Closing my eyes, I try desperately to wrap my mind around the events since I made the trip to Blue Gil last May. Blinking, I look at Liam. “Oh my God. She did it all.”
“Do you think she killed her husband?”
My vow to my mother drives my answer. “I asked and she said no. It must have been an accident.”
“Did you read the information I sent you?”
My thoughts are fuzzy, but somehow, my tired brain retrieves the information he’s referring to. “About Sydney Morton. Serena killed her. She admitted it.”
“It didn’t say in this news piece that she was killed, but I recognized the name of your hometown, and I called in a few favors.”
“What did you find out?”
“Ms. Morton was assaulted,andher eyes were removed.”
My stomach twists as my hands tremble. “Assaulted? Sexually?”
He nods. “With a knife.”
“And her eyes...both?”
“Yes.”
“It’s never been both assault and eyes. It’s been one or the other,” I say.
“The crimes are progressing. When I first sent the information to you, I thought it was either a copycat who wasn’t privy to accurate information or” —he takes a breath— “your guy wasn’t guilty. And if that was the case, the perp is escalating, becoming more violent.”
“Keith didn’t do it,” I say, a rush of relief flowing through my veins. He didn’t hurt me or any of the others. I close my eyes with a sigh. “I knew it wasn’t Keith.”
As I open my eyes, Liam nods his head. “You stood by that conviction even when the evidence suggested otherwise.”
“I couldn’t believe he was guilty.”
The magnitude of Serena’s crimes overwhelms me as tears stream down my cheeks.
“Hey, you’re safe.”
I nod. “Serena did it all—killed all those people, hurt Julie and me.” My hands begin to tremble. “She was going to kill me.” A thought hits me. “Liam, do you know who besides an impotent man uses objects to assert sexual power?”
“A woman.”
“A psychotic woman with a long list of vendettas.”
Chapter
Forty-Six
“Hello, this is Kenzi. Ali and I welcome you back toCrime Daily Podcast.”
“And boy, do we have an update for you,” Ali says. “Remember the happenings of Blue Gil, Michigan, last spring?”
“The accused was arrested. If I recall he’s the brother of the football coach who died accidentally. For those who can’t see me, I used air quotes. Has his trial started?”
“He didn’t do it,” Ali exclaims. “Keith Gilbert was falsely accused. He’s been released.”
“He didn’t do it? What about all the evidence?”
“Remember how Jill Thorne refused to press charges. She was right.”
