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I try not to squirm under everyone’s gazes after retelling everything that happened since I woke up in my cell.
Drae clears his throat. “I’m sorry about that look after we got back here earlier this morning. I misunderstood some of what Lindsey said and thought you knew something you hadn’t told me yet.”
I shake my head. “She said they only hurt both our moms. She never mentioned anything else to me. I will admit, before she said that, I was worried since she said our moms were laying on beds in her cell. I wouldn’t put it past those bastards to sink that low.”
He winces. “She didn’t see it, but she did hear it. She said that they would take Jane and Lillian into the room you were in, and from what she told me, she heard them raping them as well as beating them. At the cabins, they also held Jane and Lillian in the room next where Lindsey was and the doors were left open on purpose so she’d know what to expect when she came of age.”
Rage fills me, but I take deep breaths so that I don’t explode. “Did Timber tell you what I said, Drae?”
He swallows thickly and nods.
“What?” Thor asks as he looks between the two of us.
“I asked him if he knew who had hurt Jane the most, Mom the most, and Lindsey the most. Whoever hurt and did the damage that killed Jane, I voted for Drae being the one to end them. Even if it’s the same person who killed Mom. He deserves that vengeance more than I do.”
“Lindsey said Preston was the main one that hurt Jane, so I want him. I know you all want hits in for what he’s done to Mae over the years, but if I could have him, I would appreciate it. As for Lillian, it was Bruce, a few other guys with the same snake tattoo as Bruce’s, and X. But it was mostly Bruce and X. Judging by their descriptions, I think we have the snake guys,” Drae tells me.
“What about Lindsey?” I ask, and he shakes his head.
“She mainly got starved, so I don’t know who to punish for that. They all hit her a few times, but those were after the first escape attempt and when Jane or Lillian wouldn’t ‘behave’.”
“I know you guys will want to talk about how to handle things, and since I’m not taking part you probably want me to leave, but I have two questions before I step out. One, when will the funerals be for Jane and Mom? The second one is if it’s okay that I see the pictures of the people who you brought back? I’m curious if I can identify any of them for you.” I swallow thickly as I blink back tears. I hate that my mom died at their hands.
Thor nods slowly. “That we can do. For the funerals, we plan to have them tomorrow morning. An old buddy of ours is preparing them and he’s trusted so we can control what the cops need for their records. As for the pictures, Smoke, can you pull them up?”
Dad pulls up the pictures and my eyes widen when I see who’s all involved.
“Dad, can I have your stylus and laptop?”
He passes them to me, a question in his eyes, but he doesn’t ask it.
Taking a deep breath, I start writing names by the ones I know, even if they already know them.
Bruce Martin, the man who was introduced to me as Michael Sawyer.
Preston Cole.
Christian Brown.
Derick Lede.
The other three, I don’t know.
Passing the laptop back to him, I sigh. “Christian Brown is X’s second-in-command from what I know. I’ve only met him once. Same with Derick Lede, but I think he was just a lackey. X isn’t in this group. I have no idea where Phillip is if he wasn’t with this group, but maybe he’s with X?”
They all freeze and Dad circles one of the guys I had a question mark on. “This isn’t X?”
I shake my head. “No, the neck tattoo is wrong. Also, I had no idea that voodoo tattoo was a group thing, but the lines around it are different. When I saw it before in the pictures I was texted, it was X. He has smooth, wavy, wispy lines around the voodoo doll. This guy has jagged tribal markings around it, almost like lightning bolts.
“X’s neck tattoo is of a snake that winds up his torso and back with the head of the snake baring his fangs a little below and behind the ear. This guy’s snake head has its mouth closed with the tongue sticking out. I don’t know who it is but it must be some sort of underling of X’s if his tattoos are so similar.”
The guys all curse and I look to Dad. “Did anyone go back and check out the homestead? Is he there maybe?”
Dad tilts his head toward Bones.
“I went out and flew a drone around. I only saw the men that we knew were there and they were acting like business as usual. Maybe we should plant some cameras around to see if we can capture anything? If X is hiding there, then he’s somewhere where I can’t see,” Bones tells us and I groan.
Thor looks around the table and picks up his hammer. “Alright. I think it’s time to make our guests sing,” he says as he bangs it down on the table.
