“No!” She attempted to slide forward and grab his ankle, but he kicked his foot backward and his boot slammed her in the face. Blood spurted, pain ricocheted through her nose and her head lolled back.
Then everything went black.
Rhonda couldn’t breathe as reality returned. It was morning now. Had Dana Jo come home last night? If so, where was she? Her daughter wouldn’t have left her on the floor unconscious.
Her chest squeezed with fear. She had to get help.
Fumbling to find her phone, she realized it was in her back pocket. Fingers still sticky with blood, she pulled it out.
Her vision blurred for a second, but she finally punched 9-1-1. “Help me…” she whispered. “Please help…”
SEVENTY-ONE
Crooked Creek Police Department
Ellie started the briefing by updating the whiteboard. In order to spot problems, inconsistencies or commonalities she needed a visual picture of all factors in one place.
Each of the victims and their children’s photos stared back, begging her for answers.
She cleared her throat and addressed the team: Cord, Derrick, Deputies Landrum and Eastwood and Sheriff Bryce Waters, who was present today. He and his deputies had been monitoring the Day of the Dead celebrations around town and the vigils being held at Midnight Ridge this week for security reasons and to be on the lookout for anyone suspicious, someone who might be their unsub.
Ellie rapped her knuckles on the table to get everyone’s attention. “This is the latest. When I spoke to Nina Gillis’s mother, she seemed still deep in grief. Before Nina’s death, Mrs. Gillis urged her daughter to attend counseling, but the girl fell deeper and deeper into depression. Beneath Nina’s bed, I found a box of notes she’d written. In one of them, she described being sexually assaulted.”
Quiet murmurs rumbled through the room, but no one seemed shocked.
“That could have worsened her depression,” Shondra interjected. “Or caused it.”
“The Orwells claimed Jordan was depressed as well, but following the advice of the counselor who worked with her, she gave her child up for adoption.”
“Do you know the name of the adoption agency or the family where the baby was placed?” Derrick asked.
“Not yet, but I intend to interview the counselor and find out.”
“If the girls were sexually assaulted, why didn’t they come forward?” Deputy Landrum asked.
“Probably because attorneys have a way of blaming the victims,” Shondra interjected.
“Also they were afraid,” Ellie said. “In Nina’s notebook, she admitted she wanted to tell, but was afraid the man would kill her and her family if she did.”
“So she stayed quiet and he killed her anyway,” Cord said, disgust hardening his tone.
Ellie grimaced. “I’m afraid so. But he didn’t take her child, so why take Iris?”
“Because she kept her baby and Jordan allowed hers to be adopted?” Derrick suggested.
“Mrs. Orwell said that Jordan didn’t want the baby to grow up as she had, which I assume means with alcoholic parents.”
Ellie wrote the question on the board with the team’s theories. If Derrick was right, the adoption agency might be involved. “After meeting Minnie’s parents, I understand Minnie’s reasoning for running away. I suspect Mr. Benton knew about the pregnancy and ordered her to leave. Or perhaps he ran her off because she wanted to keep the baby.”
“But you said her sister might have helped her. Why wouldn’t she have confided in her?” Sheriff Waters asked.
“Fear, just like Nina,” Shondra said. “Or shame. Often, sexually assaulted victims blame themselves. It’s not warranted, but it can be part of a victim’s mentality caused by the abuse.”
Ellie nodded. “Each of the girls was troubled before conceiving which also made them vulnerable to a predator.”
Ellie wrote the word FATHER on the board with a big question mark.
“The answer has to lie with the unknown fathers of the babies.” Her phone dinged and she checked her text message. “It’s from the ME.” She read the message aloud. “DNA results for Iris are in. The father’s DNA isn’t in the system and doesn’t match Marty Burgess’s sample. Bring me a suspect’s DNA for comparison, and I might be able to pinpoint the father’s identity.”
