Page 52 of Echoes of Sin

Brooklyn Sloane

October 2023

Tuesday — 9:17pm

JaceMathers.

Not only had Jace been involved with the search of each victim, but he also matched specific characteristics listed in the profile. She recalled being in the bait shop to ask if he’d recognized Helen Beckham. He’d barely even glanced at the photograph, and she hadn’t given it much thought at the time.

Brook never let on that she suspected Jace. She needed to substantiate her belief of his guilt, because many individuals probably had a small rock stuck in the treads of their hiking boots. On the other hand, she had never mentioned that miniscule fact during the briefing that he’d attended last week.

The vibration of Brook’s phone had reaching into her back pocket.

“Riggs and Theo are investigating a lead,” Brook replied as she turned her attention from Jace to Dominic. She motioned toward his table so that she could speak loud enough for the other two men to hear, but low enough not to carry to the other tables. “You say that you’re trustworthy, Dominic. This will be your chance to prove it. You see, Riggs recognized a description of a walking stick that I believe the unsub had in his possession during the murders. It has come to our attention that Helen Beckham spoke to her killer the day before she was abducted from the trail. But I trust that you’ll keep that information to yourself.”

By this time, Dominic was standing right behind his chair.

Jace, on the other hand, had tightened his fingers around his knee to the point that his knuckles were white. Although Brook’s experiment had resulted in the reaction she’d intentionally sought, she still didn’t have enough confirmation to make an arrest. She certainly wouldn’t do so in a room full of spectators. There was no telling how Jace would react, and she wouldn’t put others’ lives in danger.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do.”

Jace stood quickly and blocked her path. His breathing had turned shallow. She also noticed that a small sheen of perspiration had coated his forehead. His fight, flight, freeze, and fawn responses were all at war with one another, and his body had yet to choose a reaction.

“Jace, I wanted to let you know that I was able to get you a discount on a security system that you’ll be able to monitor yourself without the monthly fee,” Brook said to help level out the adrenaline rushing through his veins. She’d much prefer the third option of the well-known stress response. No one was likely to get hurt, and she would have time to confirm her suspicions. “I’ll give the information to Riggs, and he can forward it to you at a more convenient time.”

Jace didn’t reply nor did he move out of her way.

The conversations around them had become hushed to the point that the music seemed louder, and Brook could sense that Jace wasn’t comfortable with the attention. She took matters into her own hands when her cell phone vibrated once more. She quickly scanned Bit’s message, her remaining reservations fading away to be replaced with the options laid out in front of her.

Ava Zetter had been climbing with Jace’s brother on that fateful day.

A previous conversation with Jace came to the forefront, and Brook recalled that he’d spoken in present tense when referring to his brother. At the time, she’d merely thought it was a slip of the tongue. It had been much more than that, but hindsight was twenty-twenty.

“I have to return a phone call,” Brook murmured, feigning her distraction. There was a much better place and time to make an arrest. She glanced up from her phone and flashed a brief smile. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Brook stepped around Jace, not giving him time to say something in return. One of the reporters began to shout question after question, especially regarding Gus Norman. The press had done their due diligence, and one of the cameramen was already filming the man’s response.

Brook motioned for Bit to extract Carissa’s father from what was sure to be an unpleasant altercation with the media. Such overstimulation could create a perilous situation, because it was only a matter of time before her previous statement regarding Riggs’ familiarity with said walking stick undoubtedly caused paranoia in Jace’s already unstable state of mind.

“Do you know where he is?”

Jace had all but yelled out his question, causing Brook to slowly turn around. He was still standing near the table, although Dominic didn’t seem to know what was taking place. Everyone’s attention quickly shifted from Gus Norman to the man causing a scene.

“Who? Riggs?” Brook asked, once again doing her best to divert Jace’s attention away from the very seed that she’d planted moments ago. She slowly slid her cell phone into her pocket so that her hands would be free to reach for her firearm if the situation deteriorated from here. “Riggs and Theo are tracking down a lead, though I doubt it will amount to much. They should be back soon.”

Brook figured between her comments and the fact that Jace had to have heard about the site that they had discovered and believed was the place where Carissa Norman had been killed, there was no turning back. If Dominic hadn’t called her over to the table, Jace most likely would have tried to hike the mountain well before morning, and long before a forensics team could reach the burnt remnants of the old structure.

Only Brook didn’t believe in regrets or dwelling on what-ifs, and she sure as hell wouldn’t start now. The only thing left to do was mitigate the damage and wait for the appropriate time to make an official arrest.

“I was talking about my brother,” Jace asked in a different tenor. One that Brook imagined that he’d used when torturing his victims. “Chris. You know where he is, don’t you?”

“Jace? What are you—”

“How could you not see it, Dominic?” Jace asked in true disbelief as he began to back away. Now that he was facing her, there was limited space between him and the exit. Brook was fine with Jace leaving a bar full of patrons. She even took a step forward to force him in that direction, preferring that there be no one in harm’s way. “Chris isn’t dead. My brother didn’t die that day, and Ava knows the truth. I think Ava is keeping him up in those mountains somewhere. Ava knows where Chris is, and she’s not telling me. Don’t you remember? Everyone knew that Ava didn’t want my brother to leave town. He was supposed to go off to college, get a business degree, and then expand the family business. He was going to make us a household name. Ava didn’t want to be without him, though. She did something to Chris. Tricked him into staying up there. I need to find him. I need to tell him that she’s a liar.”

By this time, the other friend who had been sitting at the table pushed back his chair. The man’s concerned gaze kept flickering from Jace to Brook to all the individuals recording every second of Jace’s mental breakdown.

“Dominic,” Brook warned, slowly holding up her hand in warning. “Don’t engage.”