Page 19 of The Last To Know (Hallowed Halls Series #2)

T he silent condemnation was meant to portray Mentor’s disappointment. In the past, knowing he’d disappointed his hero would have devastated him. Now, their time was coming to an end. He’d outgrown Mentor. His way of doing things was no longer necessary.

He scanned the images of his next victim while imagining how special their time together would be.

“Another beauty?” Mentor’s voice dripped sarcasm. “Haven’t you learned your lesson? Beauty fades. That quality I taught you to seek out lasts forever.”

He rolled his eyes without looking at Mentor. “Yes, well, I see no reason why I can’t have both. Tiffany was as beautiful as she was smart.”

Mentor snorted. “And what about her?” He meant Veronica.

“She had both as well. She was feisty.”

“She’s not worthy. You should have never selected her. I told you who the perfect one would be. I picked her out for you, and yet you had to do it your way, and look how it turned out.”

He jerked toward Mentor. “How it turned out was perfect. I have Veronica and Tiffany. They are friends now.”

Mentor smirked. “There will be issues. She will bring them to us, mark my words. She was too much for you. I tried to warn you. She caused you to bleed. If you bled at her house, they will find you, and it will be over. I have selected our next worthy victim. The doctor.”

He wasn’t surprised by Mentor’s choice. Mentor had a thing for her. He, on the other hand, had never trusted her. Mentor had deemed her the perfect victim. He’d wanted her before Giselle or Tiffany. Had never approved of Veronica. Now, after the debacle with Veronica, Mentor would insist.

Snapshots of the doctor lay scattered around the table. Mentor gazed upon them, no doubt remembering their romance fondly.

While he pretended interest, the doctor did not fit the image he had of his beauties. She’d gone off the deep end and disappeared off the grid. Of course, he’d been able to locate her, but, in his opinion, she wasn’t worth the effort. She wasn’t even part of the unworthy crowd.

The one he wanted would be flawless in every way. He hadn’t known about her until he’d seen her at Giselle’s home. Since then, he hadn’t been able to take his mind off the lovely investigator. He’d been intrigued. She would make the perfect addition to their little family. She was one of them. Smart. Beautiful.

He laughed to himself, imagining Mentor’s reaction when he showed up with his choice of victims and not the good doctor.

“What’s so funny? Are you even taking this seriously?” He ignored Mentor’s suspicions and pretended to study the photos of the doctor. He’d play along. Let Mentor believe his good doctor was the next victim. But she would never be. How could she? She was unworthy.

When Mentor seemed lost in the past, he pulled out his laptop, where he’d stored her images. So confident. Self-assured in her law enforcement skills. He touched her face on the screen. Perfect. Just perfect. His next beauty.

◆◆◆

Sometime in the middle of the night, the storm blew itself out. Nothing but blue skies waited outside. The snow had been cleared away from the portico. Though the day remained freezing, at least they wouldn’t be traveling in a blizzard.

The rental company had brought over a new SUV after towing the injured one in for repairs.

For Cooper, the night had been endless. Sleep illusive. Too many spooks fighting for space in his head. What little he did manage was filled with images of Hannah. His father. His grandparents and the unknown man who might be his uncle.

Just before dawn, Cooper gave up and went downstairs as the kitchen staff were putting out breakfast pastries and coffee.

He’d downed his third cup and was going back for another when Hannah found him.

She stopped when she spotted his appearance. “How long have you been awake?”

He smiled wryly. “Don’t ask.”

She poured a cup of coffee and grabbed a muffin. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“Not really.”

Hannah seemed to realize he didn’t want to talk about it. “Where is everyone?”

“We’re the first.” He pulled out a chair for her in the conference room they’d been using. “I’m going to give Jane a call and see if she’s had any luck locating the supposed brother.”

Hannah checked the time on her phone. “Oh, yeah, you’re good. Jane is an early bird. By now, she’s finished her morning workout and is deep into work.”

Jane had been a natural fit. When she’d interviewed for the position, Cooper hadn’t been so sure. She was outspoken and didn’t hold back her opinion. After five minutes of conversation, he’d given his blessing. He liked her.

“Hey there, Coop. I didn’t know you knew what this time of day looked like.”

For some reason everyone at the BAU thought he was some type of party animal. Cooper didn’t bother correcting them. At one time, they’d been right. He drank hard, partied harder, and went through women like water. But that was before he realized the destructive path he was on would lead to the same outcome as his father’s. He didn’t want to live like that any longer. And so, he’d talked to his adoptive father, who was a minister. He’d read Scripture with him. They’d talked about the God Cooper didn’t have time for before. That talk had changed his life.

