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"So it's fake," I said.
"It looks real enough ..."
"No, I mean it's a red herring. Whoever killed those women wanted it to look like a real supernatural ritual. They dug up something so old that any supernatural investigating would know it was real, but would probably never ID it."
"Or a human could have dug it up from an old book and decided it'd be away to throw investigators off the trail."
"Sure, but my explanation is way more interesting. And speaking of interesting, I've been thinking about what Ginny Thompson was doing up at the cookie cult ..."
MY THEORY? BLACKMAIL. Someone might have commented on a resemblance between her and Alastair Koppel. She'd found out when he'd left town and put two and two together.
Then she looked at that big farm on the hill and to her, it would seem palatial. Her daddy, who'd never paid a dime in child support, now living the high life with a harem of young women. He owed her, and she was going to collect, and if he didn't like that, she'd tell his secret to the world.
Or Brandi had pushed her into it. From what I heard of their relationship, that seemed more likely. It was Brandi's idea, so she'd gone with Ginny to make sure she carried through.
Blackmail was a good motive for Alastair not to call the cops. And a good motive for Alastair--or Megan--to kill the blackmailers.
Adam had come to the same conclusion about why the young women went there. He wasn't as convinced that it led to Ginny and Brandi's deaths, but agreed there was enough of a possibility that we should get off our asses and head back up to that house for a chat with Megan.
WE STOPPED AT the police station first. Adam went in alone to properly introduce himself to Bruyn, chat him up, put him at ease ... Somehow he thought he could do that last part better without me. Go figure.
When he came out, he said, "Tiffany was injected in the left arm. And it was the back of her arm, which would be easy for someone else to do, but awkward to do yourself."
"They think it's murder then?"
He shook his head. "No, but when I raised the possibility, Bruyn jumped like a starving mutt at a hot dog. He smells Cody all over this " one.
"Good. That'll keep Cody busy while Jesse investigates his angle."
I WAS PERFECTLY willing to throw Adam to the guy-starved girls as a distraction, but he was having none of it. He wanted to snoop around the property on his own, so we switched seats and I dropped him off at the base of the hill.
Once the girls realized I was alone, they were happy to leave me to Megan. And Megan was happy to chat. I think she found me interesting--more of a distraction to her than a cute guy.
And I think the words Ginny Thompson's late-night visit helped her decide she'd better talk to me.
"We have an informant, I take it," she said as we sat at the picnic table in the backyard. Her tone was light, amused even. I searched her face for any signs she was covering a sudden panic attack, but she was cool as ice cream. Glass-shard-laced ice cream. Sweet and smooth and deadly.
"Multiple ones," I said, not wanting Vee to bear the brunt of it. "Seems some of your girls aren't too comfortable with the lies they're hearing, like the one where Alastair told me he never met Ginny or Brandi."
"Yes, they were snooping around the property. Yes, I lied and I'm sure Alastair did, too. We caught them ransacking our outbuildings, looking for our secret drug stash. A few weeks later, they turn up dead. Do you really think we were going to share that information?"
"So why not call the cops when you actually caught them?"
"We didn't need that kind of attention."
"From what I heard, it was Alastair who said no cops."
She paused, then said, "Do you know where I grew up, Ms. Levine?"
"No idea."
She smiled. "Liar. I'm sure you did your research. What it didn't tell you, though, is the kind of neighborhood I grew up in. I saw a lot of Ginnys and Brandis there. I had some for friends. And one thing they all had in common? No one would ever call the cops on them. People told themselves they were doing those girls a favor, giving them a second chance. They weren't. They were just teaching them what they could get away with. So, yes, I wanted to call the police. Alastair persuaded me not to."
"Because it would call undue attention to the group."
"Particularly so considering what they were looking for. People expect to find two things at a place like this: sex and drugs. But the locals have met the girls and they know we aren't keeping sex slaves. So Ginny and Brandi figured we must have drugs. If those suspicions got out, it would plant a new seed in the townspeople's minds--one that'll worry them more than group sex."
Her explanation made sense. It didn't mean it was the truth, of course. Megan wanted to protect her investment here. She knew exactly what to say.
