by Jane Blythe
“I know it’s early, but any forensics from the basement, Stephanie?” Belinda asked.
“It’s going to take a while to test the blood on the floor,” she answered. “A lot of it’s probably degraded, and we’re assuming there were a number of donors. Plenty of hair and fibers and fingerprints. Yes, we found Logan’s fingerprints down there,” she added, anticipating Belinda’s question. “Fingerprints and hairs on the bed, too. It’ll take a while to go through them all. But we may get lucky and get DNA on some of the hairs, we may be able to identify more of his victims.”
“The bodies, Frankie,” Belinda turned her attention to the medical examiner.
“Preliminary ages on some of the bodies date them back maybe fifteen years,” she explained. “Ages of the victims appear to be mid-teens, same age as the girl on the video.”
“Same ages as the two girls Sofia identified,” Paige added.
“All right, so Logan definitely killed the young women in the basement. Any chance maybe he and Isabella are in on these murders together?” Belinda pondered. “Isabella finds out that Logan is her father, they bond, and the two of them decide to take out the rest of the family. Then maybe Isabella turns on Logan, maybe once she finds out what he’s been doing in the basement.”
“I guess the major thing we need to consider is what we know about Isabella,” Paige mused. “So, she poisoned her sister, which means she’s potentially capable of doing this, but we never looked at her too closely as she was never really a suspect. We need to find out opinions of her from people who know her.”
Shaking his head, “It’s no good talking to Sofia,” Ryan warned. “She's not ready to hear this yet, let’s see what we come up with before we tell her.”
“Well the gardener, Mr. Hannigan, doesn’t like her, but Isabella was the one who outed his and Brooke’s affair,” Paige noted.
“And Mr. Payne the ex-head of security doesn’t like her either, she outed his affair with Gloria,” Ryan continued. “He also said that she has eyes in the back of her head and notices everything that goes on. That would certainly seem to fit in with our theory of her figuring out what Logan had been doing and engineering this plan.”
“But both of those men had reason not to like her,” Paige reminded him. “We need someone neutral.”
“Edmund,” Ryan pulled out his phone, already dialing the number. “It’s Ryan,” he announced as soon as Edmund answered. “I'm putting you on speakerphone.”
“Did something happen with Sofia?” Edmund demanded.
“She’s fine. She's here at the station, it’s the safest place for her right now. We need to ask you some questions. Paige is here with me and our boss, Belinda, medical examiner, Frankie, and Stephanie from crime scene.”
“What do you want to ask me?” Edmund’s tone had gone wary.
“Tell us about Isabella,” Ryan requested.
“Why?” Edmund’s voice had grown from wary to suspicious.
“What's she like?” Ryan asked, instead of answering.
“First, tell me why you're asking,” Edmund insisted.
“Edmund,” Ryan began.
“No,” Edmund interrupted. “If you want answers, then you answer me first. Why are you asking about Isabella? Do you think she's involved?”
Ryan sighed, “She's been poisoning Sofia,” he told him.
“She’s been what?” Edmund exploded.
“Try to stay calm,” Paige soothed. They needed him focused, not in a blind panic. “Ryan found a book on poisonous mushrooms, so we’re assuming that’s why Sofia’s been sick.”
“Isabella had the book?” Edmund sounded incredulous.
“Yes, she did,” Paige told him.
“We need you to tell us everything you can about Isabella,” Ryan pleaded.
Edmund drew a deep, shuddering breath. “I always thought Isabella was weird. She was too quiet, like she was studying everyone all the time. She moves quietly, too; I can't tell you how many times I turned around and found her there when I'd never even heard her enter a room. It was creepy. And she seemed to know everything that was going on in that estate. I guess because she was so good at sneaking.”
“Had you ever known her to be violent?” Ryan asked.
“Well…” Edmund’s hesitation couldn’t have been more obvious had he been trying.
“What?” Ryan perked up.
