Page 79 of Girl, Accused

‘True. Pretty stupid of me to followher up here, honestly.’

‘You didn’t know what was up here. How did you know she was our unsub, anyway? Was she waiting for you in her house?’

‘No. It was empty when I went in. I found a Latin Bible in there, and a mirror with a W carved into it. So she could look at her reflection.’

‘Wow, and she calls other people vain.’

‘Are you two insane?’ Westfall's voice cut through their momentary peace. He stood at the edge of the platform with his face twisted in a grimace that suggested heights weren't his favorite companion. ‘We're five stories up, and you're sitting on that thing like it's a park bench.’

Ella asked, ‘You want to join us?’

‘I’m joining nothing. You want to come off there, or should I tell the coroner to stop by?’

‘Relax. We’re fine. Is Sister Mary talking?’

‘Singing. I actually had to tell her to shut up until we got her in the cells.’

Ripley said, ‘Wise choice. What’s she saying?’

‘She knows details we never released to the press. Specifics about how each victim died, the exact wording of messages left at the scenes. She's our killer, no doubt about it.’

‘What's her story?’

‘From what we can piece together, her outbuilding was scheduled for demolition too. Part of the power station expansion. She'd been living there for fifteen years, since the old priest took her in. The church was her only home.’

‘Good old revenge,’ Ripley said.

Ella pictured Adam Canton sitting in his cell, the weight of false confession lifted only to be replaced by betrayal. ‘What happens to Canton now?’

‘He'll face charges for stalking Rebecca Torres, but that's it. He's guilty of being obsessive, not homicidal.’ Westfall gestured toward the power station grounds. ‘On the upside, this place is now a crime scene. I can get the whole expansion suspended for a while. The new council president might be persuaded that a murder magnet isn't the best investment for taxpayer dollars.’

‘The church survives?’

‘For now. Sometimes evil accidentally does good, I guess.’

‘I hope it works out.’ Ella turned backto the view, to the town that had housed a killer who thought she was an angel. ‘What do you believe in, detective? God, karma, anything?’

‘Hard to believe in anything in this job, but I believe in my own two eyes.’

‘Is that right?’

‘Yeah, and my eyes are seeing two women sitting on a death beam.’

‘Fine.’ Ella smiled and swung her legs back over. Ripley followed, and they both stepped onto the relative safety of the platform. ‘Better?’

‘Much.’ Westfall extended his hand. ‘Thank you. Both of you. We don't get cases like this in Granville. Not usually.’

The gratitude in his voice transcended professional courtesy. For a moment, the badge-wearing civil servant vanished, replaced by a man who understood that some debts couldn't be repaid with words.

‘You too,’ Ella said.

‘Thanks for lending me your car,’ Ripley said.

‘Don’t mention it. I’ll send you the bill for any speeding tickets.’

‘Fair.’

Westfall’s radio crackled to life. A voice called his name through static. ‘Duty calls. Gonna get Sister Mary back to the cells. You two coming?’

---