“You were only a child. You couldn’t have understood.”
“I understood enough. Later, when I was older, I understood more. I understood what I had to do to make things right.”
“Your mother wanted revenge?”
“She wanted justice. God’s justice.” A hint of a smile pulls at her mouth. “I wanted revenge.”
“Ruth, as an adult, surely you know she was mentally damaged, injured. She used you. Brainwashed you. An innocent child.”
“Not so innocent, Chief Burkholder. You see, my mother was never strong. I took care of her. She needed me more than I needed her. She made me strong because she knew I possessed what she did not. I had the strength to do what needed to be done.”
“Did you murder Hoch Yoder?”
She waves off the question. “I didn’t have to. He suffered with the melancholy. Had for years. I knew it was only a matter of time before he ended it. One little push from me, and he was all too happy to oblige.”
“Ruth, he was your half brother. And yet you married him.”
“My mother blamed him for the deaths of her children. I did what needed to be done. I have no regrets.”
“Did he know?”
One side of her mouth trembles, as if she’s withholding a smile. “He knew enough.”
I lean back in my chair, trying to digest everything I’ve heard. It’s not easy. I’ve interrogated dozens of criminals over the years, and many of those interviews left me feeling unsettled and disturbed. But I can honestly say none of them ever made me feel as sick inside as I do at this moment.
“You have no idea which of them is your father, do you?” I ask.
A quiver goes through her body. Her hands slowly curl into fists. Only then do I realize I’ve found her weak spot. She was borne of violence, and the question of her paternity has left her twitching inside like a nerve exposed to air.
“My father is Willis Hochstetler.”
“You were born nine months after that night, Ruth. You don’t know who your father is. It could be any of them. Dale Michaels. Jerrold McCullough. Blue Branson.”
“I made them sorry for it, didn’t I?” she says.
“You’re going to be charged with three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder of a police officer. You’re not going anywhere for a very long time.”
“So be it. My work is done.”
Needing to get out of there, I turn my attention to the detective. “We’re finished here.” I rise, round the table, and bend so that my mouth is just inches from her ear. “In case you haven’t noticed, you’re the spitting image of Blue Branson.”
She lunges at me, but I’m faster and dance out of reach. Before she can make contact, the detective is on his feet, moving between us. The corrections officer darts across the room and presses Weaver back into the chair.
I go through the door without looking back.
* * *
I find Tomasetti in the hall, waiting for me. “How did it go?” he asks.
“She confessed. To everything.” I’m not ready to talk about it; I need a few minutes to regroup and dislodge the unsettling sense of ugliness that clings to me.
“You’re shaking.”
I’m not very good at sharing my emotions, especially when they’re dark. It takes me a moment before I can look at him. “She married her half brother. They lived together as husband and wife for years.”
“That’s about as twisted as it gets.”
More than anything in that moment, I want to go to him, put my arms around him because I need to be held. Instead, because we’re in a public place surrounded by our peers, I touch his hand. “Tomasetti, I’m glad you’re here. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he tells me.
We start toward the elevator. “Any word on Pickles?” I ask.
“Glock sent a text ten minutes ago. He’s out of surgery. Prognosis is good. Spleen didn’t make it.”
I choke out a laugh, release the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “Will you take me to the hospital?”
“You bet.”
The elevator doors slide open.
We ride to the ground floor in silence and start toward the exit. We’ve just reached the Tahoe when Tomasetti takes my hand, stopping me, and turns me to face him. “What about us, Kate?” he asks. “Are we going to get our happy ending?”
I look into his eyes, wishing I were a good enough communicator to put everything I’m feeling at this moment into words. “I think that depends on us.”
His gaze searches mine. “You were right when you told me I’ve been holding back. I haven’t been able to let them go. Nancy and the girls. All this time, I’ve been looking back instead of forward. I’m sorry for that.”
“They’ll always be in your heart.”
He nods. “I want you to know, I choose you. Not them. Not the past. You.”
The words make me unbearably happy. “You know, Tomasetti, there might just be hope for us yet.”
“I’m counting on it,” he says.
Raising my hands, I set my palms on either side of his face and pull his mouth to mine. “Me, too,” I whisper. “Me, too.”
ALSO BY LINDA CASTILLO
Her Last Breath
Gone Missing
Breaking Silence
Pray for Silence
Sworn to Silence
About the Author
Linda Castillo is the New York Times bestselling author of the Kate Burkholder novels, including Sworn to Silence, which was recently adapted into a Lifetime Original Movie titled An Amish Murder, starring Neve Campbell as Kate Burkholder. Castillo is the recipient of numerous industry awards, including the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence and the HOLT Medallion, and she received a nomination for the RITA. In addition to writing, Castillo’s other passion is horses. She lives in Texas with her husband and is currently at work on her next novel.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE DEAD WILL TELL. Copyright © 2014 by Linda Castillo. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
Cover photograph © Debra Vanderlaan/Celebrate Life Gallery/www.celebratelifegallery.com
eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to [email protected].
The Library of Congress cataloged the print edition as follows:
Castillo, Linda.
The dead will tell: a Kate Burkholder novel / Linda Castillo.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-250-02957-7 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-02956-0 (e-book)
1. Women police chiefs—Fiction. 2. Amish—Fiction. 3. Murder—Investigation—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3603.A8758D43 2014
813'.6—dc23
2014008870
e-ISBN 9781250029560
First Edition: July 2014
The Dead Will Tell: A Kate Burkholder Novel Page 27