“She still throws tantrums. Like toddler tantrums,” Edmund elaborated. “She screams and stomps her feet, and cries and hits and kicks.”
“That doesn’t mean she's violent,” Ryan looked disappointed.
“And…” Again, Edmund hesitated.
“And what?” Ryan snapped. He was quickly losing his patience.
“I don’t think Sofia would like me saying.”
“Well, I don’t care. This could save her life, so just tell us,” Ryan growled.
“All right,” Edmund begun reluctantly. “A few months ago, there was an incident at her school, and she was expelled.”
“What happened, Edmund?” Paige asked gently, before Ryan could bark at him again.
“She beat up four kids. At once. Two of them were boys. It wasn’t the first such incident. There was another, when Isabella was about ten, the school didn’t expel her then since it was the first time, but they did insist on anger management.”
“Doesn’t seem like it worked,” Ryan muttered.
They had enough out of Edmund for now. At the moment, they needed to work on tracking down both Isabella and Logan Everette. “All right, Edmund, thanks for all your help,” Paige told him.
“I'm on my way there now; don’t any of you let Sofia out of your sight.”
Once Edmund had hung up, Paige studied her partner. Other than her husband, Ryan was the one man that she understood completely. They were close, good friends, not just work colleagues. She knew the way his mind worked, and right now something else was bothering him. “What else is on your mind?”
Ryan looked troubled. “The girl on the DVD, she looked like Sofia.”
Catching on to where her partner was heading, Paige responded, “So do both of the victims Sofia identified.”
“Frankie said that the bodies dated back approximately fifteen years, which would make Sofia in her early or mid-teens at the time. The same age as the young women Logan was killing.”
“You’re scared Sofia was one of his victims,” Paige noted.
“I'm terrified that Logan hurt her.” Ryan was pale, his blue eyes wide with fear. “She kept dreaming of the basement. She knew what happened down there. She was scared of Logan. She could have been his first victim.”
* * * * *
2:09 P.M.
Ryan stood and watched Sofia.
She was sitting at his desk, pouring through old missing persons files, her head propped up on her hand. She looked tired, and an arrow of rage toward Isabella shot through him. It was Isabella’s fault that Sofia had been so unwell, that she had been scared for her life not knowing what was wrong with her or if she’d ever recover. Still, the one bright spot in all of this was that now Sofia could get better. Once she stopped eating the poisoned soup, she should start to heal. As soon as they had Isabella in custody, he’d take her to her doctor to make sure that Isabella’s psychotic games hadn't done her permanent damage.
Still, despite the fact that she had been up sick most of the night and looked exhausted, she continued to go through file after file of missing teenage girls dating back fifteen years, to see if she could identify any more of them. Ryan couldn’t be more proud of her. She was totally amazing.
As if she could feel his eyes on her, Sofia turned her head, a smile lighting her pale face. Returning her smile, he crossed the room and knelt beside her chair. “How're you doing?”
“I'm okay,” she assured him, but a giant yawn almost split her face in two.
“You need a break,” he took her hands and tried to pull her to her feet but she resisted.
“I want to ke
ep going through these first,” she insisted.
Tucking her hair behind her ear, he murmured, “I know you want to help, but you're not going to do anyone, least of all yourself, any good if you push yourself so hard you end up passing out.”
Wavering, Sofia couldn’t hide the weariness lacing her silver eyes, no matter how much she wanted to. “Maybe just a little break,” she reluctantly agreed.
He picked her up before she could protest. “Let’s go someplace quiet,” Ryan wanted her alone so he could tell her about her sister.
“You don’t need to carry me, Ryan; I can walk,” she told him, but she sank down into his arms and rested her head on his shoulder.
Taking her into an empty conference room, he set her down in a chair and went to get her some water. When he returned, she had crossed her arms on the table and put her head on them. Wondering briefly if she’d gone to sleep, but she lifted her head when she heard the door close. Passing her the water, he asked, “Do you want to try something to eat?”
