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“What, Jared?” He could deny, but the facts of Aaron’s culpability were difficult to challenge. Witnesses to the school victims. Personal testimony by one of those victims. DNA and a deed that tied him to Karen’s murder.
Jared slowly raised his head. “Other victims?”
“We found personal items and jewelry he likely took from other victims.” She slipped the envelope with the photos out from the bottom of her file but didn’t open it yet. She wanted his full attention. There weren’t any fingerprints on any of the items and someone killed Aaron, so she needed more.
He blew out a long breath. Looked like he was fighting to keep from falling over. “I can’t believe this.”
The shock playing on his face reminded her of Lila. She went pale at the sight of the photos. The more Ginny had talked about bracelets and victims, the more hunted Lila had looked.
“The two of you were very close. You went hunting and hiking on weekends.” The prime times for Aaron to stalk his victims. “You can see why it’s hard for me to believe you didn’t have at least a hint about what he was doing in his free time.”
“Never,” he shot back.
“He didn’t talk about the girls at school?”
“No.”
“A stray comment about going away for a few days.” It was a small opening, and she hoped he’d take it.
He slapped his palm against the table with a whack. “That’s not who he was.”
The raised voice amounted to more emotion than he’d shown since Aaron went missing. She dug in a little more. “It is, Jared. We have the evidence. He owned the cabin.”
He scoffed. “He’s being set up.”
“By who?”
“The person who killed him.”
That piece stumped her every time. She wished Karen had taken Aaron out, gotten her revenge before she died, but the tests suggested otherwise. Karen died first, days before Aaron. They were still waiting on Aaron’s cause of death.
“Tell me who, Jared. You’re the one who insisted most people liked him.” She pretended to flip through her notes. “Who would set him up?”
“That Ryan guy had his phone. He was sleeping with Lila. That sure as hell sounds like motive.” Jared moved his hands around in the air. “Wasn’t he some sort of killer expert?”
“He claims someone planted the phone at his house and he’s never seen it before.” His prints weren’t on it, and Aaron’s were. Ginny knew a criminal defense attorney would jump all over that evidentiary loophole.
“Of course.” Jared’s voice got louder. “Because he wouldn’t lie about framing someone.”
“There’s an easier solution.”
“Nothing about this is easy.”
He sounded so much like Lila. That fact hit Ginny again and again while he talked.
“Let’s say Aaron had an accomplice. Someone who helped him hunt and kill those women.” This option made sense toher, except that she couldn’t figure out a way to believe in Lila’s absolution in all of this, and she didn’t see Lila as a serial killer accomplice, so... “Maybe someone who got tired of Aaron’s antics and killed him. Someone who financially benefitted from his death.”
Jared dropped back in his seat. “You’re looking at me for this?”
He acted as if the idea had never crossed his mind. She couldn’t decide if this was a case of rabid denial or something else. “You are the most likely candidate.”
“Because we’re blood related?”
Because no one else made sense. As far as the accomplice theory went, the two she could see were Brent and Jared. No one else got close enough or spent enough time with Aaron to make it work, but both of those men did.
She opened the envelope and pulled out the photograph that had given Lila pause. “Have you ever seen this bracelet?”
“No.”
