wants to hurt. It’s why after the band concert tonight I’m taking Cara and leaving town.” She looked pointedly at Charlie. “I would suggest you do the same.”
“I’m not running,” Charlie said as she rose to her feet. “I’ve been running for too long.”
Shep joined her and put his arm around her.
“You do realize, Kat, that the police will now be involved,” Shep said. “They’re going to want to talk to you.”
“I have to think of Cara. I’d hoped to keep all of this from her until she was older. She is so sweet and innocent. I don’t know what effect this will have on her, so I’m not waiting around to see what Lacey will do next. I can’t for Cara’s sake.”
“I think it’s too late for that,” Charlie said. “I’m betting Cara already knows about Lacey. Otherwise, how has Lacey been getting in and out of your house without you noticing?”
“Also there was a second set of fingerprints on Charlie’s doll,” Shep said. “Not Lacey’s which would be so similar to Lindy’s. I’d wager they’re Cara’s.”
Kat’s face froze for a moment. She seemed to stagger and looked down at the floor as if it had opened and she’d gotten a glimpse of hell. She appeared to shrink before their eyes.
As she turned to leave, her face taut with fear, Charlie saw the woman’s world crumbling around her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHARLIE WAS STILL in shock after Kat’s visit. Shep had gotten on the phone to the judge, filling him in. It was clear that WT agreed. It was time to call in the law. The judge must have asked if she was up to being questioned by the police.
She saw Shep look over at her and smile before he said, “She can handle it. She’s a lot stronger than she looks.”
“You really think Lacey killed her twin?” Charlie asked after he finished his call.
“Mulvane said it was a crime of passion. I’m betting Lacey was there that night and knows what happened. If she was involved, it would explain her breakdown.”
“Then she also knows that I locked Lindy out of the house. That could explain why she wanted to make me think I was losing my mind.”
“Kat said Lacey had had problems before,” he said. “If she was mentally unstable, who knows what could have gone down between the twins. You heard what Kat said. I got the impression she’s afraid of her daughter.” He sat down next to her. “The judge is contacting someone he knows in the police department. They are going to want to talk to us, especially you, about all of this.”
She nodded. “Why didn’t I see it? I thought Lindy’s strange mood swings were just her being an unhappy teenager. Now looking back, she was often like two completely different people. If Lacey was the one who was so cruel to me, why didn’t she confront Kat?”
“Maybe Lindy wouldn’t let her,” Shep suggested. “Lindy wasn’t happy with her mother’s marriage, but she was smart enough to know that if Lacey blew the whistle on Kat, things could get a whole lot worse.”
That made sense, Charlie thought. So Lindy would have allowed her sister into her life, letting her play a role to keep her quiet until... Until Lacey got sick of it and wanted more? She worried that they might never know.
But Lacey was still out there. What would she do next?
The person she really couldn’t get her head around was their mother. “How could Kat have done what she did?” she said, curling up in her spot on the couch to face Shep. “How could any mother do that?”
He shook his head. “Not everyone is cut out to be a parent.” His cell phone rang. He answered it. “Yes. No, that would be fine.” He disconnected. “You ready to go down to the police station? This is not the way I imagined us spending Christmas Eve but...”
Charlie nodded. “I just want this over.”
“It won’t be over until they catch Lacey,” he said, as if he had to remind her.
* * *
HOURS LATER, CHARLIE climbed into bed completely exhausted. She’d been asked a million questions. In the end, she knew that the chance of Lacey being caught was slim. Even if she was, the woman hadn’t done anything really threatening, just as the officer had said. Lacey was wanted in Brazil so she would be extradited if found. But even a stalking charge would be hard to make stick in this country since Charlie had only