Page 15 of The Last To Know (Hallowed Halls Series #2)

“B rother?” The word tore from Cooper. Not possible. Cooper’s father didn’t have any siblings.

“That’s what he called him,” Melendez told him.

“Where did you meet this man to deliver the messages?” Hannah studied Isobel’s reaction to each question. She was clearly frightened of the man Oliver claimed as his brother.

“At a shopping center about ten miles from the prison. I-I hated those meetings, and I told Oliver as much. He knew the man gave me the creeps, but he claimed it was important.”

“How did you know where to meet this man?” Cooper asked.

Isobel told them Oliver gave her a cell number to call. “I got brave once and tried the number again after Oliver died. The message said no longer in service. It was probably a disposable phone.” She gave Hannah the number, but Hannah didn’t believe they’d have any luck tracking the mysterious brother after so long.

From everything Hannah had read about Ellison, he was a master manipulator. “Did you ever peek at one of those notes?”

Right away, Hannah could tell she had.

“Once. It was weird. It said, ‘It’s time for me to take over for you. I trained you well. Soon, we will be together, and we will be unstoppable.’”

“Wait, was he planning on breaking out?” Hannah waited for an answer.

Isobel looked down at her hands. “I don’t know. Possibly. He told me one day he and I would be together too . . . and then he got killed.”

“He was shanked by another patient while coming to his appointment at the infirmary.”

She nodded. “That’s right. The shiv hit his heart. It was over before I could do anything.”

Hannah sensed there was something important Isobel hadn’t told them.

“Anyway, after his death I spotted someone following me one day. It was the same man I’d met. I-I was terrified. If he was carrying on Oliver’s work, then had he targeted me for death?”

“Is that why you left the prison?” Hannah asked.

Isobel finally looked at her. “Yes. I moved away. I lived in fear for years.” Her eyes bored into Hannah’s “What if you’ve brought him to me? What if he finds me again because of you?”

“We can protect you,” Zeke assured her. “I’ll call the local police and have them sit on your house until we catch this man.”

Isobel appeared relieved. “Thank you. I’ve lived through years of nightmares. I finally began to relax. I can’t go through that again.”

Hannah placed her hand on Isobel’s arm. “You’ll be okay. We can have people stationed around the house.” She looked to Zeke, who confirmed with a nod and grabbed his phone. “We’ll stay with you until they arrive.” She hesitated. “Do you remember anything Oliver might have said that will help us identify this person you met with?”

Isobel clearly did.

“You can trust us,” Hannah confirmed. “I promise you can.”

Isobel slowly nodded. “Wait here.” She hurried down the hall.

“PD is on their way. They’ll have two patrols on the place at all times.” Zeke returned his phone to his pocket then turned to Cooper. “Maybe this guy is family. You ever hear your old man talk about them before?”

“Talk about them—I knew them. His parents lived outside Rochester on a farm. We were over there all the time until they both passed away within five years of each other. He never mentioned any other family.” Cooper frowned.

Isobel returned carrying a small sketchbook. She handed it to Hannah. “He gave me this. They’re drawings. Oliver was very talented.”

Hannah opened the book. The first sketch was of Isobel. “You’re right, he was gifted.” She showed Cooper. “Did you know?”

Cooper smiled. “I did. He was always sketching something. Usually my mother. Sometimes me. When we went on fishing trips, he’d sketch our surroundings.”

“He told me,” Isobel said. “There are some sketches of you, Cooper, and I’m guessing your mother . . . and other women.”

Hannah flipped to the first woman while Cooper looked over her shoulder. “That’s my mother.” He said with a catch in his voice.

She touched his arm before she kept going. “Is this you?” A younger version of Cooper smiled at the artist.

He laughed. “Yeah. I must have been around ten then.”

“Are these your grandparents?” Zeke pointed to a sketch of a couple.

Cooper studied the drawing. “That’s not them. I don’t know who these people are.”

“Are you sure?” Isobel asked. “He told me this drawing was of his parents.”

“He lied.” Cooper ground out the words. Just like he’d lied about everything.

Then came sketches of Ellison’s victims. Hannah recognized them all. And on the last pages of the sketchbook, he’d drawn a man. The resemblance to Ellison was uncanny. She turned the page toward Isobel. “Is this the man you met with?”

