Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 91212 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91212 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
"Not they," Mike says, making me want to once again pop him in the nose.
I don't know if there is a more sensitive way to handle this situation, but even I'm not impressed with the way he's handling it. It definitely makes me reconsider how I speak to people because it sucks being on this side of it.
"William specifically."
"So you want to announce her death to see if he responds how you expect him to?"
"It's a little more complicated than that, but yes. We'll make the announcement to get an initial response and then we'll explain what happened."
"You think it's smart to tell the person who you think hired her murderer that she was killed by a hitman?"
"We're going to lie. We'll say she was found deceased in a different way. We'll say she was found somewhere else," he explains.
"Because if he's confused, he'll be guilty?"
"Once again, it's a little more complicated than that, but yes. I'm not the one who will be watching for those micro-reactions, but someone who specializes in that will be."
"And these people will just happen to be in my house watching them?"
Mike gives her a weak smile. "We'd like to put cameras up in your house."
She pulls in a deep breath as if he's asking a lot and she's getting close to shutting the whole thing down.
"And if he doesn't react the way you expect a murderer to act?"
"We continue to investigate and pray that one day we can catch the Full Deck Killer before he creates many more victims."
"How does doing this help you catch him?" she challenges. "It sounds like you just want to nail my brother."
"He might know something about him that we don't know," Mike offers. "Your help in this is vital. If William isn't guilty, then we need to know that so we can move on."
She's silent for a long moment, and I clear my throat when Mike pulls in a breath, telling me that he's preparing to lay on another level of shit to the pile that has already been created.
Thankfully, he takes a hint and remains quiet.
"I'll do it," she whispers, straightening in her chair. "But only to prove that William had nothing to do with it."
"Thank you," Mike says, but I can see in his eyes that he thinks the complete opposite.
My hope, of course, would be that it wasn't William. Cora has been through enough, and to lose her sister and then lose her brother to a murder conviction would be just too much for anyone to handle.
"I'm going to have Rebecca go over some things with you so we can make sure this operation works," Mike says just as the door opens and a woman walks in.
I stand with her, fully intent on sitting beside her while she's briefed on what's going to happen back in South Carolina.
"A word, Eddie," Mike says before I can follow the women out the door.
Chapter 24
Cora
With every step I take, as I exit the conference room, I feel a sort of numbness settling inside of me. I don't know if it's my body's way of trying to protect me, but as soon as I take a seat across from Rebecca in another, smaller room, I feel as if I'm a stranger watching rather than a present person participating. I think this is a better way to handle what's going on. However, I imagine a therapist would have a different viewpoint on things.
Sadie being gone is something I know to be true, but there's a part deep down inside of me that just can't accept it. How can there be a world where my little sister doesn't exist? It doesn't seem possible, and as heartbroken as I was losing both of my parents, this is somehow worse. In the circle of life, we're supposed to lose our parents. Our lives are meant to extend past theirs, so there's some sense of reason in that. It makes sense. But losing a sibling, and in such a tragic way, is difficult to wrap my head around.
"Mike explained what we'd like to see happen?" Rebecca asks as she takes a seat across from me.
"He did," I say with a dip of my head, my voice sounding distant and disconnected.
"Would you like something to drink before we get started?"
I shake my head. My throat feels parched, but I know the second something hits my stomach, I'll get sick. It's already turning and aching after seeing that picture of Sadie.
"I'm not going to go into detail about what happened to Sadie," she begins. "So beware the story we're going to tell will be much different from what occurred. I suggest creating some mental distance between the two. It might make it easier to handle until this is over and you're able to grieve."
Her voice is comforting, but the words leaving her lips are like razor blades on my skin.