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Sandman disconnected the call and turned toward Big Jay and Grace.
“Well?” she asked in a shaky voice.
“Sit down, Grace.”
She shook her head, refusing to listen. “Just tell me. Tell me what happened now.”
Big Jay had his eyebrows scrunched and his hands were on Grace’s shoulders.
“Your brother John’s girlfriend…Maggie.”
“Oh God…Oh no.” She shook her head and she covered her face with her hands.
“She was found off the side of the road somewhere along Allington Way. She’s been murdered, baby.” He walked toward her.
Grace turned away. She pulled from Big Jay’s hands. She was angry and upset. She would want to go see her family, to see John and be there for them. But she couldn’t. That was exactly what the killer wanted.
Sandman grabbed her arm and pulled her into his embrace despite her attempts to stop him.
Grace was crying. “I want to go home. I need to go home. Now.”
“You can’t go, Grace. You know I can’t let you.”
She tried to push away from him, still crying with her hands against his chest. “I want to go. I need to see John. I don’t care if I die. Maybe everything will just stop if he kills me already.”
Big Jay caressed her hair. “Baby, that’s not an option. This guy wants to hurt you, cause you pain and make you come back to him.”
“It’s all my fault. He killed Maggie because of me.”
“No, baby. He’s the one committing murder. Whether you’re in Houston or out here, he’s got an agenda and we need to figure it out,” Big Jay added.
Sandman was at a loss for words. He was angry and pissed off and he felt so awful for Grace his heart actually ached, indicating it was still functional with emotions. He thought he had grown coldhearted and unaffected and he was wrong. Grace came into his life and his brothers’ lives and changed them.
“You can’t leave, Grace. It’s not even an option. What we need to do is sit down and go over the information I have. Maybe together we could come up with something concrete. As far as your family’s concerned, we’ll set up your laptop in my office. You can e-mail Donald. That’s where the other secure line will be set up.”
“What’s going on?” Duke asked as he walked into the room carrying a bunch of papers. Big Jay explained as Sandman tried to get through to Grace.
“Son of a bitch. Damn, honey, I’m so fucking sorry,” Duke said then placed the papers down onto the island and pulled her into his arms. She allowed Duke to hold her and to Sandman it was a step in the right direction.
She stepped from Duke’s arms and rubbed her tears away from her eyes. Sandman took her hand and pulled her against his chest.
“We’ll set up the secure line right away, baby. You’ll be able to talk with your family,” Sandman told her.
“Let me go, Sandman. You said you would set that line up. You haven’t even done that for me? What were you waiting for? Something like this to happen? I need to be alone.” She pulled from him and walked out of the room.
“I want this guy’s head on a fucking platter,” Sandman stated with fists by his sides.
“We do, too, but we need to be rational,” Big Jay said.
“Fuck rational. If this continues, we’ll lose her,” Sandman said.
“He’s right, Jay. Grace is not going to be able to handle much more bad news like this,” Duke stated.
“Let’s start off with the material you have, Duke, and then we’ll see what our next move is. There is more to this guy. I know it. His MO is changing regularly. Just as I think he’s some sick serial killer out for personal pleasure, someone else pops up dead. I think there’s a definite connection to those other murders of those men. There’s a link there somewhere. We need to find it.”
“You’re right, Sandman, but first, let’s get Grace through this current situation. She’ll need us,” Big Jay added, and they agreed as they went in search of her.
* * * *
