Her Last Word
Page 71

“A day after Maria vanished, he reported his car stolen. It was never found.”
“A car that could have been Derek’s was placed at the scene, but he was not?”
“Correct. He had a solid alibi for that night. Several witnesses placed him five hundred miles away.”
“Was there a record of Hayward visiting Derek?”
“Hayward was never a suspect in the case, so no one checked.”
“What about Crowley?”
“That I don’t know. But we know Hayward, Blackstone, and Crowley stick together. Maybe now that Hayward’s back in the crosshairs, he’ll talk.”
Adler tapped his index finger on his desk. He would see to it that Hayward’s life in prison was miserable if he didn’t talk. “Great work, Logan. Great work.”
“Do you think Blackstone or Crowley killed Jennifer and Erika?”
“Maybe both might have been worried about loose ends when Kaitlin started asking questions about Gina.”
“And then Hayward offers up Gina when he’s facing the death penalty,” Logan said.
It was a plausible theory, but all the pieces didn’t fit. “Why draw the hearts at the murder scenes? Those hearts link directly back to the search for Gina Mason,” Adler said.
“Maybe they thought they were being clever. Thought they’d throw the cops off their trail.”
“Blackstone certainly calculates every move. The body’s positioning suggests the killer didn’t just want to silence Jennifer and Erika, he wanted to humiliate them. He was angry with them,” Adler said.
“There were a lot of people who loved Gina,” Logan said.
“And one of those loving people hated Erika, Jennifer, and Kaitlin enough to kill two of the three.” And whoever carried this grudge was still out there and, he feared, ready to make another attempt on Kaitlin’s life. He dialed her number. It rang five times and went to voicemail. He listened to her voice, unease growing in his gut. When the tone beeped, his voice was terse when he said, “Kaitlin, call me.”
“You’re worried about her.”
“Someone tried to kill her. And we still don’t know who the hell that someone is.” He reread his last text from her. “She’s having coffee with Steven Marcus now.”
“The reporter?”
“The one that covered the Gina Mason murder extensively. They’ll have a lot to talk about now that Gina’s been found.” He accessed his computer and searched Steven Marcus in the DMV records. Marcus’s name and picture popped up. “There are no priors, but there’s a ticket for a broken taillight on Tuesday. The night Erika’s body was found in the city.”
“Where was the ticket issued?”
“On the expressway headed into Richmond.” Adler checked the time. “I need to try and catch the tail end of Ms. Ralston’s viewing.”
“Think the killer will show up?”
“I can only hope.” He clapped Logan on the shoulder. “Solid work.”
“Thanks.”
“Hi, I’m Gina Mason.”
The familiar voice echoed over a loudspeaker as a bright light glared in Kaitlin’s eyes. Her brain was mired in a drugged haze that made it hard for her to focus. Drawing in a breath, she blinked until her vision finally cleared. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and pressed her back against a hard surface. Where the hell was she?
“Hi, I’m Gina Mason.”
The room was windowless, and the concrete walls were papered in hundreds of pictures of Gina Mason. As she pushed herself to her feet, her heart beat faster. She fought a wave of nausea. She pressed the back of her hand to her mouth and took several deep breaths until her stomach settled.
“Hi, I’m Gina Mason.”
Something deep inside her prodded her and told her she’d been a damn fool and was now going to die because of her own stupidity. She’d recognized fear because she’d faced it so often and for many years allowed it to run her life. But this time, she pushed it away and refused to listen to the horrible things it wanted to whisper.
She had to find a way to reach Marcus. They’d both wanted the same thing—to find Gina—for fourteen years.
Drawing in a breath she said, “Stop playing the games, Marcus. You’ve been wanting to face me for a long time, so show yourself so we can talk.” Her voice was hoarse and her throat dry. “We have more in common than you realize.”
Silence.
She pushed back a rising sense of panic. “We have a lot to talk about. I have information about Gina. I know who killed her.”
“Hi, I’m Gina Mason.”
Adler found Quinn, and as the two drove across town to Ashley’s viewing, he briefed her on what Logan had told him. At the funeral home, he spotted Kaitlin’s SUV. He crossed to the vehicle and put his hand on the hood. It was cold.
“She said she’s with Marcus,” Quinn said.
Adler called Kaitlin again. It went to voicemail. “This is not good.”
They strode inside and followed the directional signs to the Ralston room. There were still a handful of people gathered around the closed casket. Ashley was dressed in black and dabbing a tissue to her red-rimmed eyes.
Ashley spotted Adler and, breaking away from the group, moved toward them. “Detectives.”
“We came to pay our respects.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Quinn said softly.
“I spotted Kaitlin Roe’s car outside,” Adler said.
Ashley’s lips flattened into a grim line. “She left here about an hour ago. The woman has nerve. She said she was paying her respects, but I half expected her to pull out her recorder to capture a sound bite for that damn podcast of hers. What the hell is it with the media? Do they have any shame?”
“Them? Who else from the media was here?” Quinn asked.
“Steven Marcus. Another liar who’s working on his book.”
“He spoke to you?”
“He dropped off flowers, but when I saw him approach, I turned my back to him.”
“Where are the flowers he brought?” Quinn asked.
“Over there by the others. White tulips, I think.”
Quinn met Adler’s gaze and crossed the room to the arrangement.
“Did you notice the type of car he was driving?” Adler asked.
Ashley laughed. “No. I kind of had my hands full here.”
Quinn returned from the arrangement. “There’s no card.”
Adler’s gaze swept the room. “Thank you, Ms. Ralston.”
As the detectives left, Adler double-checked his phone. There was a text from Kaitlin.
John, I’m at Marcus’s house. Help me.
“What the hell is she doing at his house?” Adler opened the computer in his vehicle and typed in Marcus’s residence. As the directions appeared, he dialed Logan and thought about the text. She’d called him John. She’d never called him John, not even when they were making love.
When Logan picked up, Adler said, “I need everything you can find out about Steven Marcus. Anything I can use. And I need it now.”
“I’m on it.”
INTERVIEW FILE #28
IS A PSYCHOPATH MADE OR BORN?
Some of the most successful people are psychopaths. Many are leaders in the business world, politics, journalism, and organized crime. Their underlying trait is selfishness. They know what they want and will do whatever it takes to get it. They have no remorse.