Page 30 of Secrets on Sapphire

“It’s not a crime scene anymore and it’s abandoned. It’ll be alright. Babe, I love you, but I’ve gotta go.”

“I love you too and I bet you’re going to love me even more after I tell you what I’ve discovered.”

Sammy had almost hung up the phone, but was intrigued by Beau’s statement. “Huh? What have you done Beau?”

“Well, I thought I would do some digging. I didn’t have any other cases to work on today so I pulled the James Duke file out of your desk and did some research.”

“What did you find?”

“He has a living family member.”

“I knew that already.”

“Do you know who it is?”

“No. I haven’t gotten that far. Did you find out?”

“I did.”

“Well, who is it Beau?”

“Brielle.”

“What about her?”

“Brielle is James Duke’s living family member.”

Sammy dropped the phone. She quickly snapped out of her shock and picked the phone up off the ground. “What did you say?”

“It’s Brielle.”

“I’ve got to go.” She hung up the phone. She would get the details from Beau later. He was a good detective and if he says Brielle is the living family member then it must be true. She had to tell the other women.

“Harley! Edie! Please come over here!” Sammy yelled.

Harley and Edie ran back toward where Sammy and Taylor were standing. “What is it?” Harley asked as she caught her breath.

“She’s related to James Duke.”

“James Duke?” Taylor asked.

“She?” Harley added.

“James Duke. He’s a murderer. He held women captive. Here. And basically sold them as sex slaves for a night . . . or two . . . depending on how much the buyer was willing to pay.”

Harley gasped, but said nothing, wanting Sammy to tell her more.

Sammy continued. “When a woman wasn’t getting enough attention, he raped them and then killed them. After they died, he kept them in coffins in a room in the basement. Somehow the police found out what was going on. Hikers heard screaming, I think. Anyway, when Duke caught wind they were coming after him, he panicked. He killed all of the women that were still alive, as well as, any buyers that were there that night. He tried to kill himself, but the cavalry arrived before he expired. They took him to the hospital and then took him to prison.”

“What happened next?” Harley was frozen with fear and the only things she could move were her lips.

“They found weapons and rooms upon rooms of torture in his basement. None of the people in the house survived, except for him.”

“Is he still alive?”

“He’s rotting in prison.”

“Who is the ‘she’ Sammy?” Edie’s lips were pursed together.

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