Page 29 of Whispers Left Behind (Kinsley Aspen #1)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Kinsley Aspen October Monday — 9:12 am

The law offices of Aspen Law LLP took up the entire second floor of an aged building in Fallbrook's business district. The exterior of faded red bricks held a certain nostalgic charm that spoke of its history, and the exposed wooden beams that stretched across the high ceiling were a testament to the passage of time.

Kinsley didn’t bother taking the elevator. She had no patience to wait for the lift as it slowly descended from the seventh floor. She veered to the right and swiftly made her way up the wide staircase with wrought-iron handrails on either side. The metal spindles allowed a pedestrian to view the lower levels. She took advantage of such vantage points, but she didn’t spot anyone who didn’t appear to belong.

Not even Beck Serra.

The envelope she clutched in her hand seemed to burn her fingers, but she didn’t dare loosen her grip. It was difficult for her to remain composed when the message inside threatened to unravel her entire life. She had left Alex at the station to finish up the paperwork for the Hanson case. His concern for her sudden departure had been evident, but she couldn’t find it in herself to ease them.

She had no idea if she was making the right decision by visiting her father, but she couldn’t allow Noah’s world to come crashing down alongside hers. She hadn’t figured out how to keep him safe quite yet, but the gravity of the situation left her no real choice at all but to seek her father’s professional opinion.

She spotted Vicki Silvis through the glass windowpanes. By the time Kinsley walked through the entrance, her father’s personal assistant didn’t bother to hide her surprise at the unexpected visit.

“Kinsley, it’s so good to see you,” Vicki said in a genuine tone. She stood from behind her desk before making her way around to greet Kinsley with a warm embrace. “It has been way too long, dear.”

Vicki was in her early fifties with short light brown hair, rimless glasses that didn’t quite sit high enough on the bridge of her nose, and a visible mole on the left side of her chin. She hadn’t changed much in the past year, with the exception of a few more laugh lines around her eyes and mouth.

“Hi, Vicki,” Kinsley greeted warmly as she stepped back. She managed a tight smile before dispensing with the pleasantries. “It’s important that I speak with Dad. Is he with a client?”

“No, his first appointment isn’t for another hour.”

Vicki walked around her desk to no doubt ring her father to ensure he wasn’t on a conference call, but Kinsley couldn’t afford to wait. She approached his office before she could change her mind.

“Kinsley Rose?” The fact that George spoke his daughter’s full name told her that she was the last person he expected to walk into his private office. She met his gaze and quietly closed the door behind her. “What’s wrong?”

George had risen from his chair before she could take a step forward. It was apparent he had assumed something terrible had happened to someone in the family, and she hurriedly put his mind at ease.

“Nothing,” Kinsley murmured as she reached into the pocket of her sweater. She pulled out a dollar bill from the small pocket on the back of her cell phone. “Everyone is fine.”

George stared cautiously at her while she approached him. She hated the tremor in her hand, but she eventually managed to place the dollar bill on the polished mahogany surface of his desk. He couldn’t miss the significance of such a gesture, and an immediate heavy silence settled over the room.

Unable to take a seat in one of the guest chairs, Kinsley made her way over to the large windows overlooking the city of Fallbrook. She used to peer over the windowsill when she was young, counting the vehicles on the street below. She and Dylan used to choose a specific color, and whoever was able to spot the most cars in that shade won.

So many good memories had been tarnished by her impulsive nature.

She stared out at the morning traffic, refusing to bear the sight of her father’s disappointment. His daughter…no different than the clients he represented on a daily basis.

“Gantz didn’t reach out to you for representation because of your friendship with his mother.” Kinsley was glad she hadn’t taken off her sweater. She was cold, and she struggled to maintain every bit of warmth she could under the thick material. “He wanted to learn everything he could about the officer who put the cuffs around his wrists—me.”

“Kinsley, we’ve been over this—”

“I didn’t notice it at first,” Kinsley continued, refusing to give her father the opportunity to paint the past in a different shade. “I ran into Gantz at the grocery store, the dry cleaners, the cafe…the gas station. Each time, he would say something to provoke me just enough that it would appear I was at fault for the confrontation. I didn’t catch on until the third run-in, but a lot of the damage had already been done. I came to realize it was nothing more than a game to him. I went out of my way to change my routine just so he wouldn’t get the best of me. It wasn’t until the day of his acquittal that I threatened his life in front of a bailiff.”

Kinsley recalled the countless times Gantz had deliberately crossed paths with her. Each encounter had been designed to goad her into a reaction, playing on her emotions until she had been reprimanded for her behavior by her captain. The twisted game created by Gantz had been designed to ruin her life.

“Gantz was using you to gather information about my life, Dad.” Kinsley didn’t have to turn around to know that her father had reclaimed his seat. The day was overcast enough to cause a faint reflection in the windowpane. “By the first day of his trial, Gantz knew my favorite color, how I took my coffee, and that I used to color in the corner of your office while you were writing your opening or closing statements. He even called me butterfly once.”

