Page 141 of Fragile Sanctuary

The voice was quiet, barely audible, but it still made everything stop.

Fallon hovered in the doorway to the conference room, her face pale and hands gripped tightly together.

“Fallon, what are you doing here?” Trace asked.

She swallowed hard. “Shep said you were looking for Silas.”

Trace sent Shep a scathing look.

“We needed as many eyes on the lookout as possible,” Shep shot back.

I stood, crossing to Fallon. “Did you know him growing up?”

She nodded slowly. “He was a year above us but in our bigger group of friends. You know, not the ones you’re super tight with but the kind you do things with.”

“Sure,” I assured her. “What do you know about his homelife?”

Fallon twisted her fingers like she was wringing out a towel. “I remember his dad left when we were young, maybe third or fourth grade. I think his mom had a hard time with that and making enough money to keep them afloat.”

“What makes you say that?”

“His clothes were always a bit worn, and sometimes they were a size too small,” Fallon said softly.

“How did he get along with his family? Do you know?”

Fallon licked her lips nervously as she thought. “He had an older sister who he said was hard on him. I got the sense his mom annoyed him. But that’s true for most kids.”

She was right there, but that sort of disdain could be a clue to something.

“Where are his mom and sister? Can you bring them in?” I asked Trace.

He shook his head. “They moved to Florida about six years ago.”

That prickle along my scalp lit. “You have confirmation of that?”

Trace frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Has anyone talked to the mom and sister since they moved?”

“I don’t know. They didn’t have real deep ties. Carina, the sister, had a best friend, but she moved to Idaho last year,” Trace said.

I glanced at Helena, who’d been typing away on a laptop but hadstopped to listen to these latest developments. “Have someone run them. I want to know if there’s any evidence of them actually moving.”

Helena jerked her head in a nod. “On it.”

“What are you thinking?” Trace pressed.

“Six years ago, Silas would’ve been twenty-two or twenty-three. That’s right around the point where we see escalation in psychopaths. It would not surprise me if his mom and sister didn’t move at all.”

Trace gnashed his teeth together. “You think he killed them.”

Fallon sucked in a sharp breath, her face paling further. “Oh, God.”

Shep crossed to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Come on, Fallon. Why don’t I get you home? You shouldn’t be here for this.”

She jerked out of his hold. “You sound like Kye,” she snapped. “I’m not weak. Stop treating me like I am.”

Shep reared back as if she’d slapped him. “I don’t think you’re weak.”

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