Page 136 of Our Daughter's Bones

“No!” He was aghast. “No! I made sure that never happened.”

“Then why did you kill her?”

His last thread of sanity slipped. A look of utter belligerence crossed his face. “I didn’t kill Erica! How c-could you? I’d rather die a thousand times. Club 916 didn’t select any girl that year. How could we?”

“I know you didn’t kill her,” Mackenzie said gently. Nick’s head whipped to her, puzzled. Unaffected, she continued. “Chloe was never found. Do you know what David did with her body?”

Samuel swallowed hard and glanced at Daniel. “He buried her behind his cabin, in the woods. After Daphne’s body was found by the police in Tacoma, we had to be more careful. That’s why he refused to sell his property to that construction company.”

Mackenzie kneeled next to him. She wondered when he’d last showered. His dark eyes had never been that dim. The muscles of his face hung off his bones loosely. He looked like life was being sucked out of him slowly. His mind was preying on his body.

Did this man deserve even a shred of her sympathy? Her brain told her he didn’t. Then why was her heart squeezing at the sight of him mourning his daughter?

“You know what happens next,” she whispered.

He nodded slowly and placed Erica’s picture back on the table. “Do you think my daughter was punished for my sins?”

“Whose sins were the other girls punished for? I don’t believe in karma. I think some of us are just unlucky.” She looked at Daniel and nodded.

Daniel stood up and pulled out handcuffs from his pocket. His chest swelled. When he spoke, his chin trembled. “Samuel Perez, you are under arrest for the abduction, rape, and murder of Daphne Cho and Chloe St. Clair. You are under arrest for the abduction, rape and unlawful imprisonment of Abigail Correia. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”

Daniel continued reading him his rights and pulled his hands behind his back. Samuel looked at Erica’s picture one last time before Daniel marched him out the room.

“What the hell was that?” Nick asked. “You knew he didn’t kill her?”

“Did you not look at him? Andhepressured the mayor and Peck into consulting the FBI, remember? Why would he want those resources hunting him down? When we tied Erica’s case in with the other three, his cronies must havethenwanted Murphy and Peck to cut ties with Daniel.”

“Jesus, of course. I thought he was festering in his own guilt. Feels like we’re back to square one with Erica. 916 didn’t take her…” His voice trailed off.

“What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking we should look into Bishop again. He’s the only person who benefited from Erica’s death. And he had Eddy working for him. Can’t put murder past that guy.”

“You didn’t think he did it before. Remember the mob rule? Don’t touch the family.”

“Well, I’m running out of options here.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe Abby came across something in her investigation. Will the hospital allow us to see her now?”

Mackenzie bit her lip. “Let me talk to Abby alone.”

“Why?”

“She was raped, Nick,” she said pointedly. “By multiple men. I’m not sure if she’ll be comfortable enough to talk around you.”

“Oh, right. Of course.”

“Just give me a few minutes with her alone. Let me make her feel comfortable.”

Seventy-Five

Mackenzie’s heels clicked on the tiled floor. She inhaled deeply, feeling the air ruffle against the hair in her nose and rush down her windpipe. People walked past her. But all she saw were blurry shapes and colors. Everything moved around her slowly. Even her heart beat lazily. There was a vacuum in her ears.

Dead silence.

She turned a corner and reached a room. A cold tingle crawled up her leg. She knew where it came from. She saw him from the corner of her eye.

Her father’s ghost stood at the end of the hallway.

She tore her eyes away and knocked on the door. The sound cut through her imagination. The sounds were loud again—machines beeped, footsteps scuffled, and doors clicked and banged.