The pain of it lunged deep into her heart like a knife. He’d been so obsessed with the idea that CJ couldn’t fail, had to accomplish all these goals. He must have been afraid Shelley would keep getting in the way. It seemed from the videotape that she had figured out he was basically unhinged and she’d confronted him. She’d obviously found his video equipment in the attic when she’d gone up there to set up her own.
And all this time CJ had thought she was the one doing the protecting. She’d had no idea what her sister had done in an effort to protect her.
The Taser found in Edward’s home was the kind used on Ricky, Juanita, Cost, and Tyrone.
CJ could only assume that Edward had killed Ricky because of something he knew. Maybe Shelley had told him what Edward was up to. Or perhaps he’d killed Ricky in hopes of putting an end to the investigation into Shelley’s murder. Juanita and Cost because of what they had done to Shelley and how their actions hurt CJ. Or maybe because he feared her relationship with them would prevent her from going back to Baltimore. CJ couldn’t be sure. She’d gone over and over everything she’d said to Edward about the victims. It seemed everyone she’d complained about had ended up dead.
He’d killed Tyrone for obvious reasons. Tyrone had probably tried to blackmail him just as he had Cost.
Five murders. Five people had lost their lives. CJ just couldn’t come to terms with all this. She needed more for closure.
“Whatever he says to you won’t change anything,” Braddock offered in a last-ditch effort to change her mind about talking to Edward again.
She pushed all the questions aside. “I know. But I have to have closure. I need to speak to him alone.”
“All right. If that’s what you really want.”
A psychiatrist was scheduled to start an evaluation tomorrow morning. Edward likely wouldn’t talk to him either.
“Don’t worry,” CJ assured Braddock. “He can’t hurt me any more than he already has.”
Braddock walked her to the holding area. “He’s in a private cell. Don’t get too close to the bars, okay?”
She nodded.
He gestured to the guard who opened the door. “I’ll be right here,” Braddock reminded her.
She nodded, then walked through the door that separated the common area from the individual holding cells.
“Last cell on your right, ma’am,” the guard told her.
Her legs felt heavy, her chest tight with dread as she made the journey. She reached the last cell and turned to face the man who had betrayed her and her sister.
He sat on the bench staring at the wall.
“Edward.”
He turned to her. Stared. Didn’t speak.
“I need to know the truth.”
He blinked.
“Did you kill Shelley because she discovered your video equipment? I just need to know what happened to ... to trigger all this.” CJ’s heart wrenched with the misery that accompanied the words.
Edward said nothing.
She shook her head. Braddock was right. This wasn’t going to help. He wasn’t going to give her the answers she sought. And if he did, what difference would it make? Shelley was dead. They were all dead. Anything Edward said at this point might be some twisted, surreal version of the truth.
She took a breath, squared her shoulders. “I’m going back to Baltimore to finish my residency.”
Another of those empty blinks.
“I’ll be back to visit.” Maybe if she goaded him, he would react. “Braddock and I are together now. When I return I’ll be moving in with him.”
Nothing. Not even a blink.
“I’ve never been in love before, but I think he’s a man who’ll be easy to love.”
