The Truth About Rachel

by Deanna Lynn Sletten

“You can struggle all you want. There’s no way you’ll get out of those,” Archie said, grinning. He moved closer to her, raising the rock higher.

  Rachel had to think quickly and keep him talking. “Why did you want to get Keith in trouble?” she asked. “He was your friend.”

  Archie snorted. “He was no friend of mine. I knew him through Jeremy. Keith was a jerk. He was always playing pranks on kids in school, trying to make everyone look stupid. Jeremy put up with it because he thought Keith was cool. I didn’t. He told a bunch of kids in school that I was the one raping and killing those women. I had to explain my way out of it to the principal and even the police. Killing his sister and blaming it on him was the best revenge I could get.”

  Rachel froze. “You killed those women?” She hoped his ego would keep him talking.

  “Ha! You and that boyfriend of yours didn’t figure it out, did you? Keith figured it out, though. He saw me leaving old lady Arlington’s house that day, and he put two and two together.”

  Rachel’s mind spun. If she screamed, she doubted anyone would hear her. This time of day, only a few mothers with toddlers would be in the park. She couldn’t put anyone else in danger. But she sure wasn’t going to die here either.

  “You already got your revenge,” she said quickly. “Keith’s been in prison for decades for a crime you committed. Why risk everything by killing me now?”

  Archie grinned evilly as he slowly got down on one knee and stared her straight in the eyes. “Because I like finishing what I’ve started. And because it’s fun.” He raised the rock high.

  Rachel’s heart pounded as she stared at the rock in his hand. This was it. No one was around to save her. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the hard rock to slam into her skull.

  “Hold it right there, Archie,” a male voice yelled. “Don’t even think about hurting her.”

  Rachel opened her eyes and let out the breath she’d been holding. Archie was still over her, but he’d turned to watch Jeremy coming down the path toward him. He had his gun drawn, pointed right at Archie.

  Archie laughed. “You’re not going to shoot me. I’ll take you down with me. You’ve known all along it was me. We’re in this together.”

  Jeremy moved closer, his gun steady. “I may have suspected you all these years, but I never had the proof. Now I do. Back away and put down that rock. I swear, Archie. I’ll load this whole gun into you.”

  Archie stood but didn’t move to drop the rock or his gun. “No, you won’t,” he said.

  “I will, though,” another male voice yelled from the opposite side of the path. Every head turned to see Avery with his pistol drawn. “FBI! Drop your weapon and back away from Rachel. Now!”

  Rachel stared at Avery, shocked. FBI? She looked over at Jeremy and saw the look of surprise on his face as well. Both men had their weapons trained steadily on Archie.

  Sweat rolled down Archie’s face. He knew he was trapped. In a split second, he raised his handgun, pointed it at Rachel, and shot.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Rachel watched Archie raise his pistol. She jerked her body hard to roll away. Three gunshots went off, shattering the silence of the woods. Rachel watched as Archie crumpled to the ground. Avery was at her side in an instant.

  “Rachel!” He quickly looked her all over. “Were you shot?”

  “No. I’m fine,” she said, relief flooding through her. “I rolled away just in time.”

  “Thank God.” He quickly cut the ties that bound her ankles and then helped her up before cutting the wrist ties. Avery pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.

  Rachel held on to him, too, trying to stop herself from shaking. She’d thought she was going to die. Thank goodness for Jeremy and Avery. Remembering something, she pulled away, searching his eyes. “FBI?”

  Avery chuckled. “I’ll explain later.”

  She heard Jeremy radioing for an ambulance, and she turned to look at Archie. He was lying on the ground, and Jeremy was kneeling beside him.

  “Is he dead?” she asked Jeremy.

  “He’s breathing, but barely,” Jeremy said. “But we won’t let him die. He owes us a lot of years in prison.”

  “Thank you,” she said softly. After all her suspicions about Jeremy, he’d actually been the one to come to her rescue. She owed him her life.

  Jeremy nodded curtly, then turned away to bark into his radio again.

  “Rachel?” An elderly man walked toward her. “Are you okay?”