Her father’s sharp intake of breath rang out as her words hung in the air.

“Gantz had set up everything so perfectly that if anything happened to him, I'd be the first person the police—my colleagues—would look at.”

“No one would ever believe that you—”

“Those confrontations weren’t just exchanged words, Dad.” Kinsley caught sight of a faint sunray right before the overcast sky swallowed it whole. “Gantz would intentionally raise his voice to indicate his fear of me. It didn’t matter if I uttered a word in return or not. He suggested several times that I threatened to take his life if he were to walk free. And then he did.”

The room seemed to close around her.

Suffocate her, really.

Kinsley squeezed her eyes shut to concentrate on taking even breaths, but it was a struggle to draw air into her lungs. Her chest was tight and there was a high-pitched ringing in her ears that made it difficult to hear her own thoughts. Ever so gradually, she was able to reign in her emotions.

“For better or worse, I thought everything would come to an end after Gantz’s acquittal.” A lone snowflake fell from the sky, and Kinsley followed its path downward until she lost sight of the minuscule white dot. “Foolish, I know. A killer had been set free, and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it. Five days later, I was sitting in the school’s auditorium watching Lily dance across the stage in a princess costume. I’m not sure why I turned around. All I know is that when I peered over my shoulder, I discovered Gantz sitting in the back row with the most gratifying grin on his lips. He was staring right at me.”

For the first time since she had walked into her father’s office, he didn’t try and interrupt her story. Maybe he had finally caught onto the direction she was steering them, or perhaps the mention of his granddaughter had thrown him off balance.

“I didn’t want Noah or Emily to know that Gantz was watching their daughter perform in her school’s play. I turned around, waited for the play to end and the curtains to close, and then excused myself to the lobby by saying I had to use the restroom.” Kinsley focused on a few other snowflakes as they fell from the clouds above. “Gantz had left the building. He wasn’t waiting for me out in the lobby, and he wasn’t in the parking lot, either. Not wanting to ruin Lily’s night, I didn’t say anything at the time. Maybe I should have. Maybe if I had…”

Kinsley closed her eyes once more, but this time her reasoning had everything to do with bracing herself against the damage she was about to inflict on her family.

“I left the school, driving on the street that leads to the back entrance of my neighborhood.” Kinsley couldn’t get her voice any louder than a whisper. “And there he was…standing smack dab in the middle of the road. I braked and brought the Jeep to a complete stop.”

The beam from the headlights cut through the darkness, illuminating Calvin Gantz as he stood motionless on the center line. His breath morphed into a ghostly vapor that swirled into the air before slowly dissipating into nothingness. A cruel smile twisted his lips into a sinister curve as he stared at her through the windshield.

Kinsley had removed her holster and firearm before entering the elementary school. She contemplated calling the station as she reached into her glovebox for her service weapon. Gantz technically hadn’t done anything wrong this evening. She decided to forego reaching out to the department as she clipped the holster to her belt.

Not taking her gaze off Gantz, Kinsley slowly opened the driver’s side door. She kept the engine idling and her headlights on as she stepped out of her Jeep. She was letting the heat escape the interior of her vehicle, but she was close enough to home for it not to matter.

“It was a beautiful play, wasn’t it, Detective Aspen?” Gantz’s voice was smooth, almost conversational.

“You don’t want to do this, Gantz,” Kinsley warned as she remained near the side of her Jeep. He wasn’t visibly armed, but she wasn’t foolish enough to believe that he wasn’t in possession of a weapon. “I have no qualms about arresting you for harassment.”

“Harassment? That is a strong word for simply enjoying a community performance,” Calvin replied amusingly with a slight tilt of his head. The sound of a dog barking in the distance could be heard over the hum of her engine. His vehicle was parked off to the side. “Besides, do you really think anyone will believe you after that little outburst at the courthouse last week? Or shall we let the department decide?”

“I’m not going to play your games, Gantz.”

“Oh, but you’re so good at them.” Calvin inhaled deeply, as though savoring the cold air. “It’s a lovely evening, isn’t it?”

Kinsley had enough of his taunts, and she turned to get back into her vehicle. Everything inside of her was screaming to end this encounter.

“It took me a while to figure out what…or who…could break you.” Calvin’s tone was almost contemplative. Kinsley forced herself to take another step around the open door of the Jeep. “I thought it might be your father, but I quickly dismissed that notion after noticing the tension between the two of you. Your mother? Siblings? Maybe, but I couldn’t be sure that the family strain hadn’t seeped into those relationships. Your lover? Nah. You haven’t been together long enough. Now your partner, on the other hand, was under serious consideration. Until…”

Kinsley tightened her grip on the side of the door as Gantz’s words trailed off. She tried to rein in the rage coursing through her body. He was taunting her yet again, but she wouldn’t allow herself to fall victim to his trap. She shifted, pulling the door wider so she could settle in behind the steering wheel.

