Page 120 of The Graveyard Girls (Detective Ellie Reeves #11)

ONE HUNDRED NINETEEN

Ellie parked at Ida’s trailer, surveying the property.

Ida’s car was in the drive but it was the only one.

On the drive, Derrick had researched Joe and learned he drove a delivery truck for a discount store called Ten Below, giving him ease in moving from one city to the next.

He had deliveries in the towns where Jacey and Bonnie lived.

“No truck here,” Derrick said. “I’ll call the company and find out his schedule while you talk to Ida.”

Things had been on edge between her and Derrick ever since he’d barged into her home and dragged Cord in for questioning.

Although she had to admit, she couldn’t blame him for doing his job. Damn Cord for shutting down. He had to be protecting someone. That was the only explanation that made sense to her.

But who? Joe? It didn’t make sense. Unless Cord knew him from the foster system. “Did Joe grow up in foster care?” Ellie asked.

Derrick consulted his tablet. “Looks like he lost his mother when he was twelve and moved in with his grandmother in Brambletown. But he did spend a few months in the system while she petitioned for custody.”

Dammit, Cord could have met him during that time. But Cord wasn’t some narcissistic jerk who didn’t care about others. He was especially protective of children and women. Just as he had been with her.

Still, even if he had some misguided loyalty toward Joe, she couldn’t imagine Cord covering for a predator who targeted teenage girls.

“Ellie?” Derrick said.

She jerked her mind back to reality. She’d deal with Cord later. Right now, she had a girl to save.

Focus on that .

“Yeah, I’m going in.” She opened the Jeep door, braced herself for whatever she found—did Ida know her father was dead? That Joe’s prints were on the scarves and shoes connected to the dead girls?

That her husband might actually be a killer.

All along they’d wondered if she’d covered for her father. What if she’d covered for her boyfriend back then? And her husband now?

She didn’t want to believe it. Ida had a teenage daughter. Would she really keep quiet if she knew her own husband was targeting other teens? Especially Kat’s friend?

Or could Ida be blind to it all?

Ellie inhaled a sharp breath and walked to the door while Derrick called the trucking company. With a heavy fist, she knocked. Inside, a tea kettle whistled. A light flickered on in the kitchen. Feet shuffled.

By the time the door squeaked open, Derrick appeared behind her. Ida stared at them, her eyes red rimmed, her face puffy as if she hadn’t slept all night. Or she’d been upset.

“Ida, we need to talk.”

Ida nodded as if she’d been expecting them. Maybe she did know about Joe. But if Ida had covered for him, she was complicit, too.

Ida waved them in and gestured to the kitchen table, then poured everyone a cup of hot tea and brought it to them. She set sugar and milk on the table. Ellie took sugar but Derrick shook his head in offering.

She swallowed a sip, then began. “Ida, we found your father’s body last night. It looks like he’s been dead for years, maybe since he supposedly left town.”

Ida’s spoon rattled in her tea cup as she stirred a mountain of sugar into it. She didn’t speak, but her glazed eyes showed no surprise.

“Did you know he was dead?” Ellie asked softly.

Ida lowered her head face down into her hands on a moan.

Ellie gave her a moment to compose herself, then asked. “You were dating Joe back then, weren’t you?”

Ida’s eyes widened and she nodded, confusion clouding her face.

“Did Joe kill your father because your father murdered Ruth?”

“W… what? N… no.”

Kat suddenly burst into the room. “It’s not Daddy’s fault,” she cried. “Grandaddy abused Hetty and he dragged her into the woods and was going to kill her that night.”

Ellie’s gaze swung from Ida to Kat. “You mean Joe killed Earl because he abused Hetty?”

“No…” Kat whispered. “It wasn’t?—”

“Be quiet, Kat!” Ida yelled.

“But, Mama, the police will understand. You were protecting Hetty…”

Ida shot daggers with her eyes toward Kat. “How do you know about that, Kat?”

Fear wrenched Kat’s face. “I found your journal, the one on your computer that you wrote back then.”

Ellie’s pulse quickened. She hadn’t seen that coming. If it was true though, she’d need the computer for evidence. “You killed your father, Ida?”

She moaned as tears spilled over. “He was so awful to Hetty, and everyone was sure he killed Ruth and… I couldn’t walk outside without some reporter taking my picture or asking questions and the kids at school were horrible.

” Her sob wrenched the air. “He was getting more and more violent, and Hetty and I would hide in our room to get away from him. When he grabbed Hetty by the hair that night and dragged her to one of the graves he’d dug, I knew he was going to kill her…

” Her voice cracked. “I had to save her.”

