Dying to Tell (41 page)

The sound of a car engine rumbled, and Jake went to meet it. But as he waited, he kept replaying his childhood in his mind, wondering how he and Nick had grown so far apart when they should have pulled together.

Because when your father left, and then Sadie broke up with you, you turned inward.

Instead of thinking about Nick and his feelings, he’d been too absorbed in his own. And Nick had been so angry with his father back then, so full of teenage rebellion.

Looking back, he realized that Nick had needed him, but Jake had abandoned him by joining the service a few months after Sadie left.

A dark sedan rolled up, and Jake almost laughed. Of all the things he’d expected out of Nick, the last was that he’d become a federal agent. At one time, he’d worried that his brother would wind up on the wrong side of the law.

When he opened the door and climbed out, Jake studied his little brother. He wasn’t little anymore. He was as tall as Jake was, and just as broad shouldered, although his hair was slightly lighter than Jake’s own dark brown. Jake expected a suit, but his brother wore jeans and a white shirt and a leather bomber jacket.

His chiseled jaw was just as sharp, though, his cleft chin just as prominent, his brown eyes just as serious and intense.

“Jake?”

Jake held out his hand. “It’s been a long time, Nick.”

Nick stared at his hand for a moment, then shook it firmly. Their gazes locked, the backlash of memories and hard feelings still there, as if they’d been brewing for the past ten years.

But in light of what he’d learned, Jake was suddenly damned glad to see Nick, to know he had some family left.

“What’s this about?”

That was Nick. Straight and to the point. No chitchat.

“I have something to tell you,” Jake said.

Nick glanced at the CSU van. “Spit it out, Jake.”

Jake nodded. “There’s a grave over there by the mill.”

Nick swallowed. “Dad’s?”

Jake gave another nod. “Sadie Nettleton said that her sister, Amelia, shot him, and Sadie helped her grandfather bury him out here.”

Nick removed his sunglasses and cocked his head to the side. “Sadie? Your Sadie?”

“She’s not my Sadie,” Jake said tightly.

“She was back then,” Nick said.

“Yeah, and she broke it off with me after Dad disappeared.” Jake sighed. “Now I know the reason.”

“I don’t understand,” Nick said. “Why would Sadie’s sister shoot our father?”

Jake crossed his arms, then relayed Sadie’s story. “The only reason Sadie came back was because her sister killed their grandfather. I told you about Grace Granger’s death, then my investigation into it and what we learned about Dr. Sanderson and Coker.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s possible that Amelia was part of these experiments,” Jake continued. “Since Sadie found the files in her grandfather’s house, we can assume he either knew about them from the beginning or that he discovered what had happened.”

“You said that Amelia killed Dad.” Nick gestured toward the river. “Are you exhuming his body?”

The air around him turned sour. “That’s another problem. Sadie came back here and dug up the grave, but it’s empty.”

Jake expected Nick to react with shock, but instead he seemed to accept what he’d said. “The crime unit is looking for evidence that he was buried there.”

“Or that he walked out of the grave,” Nick said wryly. “You know our old man was just mean enough to do that.”

Jake frowned at Nick’s comment. He coddled Ayla, was soft on her, but his father had been cold, stern. Had treated them more like soldiers than children.

He’d accepted it at the time, but now he realized Nick was right.

Nick stowed his sunglasses in his pocket. “Let me see this grave.”

Jake led him to the site and introduced him to the CSU team, then stood back as Nick studied the grave.

“Have you found any bones or skeletal matter?” Nick asked.

“No, sir, not yet,” the tech said.

“But Sadie says they left a body there,” Jake said. “So that means someone moved it. I’m going to search the surrounding area.”

Nick joined him, and they examined the area surrounding the grave site for footprints or other evidence that someone else had been near the grave recently.

An hour later, their search had turned up nothing, so they decided to explore the old mill. Except for signs of critters digging around, the building was rotting and empty, though there were signs, including beer cans and a roach clip, that someone, probably teenagers, had sneaked inside to party.

