Page 106 of Three Girls Gone
Trent shook his head. “Don’t know, and I’m not sure it even matters. He probably used cash to get himself to Woodbridge.”
“Anything else or…?”
“Oh, one thing. CSI Blair confirmed the apron from the Scoop has DNA that matches Wilcox.”
“One more victory.”
“All right. I should go. You need to rest. Everyone is worried about you though. Most of your family is in the waiting room, along with several officers fromthe PWCPD.”
The thought of visiting with everyone was overwhelming, but for one person. “Is Zoe out there?”
He shook his head. “She’s at your house with your mom. Everyone thought it was best she didn’t see you like this. Guess your mom made it sound like she could play hooky from school.”
Amanda’s head was pounding. “School? What day is this?” He’d told her it was the next day, but her brain was too foggy to assign a reference point and get the answer.
“Thursday.”
With that, flashes of the ordeal she’d suffered rushed through her mind. All the water, the bubbles, the thrashing, the hunger for air. Her lungs were still on fire. The recollections washed over her and wiped her out. She couldn’t think about facing anyone right now.
The next thing she remembered was Trent’s voice, sounding like it came from the other side of the world. “I’ll leave you to sleep.”
FORTY-SIX
Amanda checked out of the hospital Friday morning and went right to Central. Her family had come in to visit yesterday after she had gotten some rest. She insisted that Zoe be brought to her. She was still feeling horrible despite being medicated for pain, but there was no way she was missing out on facing the asshole who had killed two girls, almost a third, and tried to drown her.
Her spirits had been further lifted yesterday when Eloise had insisted her parents wheel her to Amanda’s room. The little girl had wanted to thank Amanda for saving her in person. Her parents thanked her too, but Amanda couldn’t claim all the credit. Either way, the wins made this job sustainable.
Malone was in when she reached the station, and he summoned her into his office from the doorway. Trent was in there seated in one of the visitor chairs. He looked at her over his shoulder and smiled. She felt her cheeks heat at the thought of him giving her mouth to mouth. He’d saved her life, and she owed him.
“How are you feeling?” Malone asked her.
She dropped into the chair next to Trent. “Ready to send this guy away for life.”
Malone smiled and looked at Trent. “I’d say she’s fine.”
Trent was grinning.
“You have a knack for facing off with killers,” Malone said.
“What can I say? It’s a talent.” It hurt to talk, and she’d prefer to preserve her voice for questioning Wilcox. But if she confessed this weakness to Malone, he’d send her back home. At least she hadn’t given him any need to reprimand her. She hadn’t gone against orders. Backup was all around her, even if they were too far away to save her from swallowing mouthfuls of the Potomac River.
“All right. Well, if you feel you’re up for it…” Malone gestured at the door. “He’s already waiting in Interview Two.”
She didn’t waste time hiking down the hall in that direction.
Upon opening the door, she was face to face with Marshall and his lawyer. Marshall had a gash on his cheek that had required stitches, and she took satisfaction in the thought she’d caused him some pain. He also had a line of stitches at his hairline.From Trent…It was the least of what he deserved.
He stared at her with defiance, and she pinned him back with her gaze. Somewhere in the last twenty-four hours, he’d lost his timidity.
She set down a folder she’d grabbed from her desk on the way here and pulled out some photographs. They were of Julie Gilbert, Hailey Tanner, and Eloise Maynard, and she set them down one by one in front of Marshall, rattling off their names as she went.
He looked at each photograph as it came to rest on the table.
“We can link you to all three crimes. The assault and murder of Julie Gilbert and Hailey Tanner and the kidnapping and attempted murder of Eloise Maynard. Let’s start with Julie. Why?”
Marshall glanced at his lawyer, who nodded.
“She was a spoiled brat. She had everything handed to her and looked down on everyone else.”
