Page 145 of Montana Manhunt

James rubbed his hands together, watching Violet. “I’ve been looking forward to this all week. Are you sure her friends don’t know where she is?”

“Do you think I’m an idiot? I gave them a threat they couldn’t ignore.”

A frown. “What did you do, son?”

“I planted two bombs, one on a kid and one in Violet’s hotel. They’re busy trying to find the second bomb and defuse both of the devices before they detonate. We have plenty of time to play.”

Violet worked faster. She had to get her hands free or she would die. Simple as that. If she sustained too many knife injuries, she wouldn’t be able to fight her way out of here. She’d be too weak.

Distraction. She needed another distraction to give herself another few minutes. “Does Aunt Rosalie know what you are?” she asked Chief Hanson.

“She knows what she needs to know. Nothing more.”

She laughed. “Oh, that’s rich. My uptight aunt, who is more concerned about appearances than truth, is in love with a serial killer.”

“Shut up,” James snapped. “I’m doing the world a favor by getting rid of the bimbos in our area.”

Fury well up inside Violet. “Camilla wasn’t a bimbo! She was the definition of a classy woman. She was absolutely everything Rosalie isn’t. My sister cared about people and did her best to help them improve themselves and their situations.”

“She worked with riffraff day in and day out, the street rats who should never have been born. The only thing those creatures are good for is extermination.”

Was he serious? If so, Chief Hanson had gone off the deep end. “Listen to yourself. You’re talking about a woman who assisted families and protected children who had no one to champion their cause.”

“You can’t save them. They’re doomed from the first moment they draw breath.”

“A pretty bleak way to look at life, isn’t it, Chief?” Was the zip tie looser around her wrist? Man, she would give anything to see her progress. Violet didn’t know how much longer she could delay James and his son.

“It’s the truth.”

“Did you kill Amanda?”

The chief's slow smile sent ice water through Violet’s veins. “She was my first.”

“Why did you kill her?”

“She was just like my wife. Did you know that?”

“Amanda was a shy seventeen-year-old kid with her whole life ahead of her. How was she like your wife?”

“Amanda lied to everyone, including me.”

Violet worked faster. How thick was this zip tie? Shouldn’t she have cut through it by now? “You talked to her?”

“She called me, you know.”

“Why?”

“To tell me her father was molesting her.” He shrugged. “It was a lie, of course. Everything she said was a lie.”

“How do you know?”

“I interviewed him personally. Amanda was a troubled soul, always seeking the wrong attention. If I had let it go, she would have turned out like my faithless, treacherous wife. I couldn’t allow that to happen. The world is a better place without her.”

Violet shifted her gaze to the lawyer. “Did you help him kill Amanda?”

He shook his head. “I found out what he did later. It sounded…interesting, so I asked him to let me help with the next one.” Jeff grinned. “He taught me everything I know.”

The zip tie loosened a little more. Hurry. She needed to hurry, or they’d start on her again. “When did you go solo?”

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