The expression on her face implied he had just suggested she jump out of an airplane without a parachute. “I'm not hungry.”
Letting that go for the moment, they'd sort out her health issues once they sorted out finding Isabella and Logan. “We need to talk,” he told her, pulling out the chair beside hers and taking a seat.
She raised an eyebrow in anticipation, and when he didn’t continue, her brow furrowed in a small frown. “Now is not the time to be afraid of me,” she warned. “This isn’t about hurting me or upsetting me or saying the wrong thing; this is about finding out who’s trying to kill me.”
Ryan knew she was right, but that didn’t make asking her what he was about to any easier. “Okay, I have to ask you some difficult questions.”
Steeling herself, she said, “I'm ready.”
“Cupcake, do you think it’s possible that Logan might have hurt you when you were younger?” he asked gently.
Mouth dropping open, she stared at him in shock, then her eyes took on a vacant gleam.
Now Ryan was wishing that he’d said yes earlier when Paige had offered to come with him when he had this conversation with Sofia. Resisting the urge to wrap her up in his arms, she’d told him that she was okay with him doing what needed to be done and not coddling her, so he was going to have to believe that. “Come on, Sofia,” he kept his voice stern. “No zoning out, I need you one hundred percent, okay?”
Eyes focusing, she jerked her head in a minute nod.
“Did Logan ever do anything to hurt you?”
“I already told you no,” she answered, frustrated.
“I know you did, but I wasn’t convinced at the time, and now knowing that Logan picks victims that look just like you . . .”
“I…I didn’t realize that before,” Sofia paled, her scared eyes searching his face. “Do you really think Logan did something to me? I…I don’t remember it.”
“You didn’t remember what you saw in the basement, either,” he reminded her gently. “Is it possible he could have done something to you?”
“No. Absolutely not. I would know if Logan had molested me. He wouldn’t do that. He’s my brother. That would be…” she trailed off, seemingly unable to think of a suitable way to finish that sentence. “If…if he did, then why didn’t he kill me like he killed all the others?”
“Maybe your father wouldn’t let him,” Ryan wished this was the worst thing they had to talk about today. “There’s something else we need to discuss.”
With traumatized, weary eyes, she looked up at him. “What?”
“It’s about Isabella.”
Panic lit her face. “Is she okay? Did something happen to her?”
“No, she’s fine,” he assured her.
Paling further, her hands clutched at his. “Did Logan hurt her? Is she one of his victims?”
“Your hands are like ice,” he sandwiched them between his own and began to rub them. “Why didn’t you tell someone you were so cold?” he admonished.
“Ryan, did Logan molest Isabella?” she begged.
“No, honey,” he responded, positive at least that Logan had never laid a hand on Isabella. “Logan never touched her.”
Visibly relaxing, Sofia asked, “Then what do you need to tell me about Isabella?”
“I don’t think that it’s Logan who killed your family members; I think it was Isabella.” Ryan held his breath as he waited anxiously for her reaction.
Staring blankly at him, she forced her lips into a small smile, “That’s a joke, right? You're trying to make me laugh because you feel bad about asking me if Logan ever hurt me.”
“I'm so sorry, cupcake, I know how much you love her, but I have proof that Isabella knew about Logan and,” he continued gently, “I have proof that Isabella has been poisoning you.”
“Wh…what?” she stammered.
“You're not dying, and you are going to get better. Isabella has been poisoning you with mushrooms, in the soup she keeps bringing you.” Ryan had to fight to keep his voice calm, his hatred toward Isabella burned every time he thought of how Sofia’s supposed illness had robbed her of months of her life, and of how scared she had been thinking she was never going to get better.
“I don’t believe you,” Sofia eyed him defiantly. “Isabella would never do that. She’d never make me sick on purpose and let me think that I was dying.”
