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“When did they end their relationship?”
“About five years ago. They would have gotten back together if Karl Halifax hadn’t pursued her.”
“Do you know the reason for the breakup?”
“No, I never asked, and neither Nyla nor Michael ever said. However, I’m certain it wasn’t anything they couldn’t patch up. And what does any of that have to do with her location being leaked?”
“I was just curious.”
The man looked at his watch. “If you don’t mind, Detective, my wife and sister made lunch plans. I assumed your follow-up would only take a few minutes of my time.”
“I’m sorry if my inquiries are taking longer than you expected. However, I have a few more questions to ask you.”
“And what are they?”
“Were you aware that when your attorney, Mr. Ramsey, provided you with the affidavit to track your daughter’s calls once she unblocked your calls, he made the tracking available to someone else as well?”
Walter Roker frowned. “I’m sure you are mistaken, Detective Connors. There’s no one else he would have provided that information to.”
Detective Connors moved his gaze from Walter Roker to Katherine Farrell. “Attorney Ramsey also provided that information to you as well, didn’t he?”
Before she could answer, Mr. Roker stood. “Where in the world did you obtain such nonsense? You’ve already questioned my sister about it. She explained that she only knew we had heard from Nyla when we called her in New York to tell her.”
“Yes, that’s what she said, but that’s not true, is it, Ms. Farrell? You knew the tracker was activated the moment the Roker’s phone numbers were unblocked. A good ten minutes before they contacted you. That gave you time to contact your people to tell them of Nyla Roker’s location. And you purposely kept your brother and sister-in-law on the phone, pretending to plead with them not to reveal Nyla Roker’s location to the authorities. However, what you were really doing was stalling them to make sure your guys were in place before the Rokers even had the chance to notify the police.”
“Now wait just a damn minute!” Walter Roker exclaimed. “How dare you enter my home and accuse my sister of placing Nyla in danger that way. She loves my daughter and would never do such a thing.”
“Yes, I would, and I did,” Katherine Farrell said, standing with a revolver in her hand. “Three years before Nyla was born, you took my baby from me. Yet I had to see how happy you and Darlene were when Nyla was born. Neither of you cared how I felt, and that my baby would have meant just as much to me as Nyla meant to you.”
“For Christ’s sake, Kat, put that gun away,” Walter Roker ordered. “You were only sixteen. Giving your baby up for adoption was for the best, and how dare you place Nyla in danger.”
“I intended for her to die that night.”
Darlene began crying. “You wanted her to die? You can’t mean that. You love Nyla,” the other woman said through her rush of tears.
“No, I pretended to love her. Whenever I saw her, I was reminded of the baby I had to give up. I wanted to keep my baby.”
“Doing so would have brought shame to this family. It was for the best.”
“For whom, Walter? Your image? The family’s name? Their honor and prestige? It certainly wasn’t best for me. You never asked what I wanted to do. You told me what you intended to do.”
“You’re crazy,” Walter said, as if seeing his sister with a new pair of eyes. “Nyla is your niece.”
“And my son was your nephew, wasn’t he?” She turned to the detectives when she saw one of them inching closer. “I suggest you not try anything. I want the two of you to stand over there with them. And just so you know, Detectives, my men have this place surrounded.”
“Your men? What men!” Walter exclaimed.
“Oh, big brother, you are so clueless. You thought I was only in New York attending ballets and Broadway shows and shopping. Over the past twenty years, I’ve been investing my wealth, and now I control an operation that’s bigger than yours.”
“And quite illegal,” Detective Tomlin spoke for the first time. “We know all about your operation, Ms. Farrell, and the men you hired to run it for you, including Barcos.”
“Barcos?” Walter asked, shocked.
Katherine answered. “Yes, Barcos. He ran my operation in Florida and was very efficient. However, he was getting greedy. He and his friend, a guy named Nick Underwood, conspired to get rid of me, but I took care of both of them. To be honest, I expected Donnie to kill Karl, which would have done you a favor since you hated Karl anyway. Then I would have staged Nyla’s suicide as the grief-ridden fiancée. Unfortunately, Karl was a faster draw, and he took Donnie out.”
Walter Roker stared at his sister as if he couldn’t believe what she was saying. “You need help, Kat. Please let us help you.”
“I don’t need help,” she snapped.
