Page 135 of D for Dead

Jake pushed the voice down. He couldn’t overthink this. Amy he would deal with when he returned to Juniper. For now, they had to figure out where Gavin was.

The book series was finished, which would suggest it was game over. Was the plan for Gavin to disappear now he had exacted revenge? And why had there been no big finale? The killer had been flashy with his previous murder scenes; surely he would want to finish on a bang. The murder of the twins had been low-key and staged as an accident. It was almost as if the killer had grown bored and run out of steam.

There were more questions than answers and they still hadn’t managed to figure where Troy Cunningham and Ryan Caparelli, who was still missing, fitted into all of this. And then of course there was Tucker Johnson. The remains of eight bodies had so far been recovered from the well on his property. Even if Gavin was responsible for the recent murders in Juniper, Johnson was still at large and needed to be apprehended.

Something about the whole situation didn’t ring true and Jake was determined to find out what it was.

* * *

While Withers worked the scene at Troy Cunningham’s house, Rebecca and Hickok paid Amy a visit.

Vic opened the door to them looking vexed when he saw who it was. As Amy got up from her dining table to greet them, he returned to his spot on the couch and Rebecca rolled her eyes. How could the man be so content watching TV all day? He remained engrossed in his soaps while they spoke with Amy, not seeming particularly interested in the case or why they were there, and only glancing over when Amy raised her voice, clearly upset when Hickok intimated she had lied about not remembering being in Tucker Johnson’s basement.

‘Why would you think that?’ she demanded. ‘What the hell makes you think I would lie about something as huge as this?’

‘We’re dealing with facts here, Amy. They don’t lie either. David Gavin has been contacting Tucker Johnson. Special Agent Rivers found a letter in Johnson’s house. It was written by your ex-boyfriend and he seems to know all about what Johnson likes to do in his basement, including what he did to Danielle Colton. You were the only other person there.’

‘I never told David anything.’ Amy glared at Hickok. ‘I never told him anything because I didn’t remember anything. Hell, I wasn’t even having the nightmares. He had no idea what had happened when he was with me and neither did I.’

‘It’s okay if you needed to keep it a secret,’ Rebecca told her. ‘You were fifteen years old and it was a hell of a thing to deal with. You won’t get into any trouble for not telling us. We just need to know the truth.’

‘I’m telling you the damn truth.’ Amy pushed back her chair, got to her feet and started to pace. The dog on the floor beside her whined, got up and slunk over to his bed.

‘So if you’re telling us the truth, how does Gavin know?’

‘I have no idea, Special Agent Hickok. If I did, I would tell you.’

Hickok glanced at Rebecca.

She shrugged in return, as truth was, she was unsure. Hickok was right, the facts didn’t lie, but this conversation hadn’t gone as she’d expected. Once confronted with the news about Gavin and Johnson, she had believed Amy would break down and confess to the lie. But she hadn’t and Rebecca could tell from the pained look in Amy’s eyes the accusation had stung.

Amy stopped pacing, pausing by the table and giving them both a fixed look.

‘If I had remembered all along about Danielle and the basement, why would I have gone along with the charade of seeing Doctor Shinnick? And if I didn’t want you to know, why am I not still keeping it a secret?’

She had a point. They were questions that couldn’t be answered and they left her apartment twenty minutes later no closer to the truth and having only succeeded in pissing Amy off. Rebecca had spoken with Jake shortly before arriving at Amy’s apartment, learning of the twins’ murder and that all clues pointed towards Gavin being responsible. They had purposely kept the news from Amy at this stage, knowing an official identification still had to be made.

Hickok’s cell rang as they were getting into his car and he stopped to take the call.

‘Special Agent Hickok.’ There was a brief silence as he listened to the caller. ‘That was quick work.’

Rebecca watched his expression for clues, annoyed he gave nothing away. But that was Hickok all over, keeping his cards close to his chest.

Unlike Alan.

She remembered the hurt, bitter look on his face that morning. Despite catching her cheating he had begged to have her back. Mixed in with pity and regret at how things had ended, she was disappointed at his lack of self-respect.

Hickok killed the call and she pushed Alan from her thoughts. ‘Well?’ she asked expectantly.

‘That was Withers. He’s already got us a match on the blood.’

‘And?’

‘And it definitely belongs to Troy Cunningham.’

Rebecca nodded, taking in the news and considering what it meant. ‘You think he’s another victim?’

‘I don’t know. We haven’t found him and I don’t think we can say until we do.’ Hickok was silent for a moment before starting the engine. He glanced at Rebecca, expression unreadable. ‘What I do think is that when we find Troy Cunningham the pieces of this puzzle are going to slot into place.’