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He marched outside and stepped inside the SUV. “I got the list.”
“Well, it’s something.” Owen buckled up. “Cami’s cell phone provider turned over her texts and calls along with all the dates and time stamps. Selah’s been combing them from the past year, but hasn’t found anything tying Cami to our killer. She was communicating with this guy through an app or phone service that doesn’t store information on their servers at all or for very long. He was smart and she fell for it. With all her past experience with men and her knowledge from working with the SCU, she knew how to vet a dude. He was clever enough to gain her trust. He probably used her personal past to his advantage, telling her exactly what she wanted or needed to hear to drop her guard.”
Ty had come to the same conclusion. Their killer had talked to Skipper on WhatsApp and he probably talked to Cami that way, but wouldn’t that have been a red flag? “He had to be a sweet liar.” He was yanking Ty’s chains too. Why did Ty believe everything written in those notes to him was true? This killer was a liar, manipulating Ty and the team, and he was over it.
“You learn anything else inside there?” Owen asked.
Ty pushed the ignition button and glanced in his rearview mirror as a car pulled in behind them. “Hold up,” he mumbled. The driver’s door opened and a tall man with thick dark hair and sunglasses strutted out. “I thought he was out of town.”
“Who?”
“My brother Garrick.”
Chapter Nineteen
Ty darted out of the SUV, ready to confront his older brother. He’d bulked up since the last Ty had seen him, smirking at his disfellowship and the fact he’d been escorted off the property. He’d traded in jeans for a flashy, expensive suit and a watch that cost more than Ty’s vehicle. Garrick had followed in Rand’s footsteps with his taste for the finer things in life. Garrick paused, surprised at Ty’s presence.
“I was told you were out of town,” Ty said.
“And now I’m not.” Garrick approached him. “Why is the long-forgotten favored one here? Are you a prodigal?”
The animosity hadn’t mellowed over the years. “You live under a rock? Haven’t you heard about the lighthouse murders?”
Garrick checked his watch. “What does that have to do with the Family, Tiberius?”
“I think the killer may have ties to the Family.”
“You’d love to believe that, wouldn’t you? Take down the Family as a vendetta? No one presently in or formerly from our community has had anything to do with murders over two hundred miles away.” That was a long way to live and be separated from the victims, but this particular UNSUB had zero fear of getting caught. Could it be Garrick? Ty leaned toward no. He didn’t have much artistic ability either. Their killer did.
But almost eighteen years had passed. Plenty of time to hone a craft, to work in a tattoo shop, gaining the knowledge and experience before setting out for his master fantasy. Not to mention they’d found prostitutes who had been tattooed in the Charlotte and Raleigh areas.
“I’m told you handle the Prophet’s coastal properties.”
Garrick’s beam was smug. “You think I’m doing this? How have you made it this long in the FBI being so stupid? I handle more than Father’s coastal properties, and I suppose it’s a good thing. Hear a hurricane’s coming to the Outer Banks. Seems to me you don’t have a lot of time before everything takes a hit, including you.”
His phone dinged and he checked it, but his eyes didn’t track like one’s did when reading lines. He muttered something and then pocketed the cell. “Is this revenge for asking for Bexley’s hand in marriage? Your sweet precious Bex. She was nothing but a hot piece of tail and you know it. The real sweet spot would have been marrying the sister. All young and ripe...”
Ty balled his fist but remained level-headed. “How did you even know Bexley and I were sleeping together? Did you know before you asked to marry her?” Did he put it in motion to make sure Ty was disfellowshipped and Garrick retained standing as the upcoming Prophet after Rand’s death? The last thing he would have wanted was for Ty to be named as the new Prophet and get everything Garrick wanted.
Had Ty been a puppet even then?
His blood froze.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Tiberius.” Garrick grinned. “Of course I knew you were sleeping with Bexley. Just like I knew when I went in, shocked and devastated, about her being deflowered, Father would take her from you. I couldn’t care less about that skank.”
Owen stepped out of the car and nonchalantly walked up. He must have heard the conversation and decided to intervene before it escalated. Smart move. Ty was unraveling faster than a sweater stuck on a hook.
Garrick took one peek at Owen and laughed. “Gotcha a bodyguard now? How’s it going, boy?”
Ty thrust himself into Garrick’s personal space, grabbing him by the collar, but Owen yanked him back. “Don’t give this slug the time of day. He’s not worth it.”
Garrick laughed and brushed back his dark hair blowing in his eyes. “Go find a killer somewhere else, Tiberius. You’re barking up the wrong tree here.”
“Well, you didn’t get what you wanted. I left and you still aren’t taking Rand’s place. I take satisfaction in that.”
Garrick didn’t even bat an eye. Why? Why wouldn’t he be angry about it? Garrick loved power and authority and privilege.
“I wouldn’t be feeling satisfied just yet, Agent.”
