Page 97 of Three to Fall

The newscaster carried on.“It’s believed police had suspicions Gooseman was involved in the murder of Alice Churchill, a former group member who was murdered in a city alley earlier this year. Gooseman was transferred to Saint View Maximum Security Prison after he was released from medical custody, to be questioned further on the murder by local detectives running the case. Police say he has now been cleared of any suspicions relating to Ms. Churchill’s death.The case for her killer remains open, and detectives are now searching for other suspects.”

I scratched at my arms nervously, staring at my husband’s eyes, cruel even in a photo. They’d picked one that truly made him look like the lunatic he was, with his hair sticking up in every direction and his lips twisted in a snarl of anger. I didn’t know where they’d gotten the photo from, but it was a nice portrayal of the evil man I knew him to be.

“Turn it off,” I mumbled. “I don’t want to hear any more about it.”

I turned away and wrapped my arms around myself, reminding my triggered brain I was safe, my girls were here, and Josiah was where I wanted him to be. Behind bars.

He’d never get out of prison. Hawk and Scythe had already promised, if there was even the slightest hint that he’d be up for parole, they’d have someone kill him in jail.

I wouldn’t feel an ounce of remorse if that’s what it came to.

“You okay?” Grayson asked softly.

I shook my head sadly. “No. Not really. I’m glad he’s in jail, of course. It’s what I wanted. But if the police don’t think he was involved with Alice’s murder, then it has to be the man she was talking to online. Right?”

Hayden moved in on my other side, catching the end of the conversation. “They have the text messages from Kyle’s phone now. We’ve given them everything. At least they’re looking in the right place. We’ve done all we can do. We just have to let them do their jobs.”

“It just doesn’t feel like enough. The police said it could be months before they can get access to that app’s data and that even if they can, there’s every chance the killer was smart enough to conceal any traces of a trail that could lead back to him.”

Grayson pressed a kiss to the top of my head and just let me breathe in his arms for a moment, until my muscles relaxed enough that I wasn’t going to break out in trembles. He cleared his throat, eyeing Hayden, and then gazing back down at me. “Maybe it’s time we organized a funeral.”

During one of the numerous interviews we’d done with the police over the last week, we’d been informed Alice’s body was finally being released, and we could now put her body to rest.

It had been both a relief and a burden, one I hadn’t been able to deal with for the last few days while I took care of my traumatized sister and made sure she felt safe and happy in her new home.

But Grayson and Hayden were right. I needed to put Alice’s death behind me so I could move on and be fully present for the people still here. Being distracted all the time, thinking about those messages and the man who’d sent them to her wasn’t getting her murder solved or doing anyone any good.

It was time to say goodbye to her and make my peace with knowing we might never know who had killed her. At this point, I wasn’t sure it would make a difference anyway. It wouldn’t bring her back.

I nodded and then got to my feet, crossing the room to where Rebel was perched on the arm of a couch, shaking her head at the TV screen still going through the details of Ethereal Eden’s history and how a man name John Gooseman had managed to brainwash at least a hundred people into thinking he was some sort of portal to the Lord.

It sounded so stupid when they put it like that. So simple it was nearly impossible to believe anyone had fallen for his lies.

But nobody could judge us unless they’d been there. Josiah was a master manipulator, a sociopath who could lie straight to your face without feeling an ounce of remorse.

I refused to be made a mockery of.

I leaned over, picked up the remote, and turned the TV off.

Everyone looked to me, a position that would have had me crumbling in on myself not all that long ago and staring at my feet, my voice stolen by fear and shame.

Not anymore. “I want to organize a funeral for Alice.”

Rebel reached for my hand and squeezed it. “I’ll help.”

“We all will.” War had his baby son asleep on his shoulder. He rubbed his tiny back absentmindedly. “Whatever you need us to do, Kara, just let us know. We’re all here for you.”

I smiled at him, forever grateful for his kind heart. He hadn’t even blinked when we’d arrived back from Ethereal Eden with Shari, Kyle’s parents, and Jax in tow.

He’d simply opened the gates and made room in his family for all of us. Kyle’s parents were down in his cabin with him for now, until more could be built, or they found a place of their own nearby. Shari had taken my room, since I had places in both Hayden and Hawk’s beds. If Grayson stayed, we were all in the one room anyway, not doing much in the way of sleeping.

War had already started making plans for more residences within the compound. They had more than enough land to make room for everyone, and I could see the pride in War’s eyes when he looked around at the safety he provided for those who needed it most.

I thanked him. “I think it would be best for a funeral home to sort out the details of the burial. But…” I cracked a little smile. “I think Alice would have hated if her funeral was just a solemn, gray occasion. Josiah never believed in celebrating a person’s life after their death. He said it served no purpose and drew attention away from praying for the living. We only had a burial ritual so our souls could enter Heaven to eventually be reborn.”

“Pfft,” Rebel scoffed. “What about celebrating the fact they were alive? Having time to grieve as a community? Sharingembarrassing stories about them now that they’re not around to protest?”

“And getting drunk!” Aloha shouted, raising the beer bottle he’d been sipping on.

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