Page 5 of Whispers Left Behind

It had taken Kinsley and Alex close to eighteen months to apprehend him, and only then due to an offhand comment during a third round of interviews from a patron at a local diner. Gantz had been overheard asking a waitress out to dinner. According to the witness, Annie Parron’s denial of such a requesthad prompted an unusual response. The odd depiction had led Kinsley to dig further into the confrontation.

There was no doubt in her mind that Gantz had lured Parron to an abandoned barn and slit her throat. He had also remained with her to witness the life slowly drain from her body. Savannah Veloso had met the same gruesome fate shortly thereafter. Kinsley had collected the physical evidence needed to back up her arrest.

Unfortunately, the jury had only heard the circumstantial evidence.

During the investigation, there were many decisions and outcomes that Kinsley would have given anything to change. She hadn’t had such power, and the jury’s acquittal had all but been written in stone.

Gantz had walked away from the courthouse a free man.

The last anyone had seen or heard from him was one year ago this month. Now, her partner believed Gantz had returned to Fallbrook.

All Kinsley needed was one minute to compose herself. She couldn’t allow herself to show up at a crime scene without being in control of her emotions. Alex would ask her too many questions, just as he had last October.

Kinsley hadn’t lied to her niece earlier this evening.

Everyone had secrets.

Hers?

She had murdered Calvin Gantz in cold blood.

Chapter Three

Kinsley Aspen

October

Thursday — 8:24 pm

The Jeep’s tires effortlesslynavigated the winding gravel road. The bright headlights carved an even greater path through the moonlit shadows, illuminating more of the desolate landscape that lined the path on both sides. Once-thriving fields were now barren, and even the horse stables had been reduced to worn-down structures from years of neglect.

Time stopped for no one.

Kinsley slowly drove past the wooden gate of the old Cooper farm. The frame had been discarded off to the side, and some of its planks had splintered and scattered over the ground. In the distance, swirling red and blue lights highlighted an old, weathered barn. Three police cruisers had parked at an angle out front, but there was no sign of the forensics team.

Pulling behind one of the patrol vehicles, she killed the engine. Alex was near the entrance of the barn, speaking to two officers. Her partner must have already taken Lionel’s statement, because the older man was nowhere to be found.

Kinsley had taken longer than a minute to compose herself back at her parents’ house. She should have arrived on scene at least ten minutes ago, but she and Alex had been partners long enough that he understood her family dynamics.

She could easily shift the blame for her tardiness onto Dylan.

Wanting to ensure that Alex wouldn’t notice the tension in her shoulders, she stretched her neck muscles by tilting her head from side to side. In doing so, she caught her reflection in the rearview mirror.

Her light blue eyes were rather dull from stress, and the tight lines of stress around her mouth didn’t help with her endeavor. While she took after her father with her blonde hair and blue eyes, everything else had been inherited from her mother—her diamond-shaped face, full lips, and even the tiny dimple near the left side of her mouth.

“You look like shit,” she muttered to herself in dismay before pinching her cheeks. Such pressure did little to restore their usual color. Giving up, she reached back and removed the clip from her hair. She shouldn’t have gotten additional layers at her last hair appointment. Some of the strands kept escaping, and she didn’t like anything touching her face when she was working. As she fixed her hair into a more secure position, she noticed Alex had finished giving instructions to the two officers. Theway he was staring in her direction gave way to his impatience. “Yeah, yeah. I’m coming.”

Kinsley had done everything she could to keep Alex in the dark about Gantz. She wouldn’t have involved anyone that fateful night had she physically been able to drag Gantz’s body to its final resting place by herself. If she were being honest with herself, the call she had made had been out of sheer desperation. Her older brother had answered, as he always had…and would…for a family member in need.

Noah’s reward?

He was now an accomplice to murder.

Kinsley didn’t need to view her reflection in the mirror to know that she had changed drastically in the past twelve months. That type of strain took a toll on a person. It never ceased to amaze her how easily one could rationalize away such appalling choices. Shouldn’t she have experienced some measure of remorse for taking a life?

Shame?

Guilt?

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