Fatal Secrets - Desiree Holt Page 0,55
Going back there, digging around, is sure to bring back all those memories.”
“On the other hand,” she pointed out, “it may be the only way to put them to bed once and for all. Someone went to the trouble of sending me an email, using a net café so they could be anonymous.”
“But all you have,” he pointed out, “are very brief articles over a fourteen-year span about the murders of some girls who reported being raped. I understand that the timing isn’t exactly coincidental. They report the rape and then why’re dead.”
“Because that’s what he threatens,” she insisted. “That’s what he said to me. If I opened my mouth to anyone I’d be dead meat. Murdered.”
“And how did he—whoever he is—know about the complaints? Did the sheriff tell him? If they don’t know his name, how would anyone know who to leak the information to?”
She bit her lip. “Somebody knows, and I want to find out who’s been shielding him all these years. If he’s been getting away with it all this time, it means he’s a man with a great deal of power and influence. Maybe even reaching into the office of the sheriff. It’s even possible he’s such a powerhouse in the area that the girls or their parents confided in him, asking him what to do. It has to be something like that, because the rape complaints weren’t made public.”
“And you’re sure these are connected? I have to ask.”
She swallowed her frustration. “Yes. And whoever sent me the email said he—or she—knew for a fact it had happened to each of the girls who were murdered. I think this person knows or knew some of them, because the email described things about the rape that were never made public—big man, rough hands large enough to cover her eyes and mouth, powerful, arrogant, as if he was untouchable. And that shortly after they reported it, they were found dead. Strangled. That’s what the rapist threatened me with.”
“Jesus, Jenna.”
“These murders have occurred over a period of several years,” she reminded him. “Some of those victims would be closer to my age now, except they’re dead. And who knows how many others were victims between the time I left and now? Girls who haven’t ever come forward.”
“And you’re sure this is the same man? ”
“Please.” She snorted a laugh. “How many stories like this do you think come out of rural Montana, anyway? You know I never believed I was the only one this guy targeted.”
“Yeah, I know. I know.”
“I’ve been at this for a long time, Grey, and I’ve learned to trust my instincts. When I started looking into the murders, I couldn’t believe the number of cases I found. And who knows how many rapes happened that were not reported? Like mine.”
“Okay, so he killed the girls who came forward,” Grey reminded her. “Even if, like you, they couldn’t identify him. Even though all they had was the location and situation and sketchy information. Just on the off chance they might remember the tiniest detail. He was sending a message to all the others, right?”
“Yes, and Grey? One of them was one of the few friends I made when I lived here. Julie Kemp. At the time, I had no idea she’d been raped. She just one day stopped seeing me or anyone. When her body was found, the sheriff said it had to be a stranger in the area, but no one was ever caught. I’m still devastated about it.”
“All the more reason to be cautious.”
“But—”
“The person who wrote the email had to know more than one of the victims if she told you he’d warned each of them,” he reminded her. “Just like he warned you what he’d do if you ever said anything.”
“But that’s why he keeps getting away with it,” she cried. “Because he’s some kind of powerful figure, ruled by his ego. He makes sure the girls are too intimidated by him to act, or he kills them. This is a habit that’s gone on for several years. For whatever reason, those girls took the chance.
“And they paid with their lives,” she told him, her voice tight at the thought of it.
“Let me repeat this. Because somehow word got out about what they’d done, and he made good on his threat. Of course that wasn’t mentioned in any of the stories. We don’t know how it leaked, so you’ll` have to watch your step everywhere.”
“I believe there has to be someone who