Page 92 of The Hanging Dolls
“You’ve been smiling too much,” he said accusingly.
“I’m a happy person.”
Aiden sighed and closed his notepad. “Storm, if I did anything to… offend or hurt you, I apologize. But please just be honest with me. There’s no need for a show.”
She ground her molars despite keeping her voice light. “I’m being honest. You did nothing wrong. I’m just in a good place and want to get through this.”
His eyes lingered on her for the longest time, but she was too good at this. He didn’t believe her. “Okay… we’re almost done, we don’t have much more to go over.”
“Let’s do it.” She smiled as she rued the day she opened up enough to give him a peek of the carnage of her past that she carried inside her.
Zoe had never lived in a nice house. All those years hopping around with Rachel, they lived in modest homes in remote neighborhoods. Rachel used to love greenery and storms and the ocean. But they always lived in dry, desert towns.
The next day, Zoe went to pay Regina a visit at her home. Regina lived in a two-story house with a warm beige exterior surrounded by a lush garden bursting with color. The large windows were framed by dark shutters, and the front door was painted a deep navy blue. Zoe had a dream that one day she would retire in a house like this. One day she would put down roots and not just own a place but be owned by it.
She knocked on the door, and a rattled, overworked intern who hadn’t combed his hair and had an earpiece answered. “Is Connor here? FBI.” She flashed her badge.
The man’s eyes widened and he sighed. “He isn’t here anymore. Why do you think this place is going down the dumps?”
“Who is it?” Regina bellowed, and the intern startled like a rabbit caught in headlights. “Oh, Agent Storm!” Regina appeared in the doorway, not a single hair out of place and not a single wrinkle on her purple pantsuit. “Postpone the next interview,” she ordered the intern, who hurried away.
Behind Regina, Zoe could see the whirlwind of activity—people shouting and moving rapidly, dodging each other, phones ringing and keyboards clattering.
“How can I help you?” Regina shut the door behind her, cutting off the sound of chaos. “Some quiet feels good. Easier to chat here.”
“I’m looking for Connor. Is he not here?”
Regina pulled back her shoulders. “No. I fired him.”
“What? Why?”
She forced a polite smile but it was too tight. “Many reasons. Biggest being that he was doing things behind my back. I couldn’t trust him anymore so I got rid of him. It’s why we are in a flux right now. But we’ll manage. I’m interviewing some promising candidates for the position.”
“What did he do exactly?”
“He was siphoning money from my accounts,” she said. “I shouldn’t have given him that much control over my affairs.”
Zoe mulled it over—Regina was born for public office, always composed and quick on her feet. But whatever she was saying wasn’t beyond the realms of disbelief. Connor had a temper, and there was a callousness to him. “We are looking for him. Do you know where he is? He wasn’t home.”
She shrugged. “No idea. The last thing he told me was that he’d gotten involved with some shady casino owner, which was why he was stealing money from me. Why are you looking for him?”
“He might have some information for us. Do you know where he might have gone? Any place he mentioned?”
Regina thought for a moment and then said, “He used to mention something about an old family cottage. I haven’t been there but maybe he’s up there?”
“Do you ever have a day where everything just feels weird?” Zoe asked Scott as they parked at the edge of the woods. His suspension was finally over. The forest was so choked with trees that no vehicle could enter.
“No… should I?” Scott asked, baffled.
Zoe killed the engine and sucked the last remnants of her milkshake. But it didn’t taste the same. And she had a theory—something bad was going to happen if milkshakes tasted off. It was a complicated, long-winded link between her instincts and taste buds.
“Maybe it’s anxiety. The case is coming to an end.” Scott’s breaths formed little clouds as they ventured into the woods.
There was a harsher chill in the air. The trees loomed over them, their branches heavy with water, creating a gloomy canopy that seemed to absorb the fading daylight.
“So Connor has motive to kill Tara. Not only would it get Logan Bennett off his back but it would also create a controversy he could leverage against Mayor Hicks and cast Regina as the hero this town needs,” Zoe summarized.
“And he targeted Lucy and Lily, two victims who had nothing to do with him and Regina, to deflect any suspicion. He created the whole thing with the ropes and the notes so that we’d think we were dealing with a serial killer.”
