Gone Too Far (Devlin & Falco #2) - Debra Webb Page 0,95

think about.

“There has to be a reason,” Devlin countered, pulling Sadie back to the conversation. “Something so important that Osorio would be willing to take the risk.”

Since Devlin appeared determined not to let it go, Sadie took a breath and forced herself to mull over the concept before tossing out a possible scenario. “Isabella was kept a secret. She never left the compound. It’s possible if there has been some sort of trouble in the area, they’ve sent her away to protect her. Birmingham has become a major stronghold for Osorio. He may feel she’s safer here despite my presence. I guess it depends on how bad the trouble is and what his assets here are. Besides, I’m not supposed to remember anything, right? Frankly, what little I do makes basically no sense.”

“Whatever the reason,” Devlin said, “I believe Alice is Isabella, and she’s here. She’s killed at least one girl and tried to kill two others.” Devlin pulled out her cell. “A friend of mine posed as a social worker and spent some time with the woman taking care of Alice—the alleged aunt. My friend said the house is full of crosses. But the strangest part is Alice’s room.” Devlin handed her phone to Sadie, the photo app open.

Sadie’s gaze landed on the masks hanging on the wall. Ghostly white. Two dark eyeholes. Horns protruding from the sides. Fear crowded into Sadie’s chest. This was the kind of mask the child in her dreams . . . or memories had worn. Fingers trembling, she swiped, stared at the next photo. This one showed crude drawings. A bloodred moon in the middle of a paint-blackened page. Yellow flames, flickering across another page. The red coals beneath the flames bleeding.

Doing all within her power to keep her hand from shaking, Sadie passed the phone back to Devlin. She struggled to find her voice. Her heart pounded harder and harder. “You better keep your kid away from this girl, Devlin.”

She’s had some problems . . . we’ve had to be very careful with her.

The words whispered through Sadie’s mind. Eddie’s voice, his words. Had he said this to her about Isabella? Or had he been speaking of someone else?

Devlin’s cell vibrated in her hand. She answered. Listened for a few seconds, then said, “I’ll be right there.” She put her phone away. “I have to go. My daughter needs me.”

“Thanks for giving me a ride,” Sadie managed to say without her voice breaking.

Devlin paused at the door. “Like I said last night, anything you can do to help is greatly appreciated.”

Sadie nodded. “Yeah.”

Devlin left.

All this talk about Alice being Isabella was nothing more than speculation, a potential scenario. A theory. Sadie couldn’t be sure. Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her again. That happened sometimes. Okay, more than sometimes.

But the photos on Devlin’s phone were real. The drawings belonged to Alice Cortez. Dark. Sinister. Those drawings were way too similar to ones Sadie had seen before . . . in that shack or shed at the Osorio compound. The shaking started deep inside Sadie and spread outward, through her limbs.

The place the masked child had led her into the night of that party.

33

4:15 p.m.

Devlin Residence

Twenty-First Avenue South

Birmingham

“Please, Tori,” Kerri pleaded, “tell me if there’s anything else we need to talk about? I can’t help if I don’t know.”

Tori sat on the sofa, her elbows resting on her knees, her face in her hands. Kerri had never seen her so desolate. To say she looked as if she’d lost her best friend was the understatement of the century. She had lost her best friend as surely as if she had died, but this went well beyond that kind of loss and pain.

This was the agony of betrayal. The level of betrayal only a best friend could wield.

Tori leaned back against the sofa. “They all believe her. And why wouldn’t they? We’ve been friends forever.” Her eyes closed in misery. “I just can’t imagine why she said such a thing.”

“Did Sarah ever talk to you about wanting to hurt Brendal? Or to Alice that you know of?”

Tori moved her head side to side. “She said she hated her. We all said that at one time or another. You know when you get angry, you say things you don’t really mean. At least not completely.”

Kerri nodded. Her back to the arm of the sofa, she pulled one knee under her so she could sit facing Tori. “I know exactly what you mean. There was