Page 18 of Sentinel's Kiss

Chapter 5

The SOBs watched Ashley’s news segment in the boardroom. Ryder was cross-referencing Ashley’s information with her own. She had one eye on the laptop screen and the other on the television special. When Stan came on, her fingers slowed and she glared at the screen.

The interview was done on his front porch in Ronkonkoma, just steps away from where Sentinel had been planning on killing him. Still might.

Ashley started off the interview much the same way she had with him. But then she asked Stan the question that they all wanted to know the answer to.

“After your wife’s death, why did you disappear?”

Stan shifted in his seat. “I was afraid for my life.”

“With good reason,” Evil grunted.

“So I assumed a different name and traveled for a while.”

“Traveled to New Haven, Atlantic City, and New Paltz, I bet.” Ryder took a swig of whiskey. That was where the other three murders had taken place.

“I’ve always had an affinity for nature, so I camped and lived off the land.”

“Where?”

“Mostly in Pennsylvania.”

“What about in the wintertime?” Ashley asked.

She looked so prim and professional, Sentinel wished he had convinced her to screw around in the office. Maybe if he hadn’t lost his temper, he could have. He sighed. Sometimes he wished he could control his temper when it came to talking about Sarah.

“I would go back to the house until the memories got to be too much.”

Sentinel looked at Ryder, but she was shaking her head. “Lies. I had the house bugged and motion detector cameras in every room. If he came inside, I would have known about it.”

“What did you do when you couldn’t stand the memories?” Ashley said, oozing sympathy. It made him want to beat Stan to a bloody pulp. He didn’t deserve Ashley’s sympathy.

“I had some money saved up, so I stayed in hotels and camping lodges.”

“Under an assumed name?” Ashley leaned forward and a bit of cleavage showed.

Sentinel sighed. He should have held it together. He had let her slip through his fingers again.

“Yes,” Stan said, folding his hands on the table.

“Why? Were you afraid that the person who killed your wife was coming for you too?”

“No.” Stan shook his head. “At first it was because of the publicity of the case, but then I started receiving threats.”

“What kind of threats? From whom?”

“Her brother, Joshua, is in a motorcycle gang and they were planning on killing me.”

“You little cocksucker,” Ryder said.

“Why didn’t you go to the police?” she asked.

“I didn’t have any proof.”

“Surely with them threatening you, you could have gotten a restraining order.”

He grimaced. “I didn’t have anything concrete.”