Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 114820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 574(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114820 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 574(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
And Richard Sandusky had been five years older than Acre when he already had the beginnings of his cult.
What was wrong in a society that people were so lost, so desperate to find meaning, that if they looked, they could discover in a single pine tree, and they were so reckless with these needs, they grabbed hold of anyone who told them they had the answers?
Rus’s father was going to be wrecked by this.
And like all of it, that was on Pastor Richard too.
“What crystal did Molnar give you?” he asked. “She had no idea, and I’m dying to know.”
Rus wished that was true.
“A Pyrite,” he told him.
He wrinkled his nose. “Flashy.”
Yeah, that was what was wrong with Carrie Molnar’s whole thing.
But…
It was over.
Brittanie had justice.
Rus had answers to give her friends and family.
And he had the same for all the other victims’ families.
He didn’t have to dwell on it anymore.
He could leave the Bureau with this case closed and get on with his life.
Clean break.
New start.
Yeah.
On that thought, Rus turned his back on the man.
And he walked away.
FORTY-FIVE
Scotch
Lucinda and Madden were passed out on the couch, Madden tucked so tightly to Lucinda, she was covering her, and you could barely see anything but a hint of Maddy.
Jaeger was in an armchair across from them, staring at them, possibly counting his blessings, possibly rethinking his decisions and learning some lessons.
Darragh was asleep in the other armchair.
Indira was cleaning up after making cookies in the kitchen.
Rus was out on the deck with Porter, his eyes aimed inside.
He looked to Lucinda’s brother.
“I got something I have to do,” he told him.
“I figure you do,” Porter replied.
“If she wakes up, tell her if she needs me, call, and I’ll come.”
“Man, just come back when you’re done. Save her the call.”
Rus looked him in the eye and then nodded.
He turned to take the steps that would lead him through the garden, up and around, to where he’d parked his SUV.
But Porter stopped him.
“Lazarus.”
He turned back.
It was guttural when he said, “Thanks.”
Rus jerked up his chin.
He jogged up the steps and to his SUV.
He angled in, did a tight turn in the vehicle-clogged space, and drove up and around the club, then headed down the mountain.
It started to rain before he hit the main road that would lead him to Misted Pines.
It was dark and it was foggy, it was also late, and Rus didn’t rush.
There wasn’t a lot of traffic, barely anyone out.
Maybe folks were sticking close to home and taking the time to cherish what they had before they forgot to do that on a daily basis. Maybe the rain and haze kept them inside.
For Rus, it didn’t matter which way it swung.
It was just nice that the drive was easy.
He pulled into a parking spot outside the sheriff’s office.
He went in and it was a skeleton crew. Quiet. Strange. Foreign. It’d been bustling every time Rus had walked in from the first, and it had been mayhem that day.
Now, he got some chin lifts and that was it.
Everyone was spent.
Even though it was well after business hours, it came as no surprise that Polly walked out of her office when she spied him through her window.
He stopped for her.
She knew what she was about, and simply wrapped her fingers around his wrist and squeezed, all she needed to say that Rus needed to know was in her eyes.
When she let him go, he caught her hand and squeezed back.
He headed the rest of the way to Moran’s office.
He didn’t knock.
It was dark, but Moran was there, as Rus knew he’d be.
He was sitting at his desk, his chair turned so he could look over the pictures on his credenza out the window to the rain falling on the street.
So he could look out to his town.
Rus sat in the chair opposite him. The same one he’d sat in twelve days ago when he first showed in MP.
Moran knew he was there, swiveled and reached to the bottom drawer at the side of his desk.
He took out another glass and grabbed the bottle of Jameson sitting on his desk.
He splashed some in the glass.
He then reached a long arm out to Rus. Rus stretched his to Moran and took it.
Moran sat back in his chair.
Rus did the same.
They both sipped.
They did this in silence for a while.
And then Rus invited, “Tell me about her.”
No hesitation, Harry said, “She was daisies and sunshine and mine for a time.”
Rus settled in, lifted his boot, rested his ankle on his knee.
And he listened.
FORTY-SIX
Aftermath
This was what shook out after Richard Sandusky surrendered himself, Carrie Molnar and Ezra Corbin were killed, and the town of Misted Pines was left to face the fallout.
The Murder of Brittanie:
The DNA from the pubic hair was a match for Ezra. They didn’t need it, but they had it.