Page 61 of The Hanging Dolls
“We have established a connection between you and Logan Bennett. It won’t take us long to figure out what exactly you’re paying him off for,” Zoe said. “Perhaps then we can have a more civilized discussion.”
“Until then,” Connor said through gritted teeth, his eyes on Scott.
They glared at each other before Scott pulled back with a jerk. Zoe steered him away, back toward the car.
“You have to be tactful,” she murmured. “She’s powerful and if we go in too hostile, she’ll make things harder for us.”
“I’ve had my face cut in half today and then that chump has an attitude,” Scott said. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Sorry. It’s a not good day.”
“I get it.” They reached the car. The wind picked up, ruffling her hair. “I’m sure if Terri digs deep enough, she’ll find out why Regina has been paying off Logan.”
“It’s a strong enough motive.” His eyes thinned, looking into the distance where mist shrouded their view of the ocean. “But what is their connection to Lily Baker?”
“Regina has had a long career and whatever happened with EcoSolutions and her school might just be the tip of the iceberg.”
Zoe nodded. People like Regina with a henchman like Connor had several skeletons in their closet. Lily Baker might have been one of them. There was a man Lily had been “friends” with. Could that man have been Connor? She saw his temper flare today—a jarring contrast to the coolness and control of his employer.
“Something’s nagging me though,” he admitted. “If they are trying to erase their shady dealings, then why are they going about this in such a roundabout way? The messages and the ropes?”
“So that you ask that exact question. To deflect suspicion. Make people believe there’s a new serial killer in town, get rid of the people who can expose your corruption and win the election.” As Zoe finished her thought, the possibility marinated inside her. It wouldn’t be the first time someone’s ambition claimed innocent lives.
She wondered if that was what happened with Rachel.
A shiver rolled over her skin, sprouting goosebumps on her arms. Her eyes darted to Regina and Connor engaged in a heated, frantic discussion. A lot of hand waving, clenched jaws and scowls.
They were worried. Rightfully so. Zoe was encouraged that they had uncovered something that wasn’t a dead end. This confrontation had rattled them. And she knew that rattled people made mistakes, they slipped in that frenzy of trying to salvage the situation and fix things that didn’t need fixing.
But were Regina and Connor cruel and desperate enough to strangle two little girls and leave them in the woods?
Scott’s phone pinged and his frown deepened as he stared at the screen.
“What is it?” Zoe asked.
“The rangers found a toy a few feet away from where Tara’s body was found. A stuffed animal.”
“Just like with Lily.” The wheels in her brain turned.
THIRTY-FOUR
Zoe was wading through the dark with flailing arms. Someone was calling out her name. The voice echoed, like it was coming from the end of a tunnel.
“Zoe! Do you see her?”
Panic surged through Zoe. She didn’t know where she was. The room was pitch black. Whenever she tried to memorize the layout based on the obstacles, they kept changing. A metallic smell hit her nostrils.
Blood.
Her heart rate skyrocketed. “Who is this?” she finally asked. And to her horror, the words made the darkness ripple like it was water. Something was amiss. She was stuck in a nightmare.
But who was the girl calling out to her?
“You have to see her! How do you not see her?” the girl whispered in her ear.
Zoe reeled back from the hot breath fanning her ear. Her back hit a wall, her breaths hot and sticky in her throat. Her hands blindly searched the wall for something—anything—a door, a window, a switch.
A switch. She flicked it.
The lights didn’t turn on. Not at first. And then a white rod on the ceiling began flickering. The groan of the light hummed loudly in her ear. On. Off. On. Off. She was afraid she might have a seizure. She blinked through the lights that changed every second. The room was empty, reminding her of a basement with no windows.