“I was taking a walk in the park yesterday evening. You were pushing Lily on the swing, and her laughter carried in the air like a sweet melody. So precious, wouldn’t you agree?”

Kinsley's breath caught in her throat at the mere mention of her niece's name. The only saving grace was Gantz being unable to witness the fear in Kinsley’s eyes. He waited patiently for her answer, which gave her time to compose herself. He wanted her to react in a violent manner. He would tout police brutality, ending her career.

She repeated to herself over and over again that she couldn’t fire her weapon.

Not without cause.

“You really should take time to think before you speak,” Kinsley advised him as she released her hold on the door. She shifted her stance and took a few steps forward so he wouldn’t misinterpret her message. “You don’t want to make this personal.”

“Oh, I think that is exactly my intent...butterfly.” Calvin reached into his coat pocket, causing her to instinctively place her hand on her weapon. He slowly held up his car keys. “I’m going to savor every minute from this moment forward, imagining how you will drive yourself insane, wondering when the call will come. The one telling you that your precious niece is lying in a pool of her own blood. You could call the station right now, but they won’t believe you, will they? You’re the detective who cried wolf too many times.”

The nausea was overwhelming, and Kinsley’s resolve slipped another notch. She hadn’t realized until this very moment how Gantz had methodically manipulated her over the course of his trial. He was in the process of dismantling her life, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.

If it had just been a threat toward her, she would have confidently gotten into her Jeep and driven away. She would have strategized and found a way to regain control and protect herself. His decision to involve Lily in a nightmare of his own making had irrevocably changed everything.

“Do you think little Lily will cry out for her father or her Auntie Kin?” Calvin tsked, as if he were disappointed in himself. “What am I thinking? Drowning in her own blood will tend to make screaming…difficult. Have a good night, Detective Aspen.”

Gantz twirled his keys as he began to walk toward his car, his laughter turning into an ominous whistle. His intent to deliberately leave her with such a gruesome image of her eight-year-old niece clearly fueled his excitement. He relished the power he held over her, and she didn’t doubt for a moment that he would turn his twisted fantasy into a reality.

“I drew my weapon,” Kinsley stated, her voice devoid of emotion after managing to relay the details of a night that would forever remain imprinted in her mind. She accepted that her father would never again see her in the same, innocent light. “And I squeezed the trigger.”

Kinsley finally turned away from the window.

Her father’s face had lost all color. It was as if he had aged ten years upon hearing her confession. She closed the distance to his desk.

“I’ll spare you the rest of the details for now. The bottom line is that I disposed of Gantz’s body and made it appear as if he left town.” Kinsley set the slightly crumbled envelope on his desk next to the dollar bill. She hadn’t brought Noah into the conversation, and she would take his involvement to the grave. Her father never needed to know that his oldest son was an accomplice to murder. “But there’s one problem.”

George slowly reached for the envelope, the tremor in his hand obvious. He managed to open the flap and pull out the thin piece of paper. He cautiously unfolded the letter. She would worry about forensic evidence later, if it came to that.

“Oh, butterfly…”

Kinsley bit the inside of her cheek in a futile attempt to hold back the tears upon hearing her father’s heavy voice filled with so many conflicting emotions. The copper tang of blood hit her tongue right as her gaze landed on the black ink. Her father had placed the letter on his desk, probably in an effort to wrap his mind around her admission.

Kinsley had already reached her conclusion.

Even in death, Gantz’s reach was inescapable.

From her position on the other side of the desk, she could easily make out the damning words— I know you killed Calvin Gantz .

~ The End ~

From USA Today Bestselling Author Kennedy Layne comes the thrilling second installment in the Kinsley Aspen series, where every secret has a price—and some are paid in blood.

Click HERE

Homicide Detective Kinsley Aspen is called to a remote log cabin deep in the woods of northern North Dakota, where a young woman has been savagely bludgeoned to death. The murder weapon lies discarded beside the body, but the crime scene is shrouded in more questions than answers. As Kinsley begins to unravel the victim’s tragic final hours, she realizes this case is far more complex than it seems.

The investigation soon exposes a web of lies and buried conflicts. The victim had been struggling under the weight of a volatile relationship, a fractured friendship, and the relentless pressure of passing the bar exam to live up to her mother’s legacy. But as Kinsley delves deeper into the woman’s life, she realizes that the victim isn’t the only one keeping dangerous secrets.

Each new revelation cuts closer to the truth, and Kinsley is forced to confront the parallels with her own carefully guarded life. The investigation takes a dangerous turn when the killer grows bold, targeting anyone who gets too close to uncovering the truth. As the pieces begin to fall into place, Kinsley can’t shake the feeling that this killer is closer than anyone realizes—watching, waiting, and ready to strike again.