  Rachel stared at him. She recognized the face, except the last time she’d seen him, he didn’t have gray hair. “Dad?”

  Frank Parnell opened his arms, and Rachel ran into them. “I’m so happy you’re okay. For a moment, I thought I’d lost you again.”

  “I don’t understand,” Rachel said, pulling away. “How did you know I was here?”

  Avery grinned. “It’s a very long story, but the truth is, if I hadn’t run into your father, we never would have made it here on time. We’ll explain later. Let’s get you out of here before the press swarms the area.”

  She agreed. “I want to go back to my room and call Jules to let her know I’m okay before this breaks on the news.”

  Avery called over to Jeremy. “That okay with you?”

  “Yes. Go. We’ll talk later.”

  Avery wrapped his arm around Rachel, and they headed for his car. Rachel stopped and turned to her dad. “You’re coming, aren’t you?”

  He smiled and walked toward them. “Yes. I’m coming.”

  ***

  The press was on the story within minutes of Avery radioing for help. Rachel called Jules on the drive to her hotel to tell her she was safe and explained what had happened.

  “Mom! That’s insane. I’m so happy you’re okay.”

  “Thanks, sweetie. Me, too. It’s going to be all over the news. Can you call Aunt Julie’s care center and ask them to keep her away from the TV for a while? I’d hate for her to hear about this.”

  “I will, Mom. Call me later and catch me up. I love you,” Jules said.

  Tears filled Rachel’s eyes as her daughter spoke. She could have died today and would never have heard those words from Jules again. “I love you so much, Jules. I’ll call you later.”

  “It sounds like you have an amazing daughter,” Frank said from the back seat of Avery’s car. “I hope I can meet her someday.”

  Rachel turned and smiled at him. “You will. You must. I just can’t believe you’re here.”

  “I’m glad I am,” Frank said.

  When they arrived at the hotel, Frank and Avery flanked Rachel to protect her from the few reporters who’d been waiting for her to return. They rode the elevator up to her room. The young officer who’d been there on the previous nights was already waiting in the hallway.

  “I hear you’ve had a rough day,” the officer said. “I’ll be here if you need anything.”

  “Thank you,” she said, smiling. Once again, Jeremy had made sure she was safe.

  Once in the room, Avery turned on the news and was surprised to see the press was already at the park. Jeremy had taped off the wooded area so they couldn’t go down the path.

  Rachel pulled three water bottles from the small refrigerator, set them on the table, and sat in one of the chairs. “Okay, you two. Spill. How on earth did you find me at the river? And how did you two end up together? And,” she stared at Avery. “FBI? You’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

  Avery laughed, and he and Frank sat down.

  “First,” Avery said. “I came to town a few months ago under the guise of buying the newspaper to investigate the cold-case murders. The bureau paid off the two workers at the newspaper to pretend I owned it, and I used the office there as my home base.”

  Rachel was shocked. “Why was the FBI interested in those murders?”

  “I work for the cold-case division. I’d been begging to be allowed to investigate them for years. Everything I told you was true—I grew up here, and my m
other was one of the victims. They finally granted me time to work on them. But I kept hitting a brick wall until you came and shook things up.”

  “So, you were the one who called in the press,” she said.

  Avery shook his head. “No. That was the last thing I wanted.”

  Frank cleared his throat.

  Rachel’s turned to him. “You called the press?”

  “Uh, no. But I know who did. The same person who called me the minute you came into town. I know she meant to help by calling the press. And honestly, it did help. The town and police needed to be shaken up,” Frank said.

  A slow smile spread across Rachel’s face. “She? I bet I know who that is. Gladys called the press. And you.”

  “Yes, she did,” Frank said. “I’ve known her for years, and when you came to town and claimed to be Rachel Parnell, she called me immediately. I came to see if it was true.”

  She frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me you were here?”

  Frank looked sheepish. “I had to see for myself if you were really Rachel. And then I wanted to make sure you were safe. So, I followed you and looked out for you.”

