AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“They were going to pin all the murders on him.”
“But she jumped the gun,” Ty said. “I knew Lysander was surprised to hear that.”
“They had ways to pin it on Dalen if that didn’t work, and to cast suspicion on Patrick.”
“Where’s my son? What’s going to happen to him?” He’d committed a crime. Yes, Ty had incited him, but it had been his choice, his impulsive choice.
“He’s with his mom. CID questioned him, and we talked with the district attorney. He doesn’t want to press charges, but Josiah has to go into mandatory counseling, which will do him good. We pulled a few strings like you know we can.”
Relief washed over him. “Good. That’s good. Thank you.”
“Was Lysander also the Fire & Ice Killer? Was Patrick Swain?”
“Swain was in the locations mentioned during the time frame of the killings, but his receipts and alibis all check out. As far as Lysander, nothing matches. He used the Fire & Ice Killer to add to your guilt and run you on his own fun wild-goose chase as well as to provide another option if his plan to frame his other brothers didn’t work.”
“He played me good.”
“No. You got the upper hand with Milo. He wasn’t able to see his plan through on his own terms.”
Maybe not. But no one won this one. Everyone had lost something. “Dalen involved?”
Asa shook his head. “He reported his car stolen two weeks ago. He didn’t report Carri missing because she left him prior to that.”
“She wasn’t in the cages.”
“I know. She’s still missing. My best guess is Garrick found her, killed her himself. Or maybe Lysander did. We’ll probably never know, but the other survivors are now with their families and gave testimony to everything Lysander did. Cami’s funeral is next week,” he whispered.
Now to face the other elephant in the room. “And Owen?”
Asa shook his head. “They found him not far from the house. I’ve notified his mother and sister. We had his body flown in to Greenwood, and arrangements are being made.”
When Ty’s tears came, he didn’t try to hide them. “I’m so sorry. I’ll resign first thing when we arrive in Memphis. Their deaths are on me.”
“No,” Asa said softly. “We saw Lysander that first day in the coffee shop. He came in purposely to be close to us. Dropped his phone, and I picked it up, not giving him much more than a glance. One of the girls said he had them on camera on his phone, and the house was a smart house with all the bells and whistles. Sheriff said they found cameras in what remains. What if they’d been on camera and I’d have paid more attention? I could have stopped it. Fi could have. This is not on you.”
“Not on you either.”
“We can pin it on Fi, then,” Asa teased, wiping moisture from his eyes. “She has it coming for thinking he was hotter than Orlando Bloom.” He chuckled and then sobered. “Cami’s life was snuffed out, Ty. She was conned and killed. But she would not want you to blame yourself. You know that. And Owen... Owen wasn’t killed because of you. He laid down his life for you.”
He had.
Owen had been the brother he’d always wanted. They’d spent weekends together, competed in a softball league together, and played office pranks for sheer merriment. He knew Ty better than anyone and never judged him—never preached.
Until the end, when he believed it had mattered most.
Now he was gone, and Ty was alone.
“I didn’t ask for that. I didn’t ask him to do that!” His nose ran and he covered his face, his entire body breaking down and grieving.
“No. You didn’t. He wanted you to live, Ty. And in order for you to live, he had to die. He chose to die for you. His love saved you. And if you quit—the team, life—you’ll have wasted his sacrifice. Don’t do that.”
Bexley’s words returned to his memory.
I don’t believe anything in our life is wasted. This shell is chipped and broken. Been tossed by the waves. No control and yet it’s here on this beach. It’s not so far destroyed that I can’t recognize what it’s meant to be or find the beauty in it. I think the broken shells have stronger, richer stories than those I find that are in mint condition.
He’d been broken. Owen had been broken. Ty had not only his story to tell but Owen’s. One of sacrificial love and bravery.
Oddly, a verse from the Bible came to mind. “No greater love than laying down a life for a brother,” Ty murmured. “Lysander said I’d need more than love to save me. He was wrong. It was absolutely love that saved me.”