“Yes, that’s him.” Isobel appeared visibly shaken. “His eyes. I’ll never forget his eyes.”

Hannah focused on them and saw the reason for Isobel’s fear. They were deep holes lacking in any emotion. No expression showed on his face.

Something was written in the corner of the drawing. “What’s this?” Hannah squinted to make out two letters. P.A. “Those must be his initials.” It wasn’t much, but it might help them narrow down the identity of Ellison’s brother.

“Your grandparents never mentioned having another son?” Zeke asked Cooper.

“Never.” But then, the people he’d told Isobel were his parents were not.

“Did your family always live in Rochester?” Hannah asked, and he saw where she was going with the questioning.

“They lived in Pennsylvania before moving to Rochester,” Cooper said with a hard edge to his voice. “Dad never liked to talk about his life back then. It was almost as if it didn’t really start until Rochester.”

“Maybe it was because he had to leave whoever this person is behind. He would naturally feel guilty about that. Perhaps they reconnected later.”

Cooper’s mouth turned up into a bitter smile. “And they realized they had a common hobby. They both loved to kill?”

Outside two patrol vehicles eased up the drive.

“I’ll speak to them.” Zeke stepped outside.

“Do you remember anything else?” Hannah asked Isobel.

She ran a hand across her eyes. “Not really. I’m sorry. Oliver asked me to watch out for his son.” She looked to Cooper once more. “I thought he was being a caring dad, but after . . . well, I wondered if he wasn’t manipulating me in some way.”

“What did you tell him about me?” Cooper asked in a clipped tone.

“Not much. By then I’d started to have doubts about his feelings for me even though I still loved him.” She sighed. “So I gave him some little things to make him think I was cooperating. I found out you were adopted by an older couple. I never gave him their last name or where they lived.” She smiled at Cooper. “For what it’s worth, I really believe he loved you.”

Cooper didn’t respond.

Zeke returned to the house with one of the officers. “This is Patrick Redding.” He introduced the officer to Isobel. “He and his people will take care of you.”

“We’ll be stationed all around your home, ma’am. Don’t worry about a thing.”

Isobel sighed in relief. “I appreciate that.”

“Here’s my card.” Hannah gave her the card with her number on it. “If you need anything or if you remember anything, reach out anytime.” Hannah hoped that after today, they’d earned some of Isobel’s respect because she couldn’t help but believe there was something the former doctor hadn’t told them.

“I will. Catch him. Please. I haven’t really had a good night’s sleep in years.”

Outside, the snow started falling as they left Isobel’s property.

“She’s terrified.” Hannah glanced back at the house. “She uprooted her life because she was scared of this man.”

“If this is my father’s brother and he’s carrying on his crimes, finding him won’t be easy. So far, there have been no fingerprints left behind. And the initials P.A. seem to indicate he had a different last name.”

“Maybe your father changed his name to put the past behind him. I’ll see what Jane can find out for us,” Zeke said and called their office manager.

“How are you holding up with all of this?” Hannah asked while Zeke spoke to Jane. Despite the way things had ended between them the previous evening she still cared about Cooper.

“I’m numb.” He glanced her way. “I thought my father’s poison had ended with his death. Now, I see he’s still hurting people from the grave.”

Hannah’s cell phone rang as Zeke ended the call with Jane. “It’s Jack.” She placed the call on speaker for them to hear. “How goes the search for the judge?”

“Not well. There’s some sign of a struggle. A lamp turned over in the bedroom. Chairs displaced. She appears to have fought her attacker much like Giselle. Unlike Giselle, she’s missing. If this is the copycat, then Veronica has been deemed worthy.” The frustration in Jack’s tone came through clearly. “Both the judge’s parents are dead. She has a sister who is on her way over here now to tell us if anything is missing. Did you find out anything useful from the doctor?”

“We did.” Hannah’s attention went to the sketchbook as she told Jack about their meeting with Isobel.

“So, there’s a possible brother involved.”

“Yes. She met with him a few times. Said he gave her the creeps.” Hannah looked over at Cooper, whose jaw ticked. “We’re on our way back to the hotel now. Do you want us to detour to the judge’s home to assist?”

“No, we’ve got it covered here. Get started on finding the brother. We really need something to break our way.”