Page 28 of Haunted By Sin
“I won’t deny it was an adjustment.”
The radio crackled, causing both men to tense. An exchange was made, but it was due to one of the officers noticing a vehicle entering the neighborhood. A quick license plate check verified that the car belonged to a local fireman who lived one street over.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” Rick pointed out as he leaned back against the chair, stretching out both legs so that he could cross his ankles.
“No. I redefined what was normal.” Theo touched the band of his eyepatch. “If the Bureau called me back tomorrow—which I know would never happen—I’d turn them down flat. I’m where I need to be, and I’m grateful that Brook never doubted my ability.”
“The two of you are close then?”
Theo could read where this conversation was heading as if a passage in a book had been marked with a yellow highlighter.
“I consider her my best friend,” Theo replied, not seeing a reason to lie. “Tread carefully, Tirelli.”
“I’m curious, is all. Sloane gave that interview a few years ago regarding her brother, so it’s not like her childhood is some big, dark secret.”
“Brook’s past gave her a special insight into what makes a killer tick. Skills one can’t learn from textbooks or classroom lectures,” Theo explained as he stood from his chair. “Jacob Walsh is currently in federal prison, and Brook has her own life. There’s no ground to cover, as far as I’m concerned.”
Theo used the wall to help stretch some of his back muscles. Tirelli seemed to understand Theo had given all the information he was going to disclose on the subject. It was best to stick to the case.
“Sylvie and I will be driving to Ann Arbor either tomorrow or the following day to start interviewing the hospital staff involved with Mary Jane Reynolds’ transplant surgery,” Theo advised the agent, who was technically serving as the firm’s FBI liaison. He would be looped in on the next steps of the investigation, anyway. “Considering the unsub wasn’t sure which Mary Jane Reynolds was the recipient of the donor’s heart, the answers could lie with the donor.”
Tirelli snorted in humor, the sound filling the empty space of the living room.
“Are you telling me that we’re looking for the son of a heart donor? A man who is pissed off that his mom’s ticker is keeping someone else alive? Tell me again how wrong I am about profiles, Neville.”
Theo shook his head at Tirelli’s comment, not bothering to respond. Most of the cases that come through the doors of S&E Investigation were serial killers in the typical sense, not someone bent on revenge or with a deranged sense of right and wrong. People reacted in many different ways to death, and it wasn’t a stretch to believe that someone emotionally unhinged had lost all sense of sanity to someone’s heart beating for another.
A loved one?
A son, as Tirelli had suggested?
Either theory was a possibility, but the team would still stick to their approach.
Theo slipped his phone out of his pocket. He had already made sure the display was on the lowest setting so that no one outside the house would notice someone inside. Once a message to the team had been sent that Theo or Sylvie should speak with the donor’s family while the other questioned those involved on the transplant team, Theo accessed the two text messages that had come through no more than ten minutes ago.
“Tirelli?”
“Yeah?”
“That son theory might not be too far off.” Theo slid his phone into the back pocket of his khakis before dropping into the seat. It was going to be a long night. “Only that doesn’t really help us, because the donor was a foster mother. We’ll need to weed through every child who lived under her roof over the past thirty years.”
Chapter Fifteen
Brooklyn Sloane
May 2024
Saturday — 8:21 am
Brook slid the door open so she could enter the lake house. She had spent the past half hour on the deck while speaking with Special Agent Tirelli. Given that their suspect list had multiplied over the past couple of days, it was imperative to have his assistance to help weed through the red tape. She understood that he had been eager to hand off the investigation at the start, but now that they were aware Mary Jane Reynolds was in fact the target of their unsub, the narrative had changed drastically.
The western sky was already gathering clouds, but the approaching storm wouldn’t reach Crestlake until later this evening. The accompanying winds had gotten a head start, bringing with them a hint of humidity.
Brook secured the sliding glass door behind her before closing the distance to the counter. She set her empty mug in the sink, not bothering with a refill. She planned on spending some time at the coffee shop in town, anyway.
Brook made her way into the living room to find Bit on the phone with Zoey. The two were setting a date as to when Bit would meet Zoey’s parents. The upcoming introduction had been the topic of an ongoing discussion that he had continued to put off. From the sound of his side of the conversation, he had accepted his fate.
“Gotta go,” Bit muttered when he caught sight of Brook. He set his phone on the table. “Boss, we’ve confirmed the clinic’s filing cabinets were rifled through, but since the doctor’s office where Duncan Reynolds is employed is paperless and has everything stored online, the unsub wasn’t able to access any information.”