  “Wait! You were the guy in the green four-door car following me?”

  “Yes. Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to make sure nothing happened to you. The truth is the moment I saw you, I knew you were Rachel. You look so much like Julie. Then I realized the trouble that would be stirred up from your return. So, I just stayed in the background to watch. Unfortunately, Archie gave us all the slip for a few minutes there,” Frank said.

  Rachel leaned closer to her father. “Did you chase me in the cemetery that day?”

  He shook his head. “It wasn’t me. I had parked at the entrance to wait for you to come out. I never left my car.”

  Rachel sat back. “So, Archie must have followed me there and tried to grab me then.” She shivered. “Thank goodness Avery was there.”

  “I wish I’d been with you today, too,” Avery said, looking pained. “I thought Jeremy was the one to worry about. All leads pointed to him. Archie wasn’t even on my radar.”

  “Mine either,” Rachel said. “But it makes sense now.”

  Rachel hadn’t eaten all day, so they ordered burgers and fries to be delivered and talked more as they ate. The news was on, but the sound was turned down, and every so often, Rachel saw Archie’s face splashed across the screen. It unnerved her to think that just a short while ago, that same face was staring down at her, ready to kill her.

  “How did you two end up together?” Rachel asked as she ate the last of her French fries.

  “I was following you and Jeremy all morning,” Frank said. “I don’t know if Jeremy knew he was being tailed, but he managed to lose me, and that’s when I got really nervous. I lost him at a red light, so I came back to the hotel, hoping he’d brought you here. I called the front desk to ring your room, but there was no answer, so I panicked.”

  “Yeah,” Avery said. “That was about the time I pulled up. I’d been trying to call your cell, but there was no answer. Frank came over to my car, explained who he was, and said he’d lost you and Jeremy. I can tell you, after what I’d learned in Sacramento, I thought for sure Jeremy had taken you somewhere to kill you.”

  “Why?” Rachel asked. “I mean, we were both suspicious of Jeremy, but I never felt like he’d hurt me.”

  “I’d found out that the same years Jeremy and Archie attended Sacramento State University, there were four rape and murder cases exactly with the same MO as the ones here,” Avery said. “I assumed it was Jeremy, not Archie.”

  “So that’s why you told me to get away from Jeremy,” Rachel said.

  “Yes. Boy, was I off on that one.”

  Frank spoke up. “When Avery couldn’t contact you, we both thought the same thing. Jeremy had taken you somewhere. So, I said we should try the most logical place. The river path at the park.”

  “It made sense,” Avery added. “He’d want to finish off what he’d started all those years ago.”

  “And Archie almost did,” Rachel said, feeling chills rush up her spine. “Thank God Jeremy and you both showed up.” Rachel repeated to them everything that Archie had told her. “I think if you can get the bloody fingerprint tested,” she said to Avery, “it will prove that Archie killed your mother.”

  “I think so too. It won’t make the pain go away, but I’m glad I’ll finally have answers. And hopefully, the right person will be put away for it.”

  Rachel remembered the other news she’d learned. She turned to Frank. “I think I figured out why you identified the body as me. It was the string bracelet, wasn’t it?”

  Frank’s face looked pained. “Yes. It was. I saw it on the arm of the little girl, and that’s all I needed to see. They’d already told me her face was unrecognizable. But the size and hair color, plus the bracelet, made me think it was you. I was so distraught, and you were missing, so I really believed it was you.”

  Rachel moved over closer and placed her arm around her father. “I understand. It makes sense. At least now I know that it was all a mistake. Julie and Gordon had nothing to do with the girl’s murder, and you didn’t misidentify me on purpose. I didn’t think any of you could do such a thing, but it was in the back of my mind.”

  “I had no idea Julie and Gordon had taken you. But now, I’m glad they did. I’m sure they gave you a wonderful life,” Frank said. He looked into her eyes. “You know the truth now. Gladys told me. You know that Julie and Gordon are your real parents.”

  “Yes, I do,” Rachel said. She smiled at Frank. “But I’ll always think of you as my father, too. You were always kind to me.”

