Flashback - Page 99

This obviously flustered Chloe. “I can’t believe it,” she whispered.

“Where did you get that?”

She looked down, unable to meet Kendra’s gaze. “I made it.”

“Why? Chloe, what was it for? Were you planning to use it?”

“Yes. But not in the way you probably think.”

“Then in what way?”

Chloe still didn’t look up at her. “When I was a freshman in college, I thought I’d found my mom’s killer. All the evidence I’d gathered seemed to line up with him. I presented it all to the police, and no one took me seriously. I decided if they weren’t going to do anything about it, I’d take things into my own hands. I made that garrote out of an electrical cord, the exact same type and gauge that the Bayside Strangler used. I was going to plant it in his place to help make my case. For a time, I thought I might even kill him and call it self-defense. But later, I decided it would be enough to plant the evidence I needed to have him locked up for good. Eventually, I lost my nerve and didn’t do anything. Good thing, because he wasn’t the strangler after all. He was just some creep who was fascinated by the case, and all serial killer cases.”

Kendra smiled. “I know a guy like that. They’re not all creeps.”

Chloe finally looked up. “I was going to burn my garrote, but something made me want to hold on to it. Maybe I thought I still might use it someday, I don’t know. But I tried to put it someplace where no one would ever find it.”

“It almost worked. So, that was your blood on it?”

“I thought I’d wiped it all off. I tried it out on myself to make sure it left a mark identical to the strangler’s garrote.” She managed a smile. “Kind of ridiculous, huh?”

Kendra put her hand on Chloe’s. “We all work through these things in our own way.”

“I still dream about the day my mother died. I don’t think it will ever be over.”

“Soon,” Kendra said. “I promise you.” She squeezed Chloe’s hand. “You won’t lose the memories, but someday the nightmares will end.” She shook her head to clear it. “What else do we have to do to finish dinner? Your sister and Lynch have done all the work.”

“I’m not worried,” Chloe said. “I could tell Lynch knew what he was doing when he offered to help cook this meal. What kind of training does he have? He appears to be ultra-competent.”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. I suppose we could start at Hell’s Kitchen and go from there…”

The foursome talked more over dinner, and Kendra was interested to discover how different the Morgan sisters were from the impressions she’d formed during her investigation; although much of their lives had been defined by their mother’s horrible death, there was little evidence of the serious, somewhat grim young women she’d expected to find. Chloe and Sloane were engaging and witty, and they seemed determined to enjoy life despite their shared tragedy.

Lynch was his usual charming self, but as the meal went on, he seemed anxious and distracted. Finally he stood. “I’ll be right back.”

After he’d left the shack, Chloe and Sloan immediately turned to Kendra. “Is everything okay?”

Kendra nodded. “Lynch is hypervigilant. If I know him the way I think I do, after we go to sleep he’s going to spend the entire night on that hill behind the sheds, keeping watch with his binoculars.”

Sloane looked away. “And tomorrow you’ll take us back to San Diego?”

“That’s the plan.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready for that,” Sloane said. “I’ve felt so safe here.”

“Lynch knows people. He’ll make sure you’re okay.”

Chloe was about to say something when Lynch burst back into the room.

“Turn off the lights! All of them!”

Kendra jumped to her feet. “What is it?”

“We have company. One small boat has dropped anchor about half a mile off shore, and a slightly larger one is now headed this way.”

“Is it a navy patrol?” Chloe asked as she turned off the solar-powered battery lantern. “Detective Williams told us they might sometimes circle the island, but he says they almost never come down this way.”

Lynch shook his head. “It wasn’t a navy craft. It was an electric speedboat, very stealth. I might have missed it were it not for the running lights. I counted at least six people on deck.”