Kat inched toward her mother and curved her arm around her. “It’s okay, Mama. It’s okay. Now everyone will find out what a monster he was.”

“Yes, the truth will come out,” Ellie said. “But there’s more, Ida. How was Joe involved that night?”

Ida shook her head. “He wasn’t. He… didn’t know what happened. I… never told him.” She wiped at her tears. “He thought Daddy was guilty of killing Ruth and he was relieved Daddy was gone so the gossip could die down.”

Ellie was beginning to see the picture. “Ida, we don’t think your father killed Ruth.”

Ida and Kat both gaped at her. “What? Of course he did,” Ida said in a raw whisper.

Ellie shook her head. Ida’s conviction sounded real.

“I’m sorry,” Ellie said gently. “But we have evidence connecting your husband to the recent crimes and to Ruth.”

The color drained from Ida’s face, and she sank back in the chair as if she was folding in on herself. “That’s ludicrous. Joe… why would he have killed Ruth?”

“His prints and DNA are on items we found that belonged to the dead girls,” Derrick cut in. “We even found the truck that was used to abduct Jacey Ward from Athens and the farm where he took the girls and hid out to escape being caught.”

“I don’t believe it,” Ida gasped.

“No,” Kat screeched. “My daddy wouldn’t kill anyone. And he wouldn’t take Carrie Ann. She’s my best friend.”

Either Ida and her daughter were in denial or they were oblivious to everything Joe had done.

“Where’s your husband now?” Derrick asked.

Ida pressed her hands to the sides of her head, her eyes glazed with shock. “Work.”

“He had a delivery,” Kat said in a shaky voice.

“Do you know where he was supposed to go today?” Derrick asked.

Ida shook her head. “He delivers all over North Georgia, even in Tennessee.”

His job had given him access to target girls in various cities where teenage girls had disappeared.

“We’ll find him and get to the bottom of this.” Ellie debated on whether to charge Ida. She’d basically confessed to murder. She also needed to bring Hetty in for a statement as well. Although, it sounded as if Ida and Hetty had a solid case for self-defense.

“You told the police you saw your father in the graveyard the night Ruth died,” Ellie said. “You said he was wearing your father’s hat and coat. Did you actually see his face?”

Ida chewed on her thumbnail.

“Ida?”

“N… no,” she mumbled. “It was dark and I was so shocked and… I mean I thought it was him.”

“Is it possible that Joe was wearing your father’s coat and hat?”

Tears trickled down Ida’s reddening cheeks. “M… maybe. But I… don’t understand why Joe would kill Ruth.”

“Maybe he was being protective of you,” Ellie offered.

Ida shrugged. “Even if that was so, he’s been overprotective of Kat, especially since those bodies were found. He ordered her not to go in the woods and repeatedly warned her it was dangerous.”

Or perhaps he didn’t want her to find him.

“Kat, please get the computer with that journal on it,” Derrick said. “We need to take your mother to the station and record her statement.”

“I’ll send Deputy Eastman to pick up Hetty,” Ellie said. “She’s worked with domestic violence victims before.”

“Ida, do you know where Joe is now?” Ellie asked.

“Like Kat said, he went on a delivery last night. He should be home sometime tonight.”

“I called the trucking company and left a message,” Derrick said. “Hopefully they’ll call me back with his location.”

“I’ll call an ERT to come here,” Ellie said.

Derrick gave a nod. “I’ll search the grounds in case Carrie Ann is somewhere on the property.”

Kat clutched her stomach as if she might be sick, and Ida choked back a protest of denial. Ellie bit down on her lower lip. Normally she’d call Cord to lead the search but considering his questionable involvement in the case, she couldn’t include him.

Ellie gestured to Ida’s daughter. “Kat, you need to come with me and your mother.”

“You can’t arrest my daughter,” Ida snapped. “She’s just a child. And she had nothing to do with any of this.”

“I realize that,” Ellie said. “And I’m not arresting anyone at the moment. It’s for your protection, Kat. If Joe decides to come home, neither of you should be here.”

Ida choked back more tears and Kat’s chin quivered.

Derrick gestured to Kat. “Please retrieve that computer.”

Ida gestured for her daughter to do as Ellie asked and Kat rushed from the room. She returned a few minutes later, looking contrite at Ida’s disapproving look.

As the three of them walked to the car, Ellie thought about Cord’s reaction to her questions. His denial of killing Earl but his refusal to offer information.

He wasn’t protecting Joe. He was protecting Ida and Hetty Bramble.