Save Your Breath (Morgan Dane #6) - Melinda Leigh Page 0,90
uncrossed his arms and shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. His voice sounded as if he were calm, but his inability to stand still or maintain eye contact said otherwise. He needed a push.
Morgan went for a major shock. “Did you know Brandi Holmes?”
His gaze snapped to hers.
“No,” he said, but his eyes were worried. He understood the implication behind Morgan’s question.
Morgan pressed harder. “How about Cassandra Martin, Samantha Knowles, Jessie Mendella, Brenda Chase—”
“No.” He cut her off. The color bled from his face. He clearly recognized the names. His voice was harsh as he answered, “Why are you asking me this?”
Morgan pressed. “There’s only one reason I can think of you wouldn’t want your brother to get his appeal. You killed those women, and you don’t want the case reopened.”
He shook his head hard. “No.”
Stella leaned forward, her voice rising as she jumped in on Morgan’s line of questioning. “Did you take your brother’s car that night? Did you put sugar in Brandi’s gas tank? Did you follow her until her car broke down? Did you kill her?”
“No!” He spun, holding his skull with both hands. “You don’t understand.”
Stella lowered her voice. “I can’t understand unless you talk to me.”
“I didn’t kill any of them, but their deaths are my fault.” He closed his eyes. His hands fell to his sides. “The reason I don’t want my brother to get an appeal is because he’s a monster.”
Morgan exchanged a glance with her sister, and they waited.
“I’ve known Todd, the owner of Speedy Auto, since college. I talked him into hiring Cliff.” Guilt lined Joe’s face. “It’s my fault those women are dead. If I hadn’t gotten him that job, he wouldn’t have met them. They’d still be alive.”
“Five of them have never been found. How do you know they’re dead?” Stella asked in a soft voice.
“Because Cliff told me he killed them.” Joe backed up to his door and leaned on it. His eyes darkened and filled with pain. “He told me every detail. I begged him to stop. After each death, he promised me it would be the last one. A year or so would pass, and I’d think it was over. Then he’d give in to his need again. When Brandi Holmes was found, I hoped he’d go to prison.”
“Then why didn’t you testify against him?” Stella propped a hand on her hip.
Anger lit Joe’s face. “Because he’s my brother!” One big hand swept out to point at Morgan. “That’s your sister, right? Would you betray her?”
“If she murdered six people? You bet I would.” Stella nodded.
“Well, Cliff raised me after our parents died. He took care of me. He is the only reason I didn’t end up in foster care. He said, ‘Joe, we’re family, and family sticks together.’” Joe’s eyes glistened. “And now I’m going to have to betray him. I already have the deaths of six women on my soul. He can’t get out of prison. He can’t control himself. More people would die. I can’t live with that.”
He looked broken, and Morgan almost wanted to comfort him. But she remembered the five families of the missing women. This man had known their loved ones were dead for years and had let them suffer and hope all that time because he didn’t want to betray his monster of a brother.
Coldness swept through her as she realized his guilt went far deeper. He’d known after each woman had been killed.
His silence had allowed his brother to keep murdering.
Yes, those deaths were on his soul.
Almost all of his arguments had begun with I. He didn’t care about those women and their families. He only cared about himself.
“Will you testify now?” Morgan asked.
Joe blinked the moisture from his eyes. “Maybe. I’d have to make sure I wouldn’t be charged with conspiracy, aid and abetting, or accessory.”
Anger flared in Morgan’s chest. He was using the victims’ families as bargaining chips. That was low. And she’d almost felt sorry for him.
“Do you know where those women are?” Stella asked.
He met her gaze. His emotions closed down. His eyes shuttered, and his gaze went cold. “I might. Can you promise me immunity?”
Bastard.
Chapter Thirty-Five
An hour later, Morgan faced the whiteboard. Lance and Sharp stood shoulder to shoulder with her.
“Stella is going to be tied up for the rest of the night,” Morgan said. Her sister had taken Joe Franklin back to the station and sent Morgan back to the office in a patrol car.