“Yes, ma’am.”
The trooper stepped forward, one hand on his gun, although it was still fastened into his holster.Jez knew how to fight, but she also knew the advantages of a strategic retreat.She’d let Rimer win this battle, but the Choir would win the war—she’d make sure of that.
CHAPTER38
JERRY
“Draw a star.”
“What?”
“Draw a fucking star.”
Justin took the pen Jerry thrust at him and stared at it.He wasn’t taking the news of Amie’s death well, but for Pete’s sake, couldn’t he follow a simple instruction?
“Draw a star,” Jessalyn whispered.
He drew a star.
Thank fuck for that.“Good.We have a problem.”
“No kidding.”
Jez had hopped over the rear fence twenty minutes ago, unbolted the back gate, and led the others in through the backyard.Ari, Dawson, Brax, and Grey.Grey was already whining about “reputational damage”—his, not Justin’s.Nolan had looked shaky, so he’d been excused, and Zach was driving him back to Nyx, where Echo would give him a pep talk.
“We’re playing a game of cat and mouse, and at the moment, we’re the mouse.I don’t like being the mouse.I want to be the lion.”
“What am I supposed to tell Amie’s parents?Her sister?”Justin asked.Per Echo, Saige had started a new social media channel in a quest to cash in on her sister’s disappearance.Echo had trashed it, so she’d started another one.“I need to call my lawyer.”
“Forget Amie’s family.They’re not important.”
“They damn well are.”
“To the case.They’re not important to the case, and that’s what we’re focusing on right now.You can write a condolence card later.”
A tear rolled down Jessalyn’s cheek.Justin looked as if he wanted to stuff a sock in Jez’s mouth, but she knew he’d never have the balls.
“Why is this happening?”
“I thought we’d established that?Levi needs a scapegoat, and you’re it.You were the only viable option.The question you should be asking is, how are we going to turn the tables?”
“Can’t we just tell all this to the police?”
“Oh, please.You think Rimer will listen?”
Surprisingly, it was Jessalyn who spoke up.“Special Agent Rimer th-thinks you’re guilty.She said as much to me, and…and she talked about Ruby’s death too.She thinks you were involved.”
Interesting.“She said more or less the same thing to me today.”Meddling in another investigation.Why did she suspect anyone had meddled in the first?“We have to assume that Rimer is a lost cause.”
“There’s much more evidence to suggest that somebody is messing with Justin,” Ari said and began ticking off points on her fingers.“Amie’s abduction occurred when his routine suggested he’d be at home.She was taken from her place of work.Her body was dumped on land Justin owns.Whoever left her placed a potted orchid on her resting place.”Justin visibly jolted at that revelation.“Then there was an anonymous tip telling the police where to find her.Someone’s trying really hard to make all the clues point toward him.”
Jez tried not to show it, but she was worried about the autopsy.Because if she’d been pulling a stunt like this, she sure as shit would have left some incriminating evidence on the body—a hair, a blood spot, saliva.Those things weren’t as hard to collect as you might imagine.If the cops found Justin’s DNA on Amie, then bye-bye freedom.His lawyers would be left arguing in front of a jury.Hey, maybe he licked her at the office.
Echo already had her cyber tentacles in the Virginia Department of Health’s online systems, and they knew the autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday morning.Which gave them a little over twenty-four hours to come up with a plan.And they were still operating with so many gaps in their intel—the Diamondback Devils didn’t have much of a digital footprint, whoever looked after IS at the Justice Project was apparently more competent than most government agencies, and Barbie reported that Raelene Holtz drove a surveillance detection route on her way to work.Paranoid, or did she know people were out to get her?
As for Serafina Hennessy, she’d travelled to the Redding’s Correctional Complex down in Wise yesterday, where the visitor log showed she’d spent time with Levi Sykes.Congratulating themselves on a plan well executed?Now she was back in Richmond, ready for work on Monday morning.
Fuck her.
