Page 26 of The Hanging Dolls (Zoe Storm #1)

TWENTY-FIVE

“How important is family to you?”

Zoe growled. “How is this relevant to my psych evaluation?”

“Everything that makes you you is important,” Aiden said with a shrug.

“It means everything to me.”

“It’s important to have that anchor in a job like this. Something to go back to after dealing with so much…”

“Horror.” She spelled it out for him.

“Exactly.”

“Do you have an anchor too? You must have dealt with worse people than me.”

He chuckled and gestured around his office. “My anchor is this. These books. These theories.”

“Feels flimsy. No offense.”

“None taken.” The corners of his eyes softened.

“Sometimes, I’m afraid,” Zoe confessed in a small voice, playing with the sleeve of her T-shirt. To her dismay, she was getting too used to Aiden’s handsome face and soothing voice, and the scent of coconut that always lingered in his office.

“Afraid of what?”

“Of changing too much. What if I lose myself in these horrors I see every day?”

Dressed in an oversized plaid shirt and her dark hair cascading down the side of her face, Bella’s body was caved inward and away from Zoe and Aiden.

She made every effort to make it clear that she had no desire to be in the interrogation room.

Her face was disinterested but her eyes screamed rebellion.

Zoe knew girls like Bella. Girls like Bella hardened because they knew betrayal from an adult close to them. Their problems started at home, where they were the victim of a negligence or an evil. But Zoe also knew that the way to deal with these kinds of girls was not to be gentle.

Bella was a wounded animal. She only understood harshness.

“We found your dealer. Jimmy,” Aiden said.

There was the slightest flicker of surprise in her eyes, but she quickly rolled them to hide it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“He’s willing to testify and I’m more than willing to get a court order to check your school locker and your room,” Zoe warned.

Bella frowned. “Can you do that?”

“GHB is a controlled substance. You are seventeen but you might be charged as an adult and face up to five years in prison.”

They had Bella’s attention now. Her lower lip jutted out, like she was trying not to cry. “I want a lawyer.”

“That’s your right.” Zoe made to stand up. “I was hoping this would be a voluntary interview but I’ll also call your parents?—”

“No!” She jerked forward in her seat. “Don’t call them. Please.”

“Then talk to us,” Aiden said, as Zoe sat back down. “Why are you using GHB?”

“Because Lily is dead.” Bella looked at them in horror. “What do you think happened? My parents blame me. I should have kept an eye on her. And they’re right…” A fat tear ran down her cheek. “Because of me, someone strangled her.”

“Jimmy said you’ve been buying from him for over a year, Bella,” Zoe said.

Her nostrils flared and she wiped her nose with her sleeve. “Let’s just say my issue with my parents started way before they decided I was a monster for letting Lily get away.”

“What kind of issue?” Aiden pressed.

Bella swallowed hard, her brows pulling together. “It’s… whatever. Your run-of-the-mill shit. A mother who doesn’t leave you alone and a father who works too much to care about anything else.”

Zoe sensed she didn’t want to talk about it. But there was a sadness to her. “Did she pay more attention to Lily than to you?”

She scoffed, sarcastic. “Of course she does. I’m too old now. But Lily is… was… younger and more malleable, I guess.”

“That’s an interesting choice of word.” Aiden pushed his glasses up his nose, a deep groove forming between his eyebrows. “Were you jealous of Lily?”

“No!” she said, aghast. “Of course not! Why would I be?”

“Sometimes relationships are complicated. You can hate the attention you’re getting but at the same time you miss it when it’s directed at someone else. The cycle of toxicity,” Aiden explained gently.

It was a feeling toward Rachel that Zoe had furiously avoided.

All her memories of her were tainted by the secrets her mother kept.

It was so easy for her mind to tilt just a little and drop into resentment and anger.

But she had locked that part of her away and only nourished it from time to time.

She glanced at the little cut on her hand from destroying that car—a staunch reminder.

“I loved Lily. I didn’t want to hurt her. I never did.” She lolled her head, playing with a strand of her hair. “I just use because it’s easier that way.”

“You were close to Lily,” Zoe said. “Did she ever mention a man watching her or a man she was friends with?”

“I told you I don’t know.” She shrugged exasperated. “If I suspected some pervert was hanging around Lily then I would have said something!”

“You do know that Tara Bennett is missing?”

Bella’s face paled. “Are you insinuating I have something to do with this? I don’t even know her.”

A sharp knock on the door and Travis popped his head in, gesturing them to come out.

Zoe and Aiden followed Travis outside into the narrow hallway with peeling brown wallpaper and flickering yellow light above.

Travis avoided their eyes as he rocked back and forth on his heels.

Before he said a word, Zoe knew what he was going to say.

She could feel the utterly revolting words that were going to come out of his mouth seeping into her skin.

“It’s… Tara,” he croaked in a small voice. “Rangers found her body in the woods.”

The clearing was small. Tall trees stood around it and Zoe swore they were leaning closer, like they wanted to cradle it lovingly.

The ferns clawed at her legs as she brushed past to get a closer look.

As she approached the scene with heavy steps, she was filled with a cold sensation.

The rangers had gathered around the scene, their faces drawn.

When they parted to let Zoe through, her stomach dropped and her blood ran cold.

Tara’s body lay crumpled against a tree, half concealed by the thick underbrush, her clothes streaked with mud and the color of her skin pallid.

Sunlight filtered through the canopy, casting dappled shadows on her, like she was in rippling waters.

For a moment, Zoe thought she saw her move.

But the little girl set against the massive, century-old tree looked like a doll. She couldn’t tear her eyes away.

This time only two ropes with nooses hung from the branches. One was empty and one had a picture of Tara.

The CSU was already there collecting samples and gathering evidence. The coroner was bending down next to Tara, examining her. But Zoe noticed a sheen of sweat coating his forehead despite the chill hanging in the air.

Because Zoe noticed everything. Especially how there was one empty noose that was left hanging. One more noose for one more victim.

With a gloved hand, she carefully peeled away the photo of Tara from the second rope, and read the scribbled message on the back:

The outcome wasn’t what I hoped for, but perhaps it’s for the best. Everything concludes when darkness falls.