Friday Afternoon
Amanda and Trent had closed another case by the time they had all the answers they were after about Joshua Brock—the last of which came through that morning. They were tidying up paperwork on a Friday afternoon, and her mind was working through everything.
They’d discovered that he had briefly met or interacted with all his victims at one point—the Archers at the school, the rest of his victims at Prince Park. She and Trent had spoken to regulars who took their kids to the park, and they identified the Cohens, Reillys, and Riggs from their pictures.
Further conversation with Dr. Wood revealed Joshua did speak affectionately of his family and expressed a deep desire for the flashbacks to stop. He told the therapist they were destroying his life. While there was no way to know for sure, Dr. Wood said Joshua may have left Leanne Reilly’s car behind in a subconscious endeavor to be caught. Whether Joshua had known about the camera’s coverage on the parking lot and parked intentionally out of sight, went to his grave. But it seemed to Amanda he hadn’t given surveillance cameras any thought.
Purses belonging to each of the women were recovered from the house. Crime Scene also lifted their fingerprints from the room. DNA was collected but still being run through the system. Either way, they had solid proof the women and their daughters had been there.
A search of the Brock property revealed two graves containing two human bodies each. One marked the resting place of Cheryl and Holly Brock, and their autopsies confirmed severed spinal cords due to broken necks. Same for those in the second grave. It was believed it contained the remains of Abigail and Mia Cohen.
Cheryl’s and Holly’s time of deaths were estimated as eight months ago, only about thirty days after Joshua’s return from duty.
The canine hairs on the toys were a match to Brock’s dog. Jill Archer’s Chevy Malibu was in the barn. Her wedding ring was in the console—why or who put it there would remain unanswered. They also found work boots that matched the partial left near the Archers’ grave.
The outcome was equally sad as it was tragic. No one would be going to prison, and truly, Joshua was a victim himself. He’d gone overseas to defend his country and had returned broken. Unfortunately, a sad story on repeat for many who served in the military.
And Amanda suspected Trent was having a tougher time than he let on. After all, a man had used his service weapon to kill himself. The fact it had happened so fast did little to offset the aftermath of guilt and what ifs.
One good thing to result from this was that Leanne Reilly had left her husband, and she and her daughter were now living at the shelter.
Her phone rang, and it was Sergeant Graves. “Could I see you for a minute?”
Amanda had been sitting at her desk, thinking about everything. “Ah, sure.” The clock was showing it was just a few minutes from five.
Once she reached her office, Graves closed the door and told Amanda to take a seat.
Why does it feel like I’ve been called to the principal’s office?
“I know you’ve noticed me…” Graves stopped talking, letting her gaze dip over Amanda’s face. “At Hannah’s Diner.”
“I have.” Things between them had continued to grow more awkward over the last several days. She’d spotted the sergeant outside Hannah’s Diner on more occasions, and as far as she knew, she still hadn’t entered the place.
“Then you’re probably curious why I’ve been there.” Graves wrung her fingers, shifted in her chair. Whatever she had to say was making the sergeant as uncomfortable as it was making Amanda. “You saw that article back a couple weeks ago now that spoke of my past coming close to the Brock case?”
“You know I did.”
“My stepfather was an abusive man. I saw him beat my mother.” Graves stopped talking, though Amanda got the sense it wasn’t for sympathy, but rather she was drawing inward strength to continue with her story. “My mother was murdered about a year before I came here.”
For all the internet sleuthing Amanda had done on the sergeant, she’d never discovered that.
“Her husband did it. And he’s in jail now. It was pretty open and shut. The evidence was indisputable.”
“I’m sorry… That’s horrible about your mother.”
“I’m not telling you this for your sympathy, but just building to my point here. My mother died as Tori Kidd, but was born Hurst.”
That was May Byrd’s maiden name.
“My mother was May Byrd’s sister,” Graves clarified. “May is my aunt, but I’ve never met her. Well, she would have known me when I was quite young. But the sisters became estranged. May had tried to get my mother to leave her husband, but my mother was too blind to see him for who he was. When he ended up killing her, Mom had been in the process of leaving him. She never got far enough away.”
Amanda was having a hard time finding the right words. Tragic and heartbreaking to be sure.
“The reason I’m telling you all this is because you’re close with May. Am I right?”
“She’s like an aunt to me. I’ve known her most of my life.”
“Would you… I mean, don’t feel you have to. It’s not like what I’m about to ask is as your sergeant.”
“What is it?”
“Would you introduce me to her? I mean she probably won’t even want to meet me.”
“She would.” Amanda knew May well enough to feel confident saying that much. For her not to ever mention a sister, it must have hurt too much to talk about. “Family extends beyond blood, even death, in my opinion. And even though your mother and her sister may have had a falling out, I can tell you May probably never stopped loving her. She isn’t someone who holds a grudge.”
“You’re sure?”
“I am.”
Graves’s shoulders relaxed.
“I can introduce you tomorrow if you’d like.” Amanda was determined to get home on time for Zoe tonight.
“That would be… I couldn’t thank you enough.”
“No problem.” Amanda smiled at the sergeant, liking how the last few weeks had given Amanda a glimpse of her boss’s human side. Prior to that she was like a highly functioning robot doing the bidding of its programming, or in her case trying to impress the higher-ups.
Amanda returned to her desk and found a handwritten message left on her notepad.
Have a great weekend! Trent
“You too,” she said to the air. He was feeling better having seen his aunt last week. He’d confided in Amanda that he ended up knocking on her door. He had put his heart out there one last time, giving his aunt another chance. While she had ended up sending him away, it was the final closure he’d needed to release her and his guilt and move on.
Amanda had a rather uncomfortable personal situation to deal with herself. She and her half-brother were meeting up for coffee this weekend. It might be tough putting her father’s affair out of her mind to connect with Spencer, but she was willing to give it a try. And Sunday was the weekly dinner at her parents’ place. For the first time, she’d invited Logan to come along, so that ought to be interesting. And in every spare minute, she’d be hugging Zoe—even if she protested.
Amanda flicked her monitor off and snatched Trent’s note. She was smiling as she tucked it into a pants pocket. Despite all the death and the ugly, there were always some things worth living for.
* * *
If you were absolutely gripped by this nail-biting case, don't miss the next book in this unputdownable series, Taken Girls! When Amanda's beloved niece's schoolfriend is found brutally murdered at the prom, Amanda must race against the clock to uncover the twisted killer before heartbreak hits even closer to home…
Get it here!