“I found a book on poisonous mushrooms hidden in her room. And last night after you ate some of Isabella’s soup, you got sick,” he watched doubt flicker through her eyes for the first time. “The book wasn’t the only thing I found in her room. There were also DVDs. DVDs of you. She put cameras in your room,” pausing to let his words sink in. “To film you while you were sleeping, because she somehow figured out that you knew something about Logan. That’s how she found out what he’d been doing in the basement.”
“No,” Sofia shook her head vigorously, sending her wavy red hair swinging wildly around her face. “I don’t believe you.”
“I'm sorry, Sofia, but it’s true.”
“But Logan killed all those women,” she reminded him.
“Yeah, he did, but that doesn’t mean he’s responsible for these murders,” he pointed out.
“You thought the killer was my father and you were wrong; you're wrong about Isabella too. You don’t know her. I do, and she would never, never, kill anyone,” Sofia protested desperately. Ryan could see he was getting to her.
He decided not to tell her that Edmund had told them about Isabella’s anger issues. “I know you don’t want to hear this but…”
“Have you forgotten that someone tried to kill Isabella?” Sofia demanded.
“Remember our crime scene tech, Stephanie?”
Reluctantly, Sofia nodded.
“She said that it would have been easy enough for Isabella to fake the attempt on her life. All she had to do was time it correctly.”
“Stop it. I don’t want to hear this anymore,” Sofia pressed her hands to her ears. “I don’t want to hear any more of your lies. I'm not listening to you anymore.”
Gently, he wrapped his hands around her wrists and tugged her hands away. “I need you to tell me where Isabella might go if she felt scared or trapped.”
“Trapped?” she echoed. “You're really going to arrest her when you find her?”
“Yes,” Ryan answered honestly. “She was here with you earlier, but she's gone now. Did she tell you where she was going?”
A small shake of her head.
“Do you know any place where she may go to hide out?”
Another little head shake.
“Think, Sofia,” he hooked a finger under her chin and tilted her face up to his so they were eye to eye. “If you know where she might be, you have to tell me; you're not protecting her by keeping quiet. She’s dangerous. To you and to others, maybe even herself.”
Hurt flashed through her silver eyes making them seem grayer. “You think I'd lie to you?”
&nb
sp; “No, I don’t,” Ryan told her firmly. “I think you're in shock and not thinking clearly right now. And she’s your sister. You want to believe the best of her. That’s your job. My job is to find Isabella before she hurts anyone else. Now, do you know where she might be?”
“No, I don’t,” Sofia snapped. She stood on shaky legs, angrily shoving away his hands when he moved to help her. “I don’t want to see you right now, Ryan,” she growled. “Or any of your friends, so don’t send anyone to babysit me, I just need to be alone.”
With that, Sofia stormed from the room, heading straight for the bathroom. Ryan watched her go, oddly at peace with how things had gone. He had hated upsetting Sofia further, but she had assured him that she was okay with him doing his job, even if it hurt her at the time. He had known this was going to be a shock for her, and her anger and need to be alone were both perfectly understandable. So, for the moment, he was going to leave her be and go and find her sister and brother.
* * * * *
4:27 P.M.
Everything felt so surreal.
Sofia didn’t feel like she had managed to hold a coherent thought since she had found Isabella lying on the kitchen floor with a bag over her head.
Strike that, Sofia corrected herself, she didn’t think she had managed to hold a coherent thought since this whole nightmare started.
She was still trying to process the whole basement thing. Even though she knew she had really been in the basement with Ryan and Paige, the whole thing felt like it had happened to someone else. Like it was someone else who had sat down there and recalled seeing their own brother rape and murder teenage girls.
Tears pricked her eyes and she angrily brushed them away; she didn’t have time to cry now. Ryan would soon be on to her if he wasn’t already.
After she had stormed out on Ryan, she’d gone to the bathroom, thrown up again, then cleaned herself up and tried to calm herself down. She was so angry. Although, not really at Ryan. He was just trying to do his job. She knew that. He had been wrong before, when he’d accused her father, and he was wrong this time, too. Isabella wasn’t a killer. Sofia would know if her own sister was capable of such a thing.