It all came down to revenge, tit for tat, a second rapist who knew Lane killed Jayden and was on his own personal crusade of revenge. Maisie sat with Brennan in MacDougal’s office. It was late, after midnight, and MacDougal had been summoned from bed. He sat across from them, arms crossed on top of the desk, eyes only partway open.
“I’m here,” MacDougal said. “This better be good.”
“Oh, it is,” Maisie replied.
“Let’s get to it then. I’m tired. Who’s going first?”
Maisie looked at Brennan. “Tell him what you told me.”
A nervous Brennan did what she asked, explaining everything to MacDougal and admitting he’d lied to police when he’d been questioned before. MacDougal sat back and listened, his finger tapping the edge of the desk, eyes wild, like he wanted to tear into Brennan with his own two hands.
When Brennan finished, MacDougal said, “So basically what you’re saying is you’re a liar.”
“Did you hear what I said? I didn’t mean to lie. I wasn’t trying to keep anything from anyone. I thought it was my only choice.”
MacDougal slammed his hand down on the desk. “Your only choice? People are dead because of you! Think about it for a minute, kid. They’re dead. They’re never coming back.”
Brennan hung his head and remained silent, giving MacDougal a chance to calm down. A minute later, MacDougal said, “Tell me about the note Linda found. Did you see it?”
“I didn’t. She just told me about it.”
“What did she do with the note after she got it?”
“I dunno. I didn’t ask her.”
MacDougal leaned forward, finger wagging in Brennan’s direction. “Kid, if you don’t start giving me some real answers, I’ll find a reason to hold you here until you do. Got it?”
“Linda just said she needed to keep her mouth shut in order for Zoey to stay alive. If she didn’t, Zoey would die, and Linda would be next.”
“But Zoey is dead, and Linda is probably next.” MacDougal bent his head back, looked at the ceiling, and sighed. “Anything else? Because I can hardly stand the sight of you right now.”
Brennan shook his head.
“Good.”
Brennan rose from his chair. “Am I good to go then?”
“Yep. Are you sure there’s nothing else you need to add before you leave? If there is, now’s the time. I don’t want to haul your ass in here again because I find out you’re still holding out on me.”
“I’ve told you everything.”
Maisie leaned toward MacDougal. “Did the young woman I spoke to earlier come talk to you this evening?”
“She was the reason I was called back to work the first time tonight. You’re the second.” He shook his head. “I should have just brought a change of clothes and spent the night.”
“What did she say about the mask the second attacker was wearing?”
“She described it to me.”
“Yes, but did she talk about what she saw when he turned to the side? It’s nothing major, but it may help to identify him.”
“What do you mean?”
Aware Brennan was standing by his chair like a child waiting to be dismissed, MacDougal said, “Brennan, you can go now.”
“Oh, okay. I wasn’t sure it was ... okay, cool.”
Brennan left the room. MacDougal bent his head toward Maisie. “What haven’t you told me?”