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EPILOGUE
TWO DAYS LATER
Monday
“Everything will be okay in the end; if it’s not okay, it’s not the end.” Maybe there was some merit to that saying, after all. Before Zoe, she wouldn’t have agreed. But Zoe had her imagining that a bright future was possible, and every moment she spent with her, she was enraptured by her innocent curiosity and zest for life. For however long she and Zoe had together, Amanda was going to make the most of it.
She’d taken the day off work and pulled Zoe from school. One day here or there wouldn’t hurt anything. Besides, Zoe was getting an education today, even if it wasn’t in a classroom. They were at the aquarium in Washington, standing in front of a large tank watching stingrays put on a performance. Zoe kept giggling and pointing to each one as it swam close. Her fingerprints smeared the glass, making Amanda happy that cleaning it wasn’t her job. There would be millions of little hand impressions by the end of the day.
As they wandered the aquarium, she kept thinking about how blessed she was to have Zoe in her life. She even dared to dream what awaited them in the future. But intermixed in her thoughts were ones about the investigation, about how everything had shaken out.
William McMillan was going to survive the bullet wound. He and Leah were facing two charges of conspiracy to commit murder and two murder charges in the first degree. Leah was remaining tight-lipped about her role with the black orchids, but there was damning evidence against her. The sprigs left with Chloe Somner and Jayne Russell tied back to two plants in Leah’s greenhouse collection.
The knife that William had pulled on Amanda was also a match for the one used to kill both girls, and the tip recovered from one of the wounds in Jayne’s body clinched it as the murder weapon.
While they still waited on DNA, William was the right blood type for what had been left on the snail. Amanda loved how that small bit of evidence played out to help them put a killer behind bars. It was like Chloe’s dedication and interest in them had paid off.
The search of Chloe’s car hadn’t revealed any implicating evidence, and Amanda didn’t hold out much hope her belongings or Jayne’s would ever be found. The McMillans weren’t talking about where or how they’d disposed of them. All the investigation turned up was that blue coral necklace and the running shoe found in the forest, which also ended up being Chloe’s. Amanda would have liked to be able to return Chloe’s laptop and all the information on it to her parents, but that wasn’t looking promising.
The credit card information from Pick Me Up linked back to William.
After talking with Stephanie, they learned that Ashton Chambers had given her a ride home a few weeks ago when she’d requested one from the app. She’d mentioned running into him to her mother and what his life currently looked like. Leah must have blamed that high school prank for his less-than-stellar career path, and it served as the last push she and William needed to kill Chloe and Jayne. But they’d also needed someone to cast suspicion away from themselves and had targeted Ashton Chambers. He’d been victimized again.
Detective Jacob Briggs was able to find out who had spoofed Josh’s phone number and that had led to a burner in Leah’s possession. When questioned about it, she had said, “It wasn’t hard, and why not try to frame the boy? He wasn’t any better to my girl and had no loyalty. He should just be happy that William didn’t kill him too.”
Just thinking about Leah McMillan sent shivers running through Amanda. She was one cold-hearted, homicidal bitch. But, as it turned out, William McMillan wasn’t much better. He’d conspired and schemed with her and carried out the actual murders.
“Look at that fish! He looks like he’s on fire!” Zoe was tugging on Amanda’s arm.
“Wow, would you look at that?” Bright red… Just like the rose left with Annie Frasier. Leah… cold-hearted, homicidal.She had red roses in her greenhouse. A common flower, a mere coincidence? Twenty years ago, Leah would have been twenty-two—college age. Stephanie had mentioned that her mother had a rival in college the first time they’d spoken with the girl. Her mother had tried to convince Stephanie that it only pushed her to work harder—but what if it pushed her to do something else?
Amanda shook her head. She’d taken the day off work, one measly day, and murder was still on her mind. She pulled out her phone and called Trent. The moment he answered, she rushed out, “What university did Annie Frasier go to twenty years ago?”
“Georgetown.”
“What university did Leah attend?”
“One minute…” Fingers clicking on a keyboard. “Same.”
“There’s something about Leah that isn’t sitting with me. She’s cold and calculating and doesn’t seem fazed by any of this.”
“I agree.”
“Can we connect her to Frasier from years ago? Apart from them going to the same college?”
“Let me call the Metro PD detective and see what he says.”
“Call me the second you hear anything.” She pocketed her phone and put a hand on Zoe’s shoulder. She was just getting comfortable when her phone rang. “Just going to get this, sweetie.” Zoe was busy staring into the tank.
Deb Hibbert was calling. Amanda took a deep breath and answered. Whatever she had to say, she and Zoe would weather the storm and get through it. Somehow.
“Amanda,” Deb said. Just her name, and it had Amanda breathing easier. There was good news coming. She could feel it. She reached for Zoe’s hand. The girl smiled up at her.
“Colin isn’t going to pursue custody. He saw how good you and Zoe are together, and he admits he’s really not in the position to take her on in his life.”
She could breathe fully now, her lungs expanded. “That’s such great news.”
“I’m very happy for you two. There are just some more boxes to tick off, but I suspect that it may be possible for the two of you to officially be a family by Christmastime.”
“Oh, we’re already that.” She smiled and swung Zoe’s arm. The child giggled and yanked her hand free.
“Oooh.” She was pointing at another fish. This one tall and thin, and the brightest blue Amanda had ever seen.
“Legally, I should say. Overall, the process has gone smoothly for you two. Like you’re meant to be. Have a great day,” Deb said.
“Thanks.” Amanda ended the call. Meant to be. Say that again! She’d taken that picture Zoe had drawn during their meeting with Colin and had bought a frame for it. She’d placed it inside and gifted it to Zoe before they left home that morning. They’d decided the perfect spot was next to the front door and hung it before leaving the house. It would mean even more now. In just a matter of weeks, it would be official. Zoe would be hers, and she Zoe’s.
Her phone rang again. This time it was Malone.
“Thought you’d want to be one of the first to know,” he said. “I’ve decided to put off being chief for now. Not the right move just yet.”
She knew he’d harbored some guilt and regret over not taking her and Trent’s suspicions as seriously as the situation ended up warranting. But he didn’t have a crystal ball, let alone the ability to read one. If he hadn’t been concerned about impressing the Board of County Supervisors, who appointed the police chief, maybe he would have sent them with backup. “I’m supposed to encourage you to take the post, but…”
“Not at all.” He was smiling, the expression traveling the line. “Besides, now I’ll be around longer to mold you and Trent into respectable detectives.”
“Hey.” She laughed.
“I’m proud to be your sergeant.”
“We’re proud to have you.”
“And to think you fought me like hell when I first tried to pair you with Trent.”
She rolled her eyes. “Is this where you say ‘I told you so’?”
“Why not? I did tell you so.” He said goodbye and ended the call.
She couldn’t stop grinning, and that lasted all day. They were getting their coats from the coat check around four thirty when her phone rang.
“It’s always ringing,” Zoe said to her.
