Page 111 of Shadow Sabotage
“But I already talked to a detective,” Robin said, confused. “I told him everything.”
“In Laramie?” I asked.
Robin shook her head. “No, here. The Sage County Sheriff’s Office. I went there as soon as I got into town. I gave him everything I had and he said he’d take care of it.”
Claire and I exchanged glances.
I pulled out my badge to show Robin. “I’m Special Agent Vance Weston from the Wyoming DCI, and I’m the lead investigator on Katelyn’s case. Whoever you talked to didnotturn the information over to me.”
“He didn’t?” The distress returned as she looked from me to Claire. “But—”
“Shhhh,” Claire said, giving me a warning glance. “It’s okay. It was probably a mistake. I need you to stay still, okay? Take a couple of deep breaths.”
Robin took a deep inhale, nodding as she settled.
“Good,” I said. “But we don’t have much time before the heli arrives. I need to know who you talked to and everything you gave them.”
Robin took another deep breath to steady herself. “Okay. I’ll tell you everything.”
Chapter Forty
Claire
“A lotof people didn’t like Kate,” Robin said, her voice wavering. “But that’s because they didn’t understand her. Foster care isn’t always a good thing. It can be brutal. You learn to survive, but survival isn’t always nice and pretty.”
“No, it’s not,” I said, understanding.
Robin nodded. “Over the years, we ended up in three different homes together. One of them was pretty good, but the other two were shitty.” Her face turned bright red. “One of the dads was into little girls.”
I wanted to vomit.
“Kate was my protector.” She blinked back tears. “Even though I was the oldest. She was fierce. She wouldn’t let him touch me, even though it meant she endured it all. She was always like that. Taking the worst to shield the rest of us.”
My eyes filled with tears, thinking about the girl so many people had spoken badly of during this. How everyone had judged her, called her names. Would they have done that hadthey known what she’d sacrificed to protect the people around her?
I knew that the sad truth was they probably still would have.
Vance put a steadying hand on my back. I leaned into his strength as Robin continued her story.
“Kate always wanted one of two things. She either wanted enough money to ensure her security—oursecurity. Or she wanted love. The movie kind of love where he would adore her and protect her.” Robin’s face darkened. “When she started dating Tony Evans, she thought she’d found both.”
Vance and I exchanged glances.
“Did Tony hurt her?” I asked gently.
She shook her head. “Not physically. But he’s got a sick desire for control. It’s something we got used to seeing, growing up the way we did. It can get dangerous. So when Kate started seeing the warning signs, she started looking for a way out.”
Vance interjected. “What do you mean?”
“Tony’s obsessive,” she said flatly. “He’s into the whole sub/dom thing. Kate was kind of cool with it when she thought it was just kinky foreplay, but that wasn’t enough for Tony. He wanted to control her whole life.”
“Her whole life?”
Robin nodded. “He has this fantasy of marrying someone who would be entirely submissive to him. He wanted to control everything, even who she was friends with and what shows she could watch on TV. He thought he could just claim her as his and it would sweep her off her feet or something. But when you’ve lived most of your life with absolutely no control over what happens to you, the last thing you want to do is give it up when you finally get some.”
“What happened when she started looking for a way out?” Vance asked. “Did Tony get angry?”
“Yes, but I don’t think he killed her, if that’s what you’re thinking.“