Now, he faked a laugh. “Just checking in to see if you’ve made progress on locating my dad’s mysterious brother.” The silence on the other end had him sitting up straighter. “You have.”

“What’s going on?” Hannah slipped into the chair beside him.

“I’m not sure.” He put Jane on speaker. “Hannah’s here with me.”

“Hi, Hannah.” Jane’s less than enthusiastic reaction to Hannah proved the truth. Cooper wasn’t going to like what she had to say.

“Just tell me,” he said when the silence strained his shot nerves.

“I haven’t been able to track down your father’s brother yet, but I did find something interesting.”

Cooper reached for Hannah’s hand, instinctively needing her strength.

“I’m afraid there’s no easy way to say this, Cooper. Your grandparents were not your real grandparents.”

Cooper heard the words, yet they didn’t make sense. “I don’t understand. Of course, they’re my grandparents.” He remembered his conversation with Zeke the day before. Zeke wanted to dig deeper into them.

In Jane’s typical straightforward way she said, “They aren’t. They were your great -grandparents.”

He was all set to deny it when little things didn’t add up. The age difference between his grandparents and his father, for one.

“I’m sorry, but it’s true. And you were right about your father living in Pennsylvania. He lived in a small town in Pennsylvania with his parents.”

He became aware of Hannah squeezing his hand.

“Greg and Fern Ellison were Oliver’s adoptive parents.”

His world came crumbling around him. “Wait—what?”

“Oliver was adopted at age six by the Ellisons.”

“Do you know what happened to his actual parents?” Cooper asked, his head spinning.

“There is no record of the birth parents. It could be because of a closed adoption, or because the child was abandoned. Maybe the birth parents no longer wanted any contact. Oliver could have been placed into foster care or ended up in an orphanage. Perhaps the birth parents gave him up because they couldn’t take care of him. The possibilities are numerous, and in most cases unless the birth parents want to be involved in the child’s life in some way, finding any record of them might be difficult.”

“And if Oliver and his brother were separated because of the abandonment, we may never know his identity. What about the adoptive parents? Are they still around? The couple might remember the names of Oliver’s birth parents. A last name to go by, if nothing else.” Cooper’s gut screamed there was something hidden in his past that was key to bringing the killer down.

Jane blew out a breath. “I’m sorry, Cooper, but they’re dead. I found death certificates for Greg and Fern Ellison.”

“How did they die, Jane?” Hannah asked.

“A home invasion gone bad. They were stabbed. Both were asleep in bed. The police report indicates the wife was killed first. Then the husband.”

Hannah listened to the details of the attack before asking if anything was taken.

“Nothing of any value. Oliver was the one the police asked to go through the house and let them know what might be missing. A few TVs and other electronics. Some cash amounting to maybe a couple hundred dollars.”

“So, nothing of much value.”

Jane confirmed the police had wondered if the murders were staged to look like a home invasion. “The only person who would have benefited from their deaths was away at college. Oliver had a rock-solid alibi. He was with your mother.”

Cooper remembered his parents telling him they’d met in college, but he had no idea about anything else.

“I can’t believe he lied about my grandparents’ deaths and pretended my great-grandparents were really his parents. His whole life was a lie, including who he was.”

“Looks like it,” Jane added quietly. “I’ll keep digging. If there’s another family member, I’ll find them. Hopefully, they can shed some light.”

Cooper thanked her and ended the call. “I can’t believe it. Things just keep getting worse.”

“He was hiding who he was even back then, though there’s no evidence your father started killing until a few years before his capture.”

He searched her face and then it clicked. “You think he killed them, and my mother provided an alibi for him?”

“It’s possible. They were both stabbed. That was his MO for the unworthy victims. Maybe he found them unworthy and killed them.”

“What’s going on?” Sierra and Zeke came into the room followed by Jack and Megan.

Hannah squeezed Cooper’s arm before telling them what Jane had found out.

“Unbelievable. It feels as if we’re having to peel back layers and we’re still no closer to getting answers.” Jack sat at the table. “Who actually owns the property where your . . . great-grandparents lived?”

Cooper raised his hand. “That’d be me. The house is still standing. I went there a few years back,” he said in answer to Hannah’s obvious shock. “It’s slowly wasting away. They deserved better, but every time I think about getting it fixed up, I remember those women my father bricked up inside the basement and I think that history needs to fade away.”

“Are you sure you’re up to going there today?” Hannah asked gently. “We can handle it if not.”

“I want to go.” He had to finish this. However dark and ugly it ended up being, this was his story to finish.