Page 59
“Well, I’m guessing he knows a lot better now. Anyway, he wrote that Voss scared them off.”
“Yeah?” Something about that casts a tingle through my body, and I have to tamp it down, or risk my brother seeing it written all over my face. “I mean, that’s good, right?”
“If he’s telling the truth, it sounds like he scared the shit out of the kids.”
“You think … Oliver is lying?”
“I think contrary to what you think, he tries to protect you more than you realize.”
“What are you suggesting Jonah? That Voss gave him the black eye? Kids are shitheads. Wait ‘til you have one.” I squeeze my eyes shut and shake my head. “Strike that last comment. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“I know you didn’t. And no, I’m not calling Oliver a liar. It’s my nature to investigate. For both of you.”
“Well, I should probably tell you, a few nights back, Harv from my work? He left me a note on my windshield.”
Jonah’s brows dip, and he unravels his crossed arms like I’ve just hit the intrigue button. “What kind of note?”
“The lovely kind that asked me if I’d prefer to be raped, or strangled.”
“And you’re sure it came from Harvey?”
“Pretty sure, yes. He was at the diner the day I found the first note.”
By the narrowing of Jonah’s eyes, I know I’m in trouble for not saying anything. “Why didn’t you tell me this?”
“Because Harv is an asshole. That’s relatively mild compared to what he’s said to other women, believe me. Anyway, Voss scared him off tonight.”
“Voss was at your work?”
“Yeah.”
“What for?”
I recall the comment he made about not being able to stop thinking about me. “Nothing I care to go into with you, especially when you’re looking at me like that. You don’t have to worry about me, Jonah. I’m an adult.”
“Yeah, except that another woman was found this morning. A hiker stumbled upon her in the woods.”
“I heard that. How’d she die?” While the idea of a woman being found in the woods, dead, is terrifying, with a few women having gone missing lately, how has become a common question.
“She had bruises on her neck, and her carbon dioxide levels were high. Coroner thinks she was strangled to death. There were signs of sexual assault, as well. So you need to be careful. Vigilant. Do you have the note Harvey gave you?”
“No. I tossed it.”
“Don’t toss shit like that. Might be evidence.”
“Please don’t turn me into another crime scene, Jonah.” Harvey Bennington is undoubtedly the biggest prick I’ve ever met, but he doesn’t give me the serial killer, dump-a-body-in-the-woods vibe. Particularly if he’s stumped someone as smart as my brother, because Harv is a tool. A tool who can barely figure out how to run a washing machine, let alone think to scrub a crime scene for evidence, and I refuse to believe anything else. “I’m trying, desperately trying, not to live my life as a victim every day. I’m trying to give people the benefit of doubt and not view every male I come into contact with as a potential murderer. You know what, though? It’s hard. Every day, I’m looking over my shoulder, wondering if the right man is behind bars.”
“You think we were wrong. With Denny’s murderer.”
“No. I want to believe you were absolutely right, because I’ve had enough bullshit in my life. We both have. It’d be nice to lay something to rest for once.”
He stares off, thoughtful, and I don’t have to wonder what he’s thinking about. Our family is cursed by lack of closure, which has sent Jonah into a tailspin with these missing girl cases. They’re too personal for him. “I want to know if this Harvey gets in touch again. If he leaves a note, or tries to contact you, call me immediately.”
I nod, but run my fingers through my hair, anxious about one other thing relating to Harvey. “Can you check on Beth? I mean, she didn’t come to work today. I’m a little nervous.”
“You got an address?”
Rifling through my purse, I tug my phone and text him Dale’s number. “My boss should know it. Just tell him I asked you to check on her. He knows my brother is a cop.”