He shone the flashlight along the edges of the rooms, noting the signs of decay, the peeling paint, and weathered flooring. In the back room, where it was darkest, he noticed a stain on the floor. Judging from the dark color and the way it had seeped between the cracks, it had been there a long time.

And it looked like blood.

Forensics would have to tell them exactly what it was. Dust and twigs that had fallen through a crack in the ceiling coated the floor near it; when he brushed these aside, he noticed what looked like boot prints as well. “Come here, Nick, take a look.”

Nick walked over and knelt, eyes narrowed. “The tread on the boot looks military-issue.”

Jake’s gaze met his, and he read his mind. Nick thought his father might have made it out alive.

He sucked in a deep breath. “There are plenty of men who wear military boots. I have a pair, just like you do. Hell, half the men in Slaughter Creek probably served one way or the other.”

“You’re right. We need CSU to send a sample of the blood to the lab to determine how old it is and check it for DNA.”

Jake cut his eyes toward his brother. “Sadie received a threatening call from someone, saying he knew what she’d done, and he was going to expose her. My theory is that either one of Amelia’s alters moved the body, or whoever threatened Sadie did.”

“Why would someone steal a body?” Nick asked.

Jake shook his head. He didn’t have all the answers, but no matter how long they had to stay here tonight, or how long it took the lab, he would get them.

It had been a long night in jail.

Sadie had barely slept, and she was grateful when Ms. Lettie dropped her off some clean clothes. The deputy let her use the restroom to clean up, even offering her soap and a towel for a shower, and Sadie thanked him, praying this routine would not become her way of life.

That she could make Jake understand how sorry she was for what had happened.

The deputy brought her lunch from the diner, but she took one look at the food and felt nauseous.

She paced the cell for the next two hours, waiting for Chad to show. He’d promised her he’d schedule a hearing for the afternoon and arrange bail, and she hoped he kept that promise.

An hour later, he showed up and escorted her to the courthouse. She entered the courtroom, tensing as Jake’s gaze bore into hers. Chad had arranged a meeting with the judge, hoping to get the charges dropped, but the district attorney, a thirtysomething woman who, Chad told her, wanted to make a name for herself, seemed determined to go through with the case.

Sadie glanced at the seats behind her. She noticed Ms. Lettie in the background, and appreciated her support. Then she spotted Jake’s brother Nick, and her stomach knotted.

He had always been good looking, but he’d grown into a handsome man. His gaze locked with hers, though, and she saw a controlled rage in his eyes.

Chad stood and spoke, and she forced herself to look at the judge. She’d testified in enough hearings to know that making eye contact was imperative in winning the jury and judge’s trust.

“Your Honor, Sadie Nettleton is a forensic interviewer, not a criminal,” Chad began. “Also there is no evidence that she committed a crime. The body that was allegedly buried at that grave site is not there.”

The judge glanced at Sadie over his bifocals, then dropped his gaze to the papers in front of him.

DA Myra Ansen cleared her throat. “Your Honor, Ms. Nettleton confessed to the sheriff that her sister murdered Arthur Blackwood, and that she and her grandfather had helped dispose of the body. She even led Sheriff Blackwood to the grave.”

“A confession my client made under duress, and without being Mirandized,” Chad interjected.

“Because she was caught red-handed, digging up the grave,” the DA said.

The judge turned to Jake. “Sheriff, do you have evidence of a crime?”

“No direct evidence yet, sir, but a forensic team processed the grave site—”

“Alleged grave site,” Chad cut in.

Jake glared at him. “The alleged grave site,” Jake said. “And we’re waiting on the results.”

“Do you have a murder weapon?” the judge asked.

Jake’s face blanched, as if he realized he should have addressed that point. But he had been in shock, and he hadn’t asked.

And Sadie hadn’t offered that detail.

“Your Honor,” Jake said, “Amelia Nettleton was arrested for shooting her grandfather. If she used the same gun, we may already have it in evidence.”

The judge frowned at Jake. “If it’s the same weapon, Sheriff?”

“Obviously I need more time to investigate,” Jake replied.

