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Jacob didn’t take chances without first going through the risks. It was doubtful that he’d walk into her building under the guise of delivering a package, but he also wasn’t the typical unsub who colored inside the lines of his profile.
Jacob was something else entirely…a singularity.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Brooklyn Sloane
February 2023
Thursday — 9:02am
Brookopenedhercardoor when she spotted Beau Willow exit the brick building located on Maryland Avenue NE that hosted several different AA and NA meetings throughout the week. He wasn’t alone, either. Levi Kittle’s smile faded when he saw that she was waiting for his friend.
She’d parked a few spots away from Beau’s vehicle so that they could speak in private before he returned to work. After attempting to get ahold of him earlier, she’d resorted to calling his workplace directly. When the receptionist said that he wouldn’t be into the office until after ten o’clock, Brook had Bit locate the man’s cell phone.
The way Bit had gone about retrieving such data blurred the lines of the investigation, but there were ways of looking up those details in a roundabout manner that technically wasn’t illegal. In order to prevent one’s phone from broadcasting his or her GPS location, one needed to select that option in the settings. Most people didn’t bother.
“Ms. Sloane?” Beau quickened his steps when he caught sight of her. He’d muttered a goodbye toward his friend before addressing her. “Did you find Grace?”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Willow,” Brook replied gently as she waited for him to come to a stop in front of her. “I didn’t mean to give you any false hope. I know that you were going to look for the mug that Grace kept saying was moved to the living room, but I was hoping that you could take a look at a photograph for me. All I need is a yes or no answer.”
Brook noticed that Levi had palmed his keys, but he’d made no effort to unlock the driver’s side door of his truck. He also didn’t hide the fact that he’d been attempting to listen in on their conversation from three parking spots away.
“What picture?” Beau asked before adding some additional details to her previous request. “And I have the mug with me. I was going to contact you this morning, but…”
Beau let his voice trail off before clearing his throat.
“I thought I needed a meeting today. All of this has been difficult to accept,” Beau explained as he reached into the pocket of his dress coat to pull out his keys. He pressed a button to unlock the doors to his car. “I spent the first year searching for my wife every single day and night. I offered rewards, went on television against the advice of the police, and even wasted money on a psychic. When her parents wanted to have a funeral, I’m not ashamed to admit that it broke me. I wasn’t ready to accept that Grace was gone, and now you’re saying that—“
“Beau? Is everything okay?” Levi asked as he decided to give up the pretense of getting into his truck. “Do you need me to stay?”
“I appreciate the offer, Levi.” Beau walked around to the other side of his car and opened the passenger side door. He then reached in to grab what Brook assumed to be the mug in the photograph before he slammed the door shut. “I’m just giving Ms. Sloane the mug that Grace swore I kept leaving in the living room.”
Levi didn’t seem to want to depart the area, and Beau didn’t glance the man’s way to see such an awkward hesitation. Brook had already pulled the photograph up on her phone, so she waited until Beau was close enough to exchange the items.
“This is the mug,” Brook murmured more to herself than to Beau. It wasn’t like they would be able to get any viable prints on it after so many years, but it was good to know that the team was on the right track. “You mentioned that Grace’s old neighbor was residing at the nursing facility. Do you see that pumpkin next to Jonas Davies in the picture? Is that the face that was carved into the jack-o-lantern that Grace found on the porch?”
Beau studied the picture closely, but he slowly shook his head.
“I’m sorry,” Beau replied with regret. “I honestly don’t know. I wasn’t there, and Grace had already tossed it into the garbage by the time I got to the house. Sidney Reeves might know, though. She was with Grace the evening that she called the police.”
“Ms. Reeves’ description matches the pumpkin in the photo, but I had been hoping that you could confirm that fact. From my understanding, Ms. Reeves is on vacation right now.”
By this time, Levi had gotten into his truck and had backed out of his parking space. Brook monitored his progress, not taken aback when his gaze met hers in the sideview mirror. She purposefully didn’t look away, but his gaze eventually was cut off when he made a righthand turn to take him toward the exit of the parking lot.
Something was off with his interest.
“I’ll double check with Ms. Reeves once she’s back in town,” Brook replied as she turned her focus back to Beau. She took her phone when he handed it back to her, mindful of the cup in her other hand. She should have put her leather gloves on before getting out of her car, but she hadn’t thought their conversation would last too long. “Mr. Willow, you’ve been friends with Mr. Kittle since high school. Was he close with Grace?”
Beau frowned at her question, and she soon figured out why.
“Levi didn’t know Grace.” Beau had tucked his hands back into the pockets of his dress coat before leaning up against the backend of his car. “I…well, you’ve already guessed that he is my sponsor. I went to my first AA meeting after my work threatened to terminate me. I recognized him a month in, he offered to be my sponsor, and the rest is history. If I’m being honest, we weren’t close in high school. He not only became my sponsor, but I’m pretty sure that he saved my life.”
Brook came close to asking Beau about Levi’s childhood, but she refrained from speaking. She would conduct a proper background check on Levi Kittle when she returned to the office. She still needed to stop in at the front desk to pick up the package that Charlie had called about first thing this morning.
By the time she figured out that the AA meeting ended at nine o’clock, she’d had just enough time to collect her car in the parking lot across the street and make it before chasing Beau across town.
“I still don’t understand what that means,” Beau asked as he gestured toward the mug. “What does it matter if Grace had a mug that belonged to Jonas Davies? What is the significance? And what does Jackie have to do with it? I made some calls, and I know that the police believe he killed several people. Did Jackie do it? Is he the one that took Grace? Because if he did…”