  He kissed her forehead. “Thank you, dear. You don’t know how happy that makes me.”

  Rachel’s heart warmed at being close to her father again. It was one of the best things to have come out of this whole mess.

  “So, who do you think the girl was?” Avery asked Rachel.

  She told them about her visit with Luna and about Luna’s cousin, Leticia. “Now, all we need is to make sure the DNA matches. I have a feeling it will.”

  Frank shook his head. “So many tragedies. So sad.”

  Rachel’s phone rang, and she saw it was Jeremy. “Hello, Jeremy,” she said.

  “How are you doing?” he asked, sounding genuinely concerned. “I should have insisted you go to the hospital, but everything was so crazy, and it seemed like you were in good hands with that FBI guy of yours.”

  She laughed. “I’m fine. Shaken up a bit, but at least I’m alive.”

  “Don’t even joke about that,” Jeremy said. “Archie is in surgery, but he’ll make it. I’m hoping he told you enough to put him behind bars for the rest of his life.”

  “He did,” she said. “And I’m sure there’s physical evidence, too.”

  “Good. I hear everyone is in your room. Do you mind if I come over there to take your statements? I could use a break from the press.”

  “Yes. Come and join the party. We’re all here,” she said.

  The three watched the news as they waited for Jeremy. Rachel yawned. It had been a long, traumatic day, and she was starting to come down from the adrenaline rush of a couple of hours ago.

  “You okay?” Avery asked, placing his hand over Rachel’s. “You can put off talking to Jeremy until tomorrow.”

  “I’m fine. I just want to get it over with while it’s fresh in my mind. I don’t want to forget anything.”

  “I doubt if you will, for a long time, unfortunately,” Avery said.

  There was a knock on the door, and Avery went to answer. Jeremy came inside.

  “The press is all over the front entrance of the hotel,” Jeremy said, looking disgusted. “And a few cars were following me too. Leeches.”

  Avery chuckled. “What’s the matter? Can’t you handle a little press?”

  Jeremy pointed at him with the pen he was holding. “I’ll get to you later, Mr. FBI. Nice of you to tell me you were i
n the area.”

  “Don’t get your shirt in a knot,” Avery said. “I was undercover. No one was supposed to know I was here, not even law enforcement.”

  “Well, that doesn’t make me any happier. But we have Archie under arrest and hopefully enough evidence to put him away for life. By the way,” he said to Avery. “I already sent word to have the evidence from the three rape and murder cases reexamined starting tomorrow. If there is anything that can tie Archie to those murders, they’ll find it.

  “There was a bloody fingerprint at the scene of my mother’s murder,” Avery said. “Make sure that’s tested. My mother, father, sister, and I were all eliminated as matches years ago.”

  “I’ll let them know,” Jeremy said solemnly. “Believe me. I want that case solved just as much as you do.” He turned to Frank. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

  Frank reached out his hand. “I’m Frank Parnell.”

  Jeremy shook it, a shocked expression on his face. “Right. Wow. I recognize you now.” He turned to Rachel. “How did this happen?”

  Everyone in the room laughed. So much had gone on in the last twenty-four hours. It was crazy. Rachel explained that Frank was the man following her and how he’d guessed she’d be at the river trail. “Except he and Avery thought you were the one who brought me there.”

  “To kill you?” Jeremy looked stunned.

  “Something like that,” Avery said.

  “Gee. Thanks for the trust.” He looked genuinely hurt.

  “Sorry, Jeremy,” Avery said. “But after I learned about the murders in Sacramento while you were in college and how similar they were to the ones here, I jumped the gun. I thought for sure you were the murderer.”

  Jeremy sat down on the bed, looking exhausted. “Yes. Those murders. I’m going to see about having those reopened too. I’m pretty sure Archie was responsible for the ones in Sacramento.”

  Rachel shook her head in disgust. “He’s a terrible person. I can’t believe he’s gotten away with all of this for so long.”

  Frank patted Rachel’s arm. “Do you think Keith will be released once all this new information comes out?”