The DA cut in. “Your Honor, Ms. Nettleton’s sister, Amelia, was arrested for the murder of her own grandfather, then admitted to Slaughter Creek Sanitarium, from where she subsequently escaped. She is a dangerous, mentally unbalanced woman. We must take into consideration the fact that Ms. Nettleton may be hiding her sister now.” Her voice rose an octave. “For all we know, she lied to the sheriff about where she disposed of his father’s body to throw off the investigation and give her sister time to flee the country.”

“That’s ludicrous,” Chad said.

The judge angled his head toward Sadie. “Ms. Nettleton, are you hiding your sister?”

Sadie licked her lips. “No, sir...Your Honor. I love my sister, but I’m well aware that she’s suffering from a serious mental condition. I want to help her get the therapy she needs.”

Chad started to argue, but the judge held up his hand again. “This is a complicated situation, and we’re not here to decide guilt or innocence today. I’m setting bail at twenty thousand
dollars.” He turned to Sadie. “And Ms. Nettleton, if your sister contacts you, you are required by law to report it. Do you understand?”

Sadie nodded. “Yes, sir.”

He pounded his gavel. “Court adjourned. You can pay the bailiff.”

Sadie stood beside Chad, grateful he’d arranged to post bail and let her reimburse him.

She glanced at Jake as they walked toward the back of the courtroom. She wanted to beg him for his forgiveness, but he gave her a cold look, then turned and walked away.

Chad placed a hand to her back. “The sheriff had your car towed to your house, so I’ll drive you home.”

Sadie watched Jake leave, unable to do anything other than accept Chad’s help for the time being.

As soon as she stepped out of the courtroom, Brenda Banks accosted her in the hallway. “Sadie, is it true? Your sister killed Jake Blackwood’s father?”

Sadie pushed away the microphone Brenda had thrust at her. “Please, Brenda, leave me alone.”

“Ms. Nettleton has no comment,” Chad said to Brenda. “Now, my client would like to go home.”

“I’m here to get the truth,” Brenda said, dogging them as Chad ushered her toward the door. “Tell me your side, Sadie. I told you before, I want to help.”

Sadie hesitated. Maybe she should tell her side,
Amelia’s
side, of the story. Maybe Brenda could help her get justice.

She started to tell her to meet her at her house, but Chad shushed her. “Your legal problems aren’t over, Sadie. Don’t talk to anyone.”

Then Chad swung toward Brenda. “Sadie has no comment, Brenda. Now move—it’s been a long night.”

He shoved open the door, then took her arm, and the two of them hurried down the courtroom steps.

Chad closed his car door and started the engine. “Have you heard from Amelia?” he asked as they drove away from the courthouse.

“No—have you?”

“No,” Chad said. “If she calls, I’ll encourage her to come to you.”

They lapsed into silence as he drove around the mountain road. Sadie saw shadows all around her—Amelia’s, the alters, Arthur Blackwood’s.

Eyes watching her, following her. Someone hunting her down.

By the time they reached the house, she was a bundle of nerves. The ashes of the farmhouse lay in embers around her, a reminder of the loss and danger surrounding her and her sister.

She thanked Chad, then climbed out and walked past the ashes and charred remains of the furniture and belongings that had once filled her family home.

She unlocked the studio, a sense of trepidation filling her as she entered and thought about Amelia.

The doctors who’d mistreated her should be punished. But Dr. Coker was too far gone in his own dementia to try, and Dr. Sanderson was dead.

Had someone else been involved?

Anger emboldened Sadie, and she reached for the light. A faint glow spilled from the lamp across the gruesome artwork, the differences between the drawings and paintings done by Amelia’s various personalities striking her.

Amelia had been hurt in the hospital, and drugged for years. A sneaking suspicion overwhelmed Sadie, and she rushed to the bathroom and checked the medicine cabinet. Several pill bottles were inside, and she took them out, examining each one. One for anxiety, another for depression, then several psychotropic drugs: Haldol, Elavil, Librium. But there were a couple she didn’t recognize.