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Graham straightened, though he made no move to exit the room. Not yet. There were still some topics that needed to be covered before Jacob was returned to his cell.
“Your plan to discover information regarding Sarah Evanston’s whereabouts backfired the moment you believed you could control someone like Lorena Dobbs. I’m guessing that you gave her the go-ahead to do what was necessary if said information couldn’t be ascertained, but I would also wager that you instructed her to do so on your terms. You wanted Brook to discover Sylvie the same way you left Sally Pearson and Cara Jordan. Only that didn’t happen, because Lorena Dobbs robbed you of that pleasure.”
This time, Graham purposefully paused for effect.
“You’ve come to find out that Sylvie Deering not only didn’t succumb to her injuries, but she is also all in one piece. Her face is perfectly intact. Not even a single nick. You’re slipping, Jacob. You haven’t impeded your sister’s life whatsoever. You failed, and instead of owning up to it like an adult, you’re sitting there shackled to a metal table like a petulant child being punished to a time-out.”
Graham lifted his left arm and then glanced at his watch to let Jacob know their time had come to an end. The informative speech had done as he had intended, and the next twenty seconds would reveal whether or not Jacob would allow an opportunity without being recorded to go to waste.
“Are you so blinded by your emotion for my sister that you would go against your instincts? You disappoint me, General.”
“Emotion? No,” Graham replied as he lowered his arm. “Respect? Yes.”
“Again, you don’t strike me as a man who walks around with blinders,” Jacob said as he leaned forward, clearly enjoying the freedom that he had not had since strolling into FBI Headquarters. “A petulant child? Is that what you thought of your daughter’s killer?”
Jacob began to smile when Graham remained silent.
“We all have breaking points, General. I can practically see your thoughts as they process through your mind.” Jacob then waved the fingers on his right hand as if the topic of conversation wasn’t important enough to continue. “That’s neither here nor there. I appreciate such honesty. You’re standing in front of me basically saying that my sister is the only reason that I’m still breathing, and I can actually say the same. I don’t think you truly comprehend our connection. You see, I’m the only reason that my sister still draws breath. I’m not talking about my proclivities, either. I’m referring to her sole purpose in life—me.”
“Nature versus nurture.”
Jacob’s smile widened even more at Graham’s statement.
It was an argument that had been written on Brook’s living room wall for years. Jacob would have seen it somewhere during his so-called visits to check up on his sister. Only Graham wasn’t so sure that was the purpose Jacob had been insinuating, but it was fundamental to the underlying intent.
“I hate to be the one to break it to you, Jacob, but your sister has had the answer to that question for quite a while.” Graham might have stretched the truth, because Brook had only recently discovered Jacob’s first victim in 1996. She merely assumed that nature had won out due to her brother’s age at the time of the murder. “As a matter of fact, your file has already been updated at the Bureau. Stella Bennett has officially been listed as your first victim. You murdered a young girl when you were only eleven years old, and you haven’t stopped since. Nature won that round, didn’t she? Anyway, Brook has moved on with her life, Jacob. From what I’ve seen today, you’re the one who is living in the past.”
Graham took the time to observe Jacob from the top of his head to where his wrists were currently shackled to the table. When Graham was finally finished with his inspection, he merely shook his head as if the last fifteen minutes had been a waste of his time.
“No worries. We’ll locate Lorena Dobbs on our own, though there is no telling what damage she’ll cause now that she can’t deliver you anything.” Graham wasn’t playing on Jacob’s sympathy. Instead, Graham wanted to plant some seeds of doubt about what could happen should Jacob continue to remain silent. “The harm wouldn’t be to Brook or the team, but we both know that, don’t we? You would be the one to pay the price, Jacob. While your sister has moved on, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind swinging the hammer down once more in front of the press. The media are suckers for that kind of thing, aren’t they?”
Graham turned toward the exit after dropping his last question. He closed the distance to the door before raising a fist to bang on the door to capture the guard’s attention. He was prevented from making contact with the hard surface when Jacob finally decided to negotiate.
“I don’t know Lorena’s exact location, but I can give you some direction should I be given your so-called sacred word that my sister will pay me a visit. Soon.”
Graham didn’t turn around as the thick sarcasm practically dripped from Jacob’s words. The man wasn’t pleased with the way their meeting had turned out, but that had been Graham’s intention. He would never underestimate a psychopathic killer like Jacob, but the current situation had forced everyone’s hand to take extreme chances that would otherwise be avoided like the plague.
“You have my word.”
Graham hadn’t bothered to turn around, though he had tilted his head far enough to ensure his voice traveled to the table. Jacob could probably read his sister better than anyone, and he would want verification that Graham had been telling him the truth about Stella Bennett.
Unfortunately, the young girl’s body had yet to be found.
What would Jacob’s reaction be when he discovered that Graham had gotten the upper hand at their first parley? Such a fallout would have to be dealt with at a later date.
“You’ll want to check out the vacant houses that are for sale in the surrounding suburbs, particularly the homes that have been on the market for a while.”
Graham used his fist to bang on the door.
Before the guard appeared, Jacob was able to give a parting shot.
“Lorena is certainly a wild card, isn’t she?” Jacob’s smile came through his voice loud and clear. “I’m disappointed that I’ll be missing all the fun, but I wish you the best of luck in finding her, General. You and my sister will certainly need it.”
Chapter Eight
Lorena Dobbs
February 2024
