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“We know that you transported and buried the bodies.” Brook paused a moment to ensure that Brett was going to listen to reason. It didn’t appear that he’d obtained a weapon in the short amount of time that he’d been out of her sight. “Your brother looks like he’s having trouble waking up. Let us get him some help. Tell us what you gave him, and we’ll see that he gets medical attention.”
“Peg did this all on her own.” By this point, Brett was facing Brook and was obviously trying to find a way out of his own self-made grave. “Peg drugged those women. She was the one who killed them. Not Catherine.”
Brook could have attempted to get more information out of him, but it was pointless now that Peg had already basically given a detailed account of what had taken place over the last three years. Getting Brett on his knees so that Detective Raines could make the arrest was paramount.
“Brett, we can get everything sorted out down at the station. Detective Raines is going to enter the bedroom, place you in handcuffs, and then call for the EMTs to check on your brother,” Brook explained as calmly as she could, hoping that Theo or Sylvie had found Bit and Peg in the den. An officer would need to detain her, as well. “Please, get on your knees and lace your hands behind your head.”
Brook had advanced far enough into the bedroom that Detective Raines had been able to enter and assess the situation. She still couldn’t spot any weapons, although Brett appeared ready to break down. He was rubbing his face in panic as he tried to come to terms with his situation.
“Nolan will back me up. He will. Peg was the one who killed those women. Catherine had nothing to do with any of it.”
“Mr. Kolsby, you should do as Ms. Sloane instructed,” Detective Raines advised cautiously as he took a step forward. Brook finally allowed her gaze to settle on Nolan, who was no longer conscious. Whatever Peg or Brett had drugged him with must have been potent. He had a grey pallor to him, and his chest wasn’t rising and falling as steadily as it should have been. “My officers have Peg in custody, and we can all go down to the station and talk this through.”
“I want my lawyer there. Do you hear me?” Brett seemed to have come to the conclusion that his lawyers could get him out of this dire situation, but that wasn’t likely to happen. With Peg’s testimony alone, the prosecuting attorney would have enough to take the case to trial. “I’m not saying another word without my lawyer.”
The next few moments passed without any further complications. Brook was able to reach Nolan’s side and check his pulse, which seemed a bit erratic. An officer entered the room shortly thereafter and explained to her that the medics were enroute and that he would stay and ensure Nolan remained breathing on his own.
Brook holstered her weapon as she exited the room and made her way down the two hallways. She caught sight over the banister of Theo, Sylvie, and Bit standing in the foyer. It didn’t take her long to reach the first level.
“You handled yourself like a true professional, Bit,” Brook praised as she joined their small circle. She then focused on the other two team members. “What happened while you were at Stephen and Catherine’s residence?”
“Once Dr. Kolsby got the call from Brett that you were at the house, it wasn’t long before everyone started to connect the dots that we’d purposefully arranged for tonight’s events to happen. Catherine brook down in tears, her fiancé didn’t seem to understand what was taking place, and Dr. Kolsby then begged for his daughter to tell him what she’d done,” Theo replied right as a medic entered the residence. A gust of cold wind entered first, causing the Christmas wreath on the door to swing back and forth. “It was almost as if he didn’t know what his children had done. Odd, considering his confession was what cast suspicion on them in the first place.”
“I’m sure Detective Soerig and Detective Raines will get to the truth,” Brook said as she fastened her dress coat.
“If Catherine wasn’t such a cold-blooded killer, I would have felt sorry for her,” Sylvie murmured with a tinge of disgust. Her gaze trailed after the medics making their way up the stairs. “You should have seen her, Brook. She was begging for her fiancé to understand the depth of her love. She purposefully led all those women to their deaths. It was as if these family members were all corrupted by each other’s sins.”
“I would have traded you.” Bit focused his attention on Brook. “No offense, but I’m going to have nightmares for weeks. I don’t deal well with old people.”
Theo lifted a hand to camouflage his grin. It quickly faded when Hadley walked into the house, followed closely by Detective Raines. The two had clearly been engaged in a dispute.
“…Kolsby is insisting that he didn’t know about the murders, but that doesn’t account for why he would know certain details as he was coming out from under anesthesia,” Detective Raines said as he closed the door behind him. He wasn’t wearing any gloves, and he immediately lifted both of his hands to his mouth to find some relief for his cold skin. “This entire family is fucked up beyond belief, in my not so humble opinion.”
“You saw the youngest son upstairs,” Hadley pointed out as she and Raines continued across the foyer toward the back of the house. They were obviously headed toward the kitchen. She met Theo’s gaze. There was a promise lingering in her eyes, and Brook had a feeling that she would be seeing the newly minted detective in the foyer of their condo building quite often in the future. “I don’t believe Nolan Kolsby had knowledge of the murders, but I certainly don’t envy him right now. He clearly figured it out. You have to ask yourself how far Brett, Catherine, and Peg would have gone if they hadn’t been able to get him to agree to be quiet. He looks half-dead already.”
The two of them eventually disappeared from sight.
“I take it that Peg and Brett Kolsby are already on their way to the station?” Brook asked, wanting to know specific details so that she could inform their client. “From what Raines and Hadley just said, I’m going to assume that Catherine and Dr. Kolsby have also been detained?”
“Yes to both questions,” Sylvie responded before pulling out her phone. “Would you like me to reach out to Alex? Millie shouldn’t be needing a protective detail after this evening.”
“Yes, please. Theo, would you let Detective Raines know that he’ll need to have his forensics team test the hot cocoa for poison?” Brook pulled her own cell phone out of her pocket. “I’ll call our client and give her the news myself. Bit, go ahead and take the van back to the office before the roads get too bad. Sylvie can go with you. I’ll ride back with Theo.”
One of the benefits of being a private firm was that they didn’t have to stay for the remainder of the evening while a forensics team scoured the residence and surrounding property for supporting evidence. Both Detective Raines and Hadley were in for a long night, and Brook didn’t envy them. Millie had answered on the first ring, and her reaction was mostly relief that she was no longer in danger.
Technically, Millie most likely had never been in any danger. Unless, of course, Brett had decided to lash out to keep her from speaking out against them.
The team would have to wait for the official interview transcripts, but Brett had almost certainly used the location of Averill’s sister to try and scare Millie out of continuing to back her own claims regarding Dr. Kolsby by breaking into the woman’s apartment.
“Four deaths, and all because of one homicidal, insecure individual,” Theo said as he joined Brook after her phone call. They both remained in the foyer as the medics brought Nolan down on a backboard. He still seemed to be in and out of consciousness. “Do you think he would have gone along with them?”
“No,” Brook finally answered after she’d given Theo’s question thoughtful consideration. “I’d like to believe that he would have done the right thing. Unfortunately, nothing will ever be the same for him after tonight. He has basically lost almost every family member overnight. Will you please make sure they reach out to his mother? Nolan will need all the mental health support that he can get in order to deal with the fallout of what his family has done. The hospital is going to have a hell of a time explaining away the highlight reel of their last very public spin campaign.”
“I joined Hadley and Raines in the kitchen while you were speaking with our client. Hadley had an officer reach out to Nolan’s mother already. She’ll meet him at the hospital.” Theo gave a small shrug when Brook shot him a look at the use of Detective Soerig’s first name. He shrugged in acceptance and then held out his hand. “I won’t tell if you don’t tell.”
Theo must have seen Graham leave the building the other night.
Brook reached across her middle and shook his hand in silence.
