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“What?” CJ and I yell simultaneously.
“The girl, Kate Morrison… Do you know her?”
CJ nods, swallowing. “Yes, she’s my friend’s sister. Why?”
More tears fill her eyes. “They said her murder was done out of anger. It wasn’t premeditated, like the other girls he’s taken. They’re keeping it out of the media until tomorrow, but another girl was taken yesterday. They’re being more aggressive with their investigation. I thought it was over.”
She’s in shock, so I start rubbing slow circles on the backs of her hands with my thumb, wanting to soothe her.
“Mum, you aren’t making sense.”
She shakes herself out of it, staring at her son. “I’m so sorry this is happening, but they want you to go into the police station tomorrow for a DNA test.”
My heart starts beating wildly.
“What?” he asks, taken aback.
She rubs her temples, closing her eyes for a few moments, before glancing back at us. “They explained that the killer was sloppy when it came to Kate. She wasn’t washed like the others,” she says, shuddering. “They found some DNA under her fingernails.”
CJ gulps. “Mum, what does this have to do with me?”
She pulls one of her hands free from my grip to cup his jaw, looking him squarely in the eyes, taking another deep breath. “When I was raped twenty-two years ago, they got the DNA of the rapist from me and used it to find him.”
CJ nods when she pauses. He’s on the verge of losing it. I can tell by the bopping of his adams apple, and him clenching his hands. It must be hard for him to hear this. I know it is for me, and I’m not her son.
“Go on.”
“When they took the DNA from Kate, it came back with a possible match…” She swallows, looking pained. “It was a one hundred and ten percent familial match with the man who raped me.”
CJ sits back in his seat, rubbing his hand across his face. I’m too stunned to do or say anything. I hadn’t seen this coming and have no idea what it means—or why they want to question CJ.
He swallows, peering at his mum with glassy eyes. “What does that all mean? What does it have to do with me?”
“They’ve confirmed the killer is male, approximately in his early or late twenties. They’ve also established that the match is a close relative, probably a son or nephew of some sort. It’s why they need you to go down the station.”
His expression crumbles, and my heart bleeds for him. They can’t possibly think he had anything to do with the murders.
He turns to me, a few tears falling down his cheeks. “I didn’t do this,” he croaks hoarsely.
I sit forward, placing my hands on his knees. “No one will think you did. They probably want to confirm yours isn’t a match. It’s procedure. Remember, they don’t know you. They don’t know what a selfless, kind-hearted person you are. Once they do, they will give you the all clear.”
He turns to his mum, wiping under his eyes. “I didn’t do this. I’m nothing like him, Mum. Does it run in the family? Will I be a monster, just like him?”
His mum starts crying and sits forward until her knees are touching CJ’s. “Son, you are nothing like him. You’d never hurt a soul. You might share his DNA, but you’ve also got mine, and us Everherts are a lot stronger. You weren’t raised by a pack of wolves; you were raised by me. But CJ, it’s your heart alone that sets you so far off from them. You’d never even think of doing something so heinous like this.”
His fists clench, and he sits up, breathing heavily. “I’m not going to wait around for the police to arrest me. I’m going to get this sorted tonight. If this gets out, my life is over, Mum.”
He gets up, and me and his mum follow, reaching for him to stop him. “CJ, stay. You heard your mum; she said you can go in tomorrow.”
He shakes his head. “No. I’m not letting him ruin my life again.”
“CJ, please, let’s talk about this.”
Sadness fills his eyes. “I’m sorry. I won’t be long.”
With that, he leaves, and my heart breaks. I wipe at the tears I hadn’t realised were there and glance at Milly.
“Let’s go get you a cup of tea,” I whisper.
