happened, nor would it have. I can’t be clearer than that. I’ve done my best keeping my distance from her so it wouldn’t upset you, but why should I? I didn’t do anything. That hug you supposedly saw was nothing but her way of providing comfort, and I didn’t even embrace her back. I had no one, Anna. Hearing stories about you was my way of coping. It helped me, and I needed it.”
“I needed you!”
Tears raced down her face and I growled as she spun for the dresser.
“I tried my best. Jesus, if you could only see how it was for me while you were gone. To watch the woman you love being tortured on video. Being told she was dead, only to discover she was carrying your child and still being tortured! Do you have any idea what that did to me? If you only knew.”
“If you only knew,” she yelled, glaring over her shoulder. “That was me. Me, waiting for you.” Her hands shot up as she turned to face me. “It’s done. I’m done. Neither of us deserve to continue going through this. I will never be able to move forward if I keep reliving the things that remind me of those months. Just looking at you…I shouldn’t blame you. I don’t want to, but I do, and I can’t stop. I need time away.”
I moved in closer, torn by my feelings, torn by what I knew, and even what I’d done. “Anna, you can’t go to your mom’s. You can’t leave.”
“I can, and I will.”
“No…you’re not. I won’t let you.”
Panic edged into her brown eyes as she began to circle around the room. “You can’t keep me here, Braden. Not against my will.”
“Are you so sure about that? You’re a threat to others and yourself. It’s not safe for you to leave.”
“A threat?”
“Janneke only came to me tonight because she was afraid. Afraid of you.” I swallowed through the guilt. “I told the FBI you needed to speak with them. That you had more information. You’re going to tell them about those women he made you torture and kill, or I’m obligated to do so.”
“What? You told them? I trusted you!”
“Anna, it’s not like that. I have a responsibility. I want this monster to pay for what he’s done and withholding any information, no matter what it is, could jeopardize that.”
“Does trust mean nothing to you?” she roared. “Trust. Trust. What else did you tell them?”
I paused, knowing exactly what she meant. Or more importantly…who.
“All I said was you needed to speak with them about this case. But if you have more to tell…”
“Get out. Get out of my room right now.”
The betrayal that shone on her face was a stab through my heart. Tears rolled down her cheeks and I hated how I was torn between duty and love. I was crossing the line by keeping her secret. If I had any honor, I’d spill what I knew to the FBI about Jade. I’d tell them everything No One had told me. But concerning Anna, it took all I had not to put her at ease and tell her the murder of that girl would go with me to my grave.
To confess was to admit, and to admit would be my undoing. I’d hide her secrets forever, even if she continued to build on them. I’d kill No One with my bare hands and bask in the torture I dreamed of putting him through. I’d go to hell or cause it at her command. To acknowledge the truth out loud gave it power, and I was holding on to my honor by the thinnest thread. It was sink or swim, and I was drowning in the evil temptation Anna brought out in me. All for love. All for her.