Page 3 of Craving Sin (Touch of Evil 13)

It was Jacob’s turn to conceal his genuine reaction to her offer. He hadn’t been pleased when one of the federal agents had joined him in the lavatory a couple of hours ago. Urging him to hydrate made it known she was aware of his discomfort.

The seven-hour flight from Cumberland, Maryland was the longest duration Brook had spent in her brother’s company since they were teenagers living under the same roof. In the months leading up to this trip, it had been challenging to suppress the churning acid in her stomach, and she couldn’t deny the weight she had lost over the past few weeks.

The bathroom scale didn’t lie, and neither did the mirror.

It had been difficult for Brook to accept that the death penalty for murdering Stella Bennett, Jacob’s first victim back in 1996, was now off the table due to the plea deal. Giving closure to one family had brutally ripped it from the hands of another. Jacob had promised to lead them to the location of Lusa Kalluk in exchange for his life.

Why?

Nathaniel believed it was a simple trade, yet Brook understood such an offer to be so much more than that.

Brook spotted Theo Neville motioning for her to join him further down the aisle in the small section created for privacy. Without a word, she unfastened her seatbelt and stood, ensuring her movements were fluid and controlled. She wouldn’t give her brother a single ounce of satisfaction that being in his presence was part of her own personal hell.

The protruding tread of her black hiking boots made soft thuds against the plush carpet as she carefully made her way toward Theo, not once glancing back at Jacob. She also didn’t bother to give Nathaniel any of her attention as she passed him at the second table, working on his laptop. While she didn’t have anything against the federal prosecutor, she wasn’t confident that he understood what was at stake with this excursion.

“Brook,” Theo greeted softly as she approached. “Sylvie just checked in. She and Bit are driving back to the hotel now. They struck out with Mekhi Hale this morning.”

Theo’s tall frame and athletic build seemed to occupy more space than most people. The black leather eye patch over his right eye only enhanced his imposing presence. She had thought long and hard about splitting the team on this trip to cover more ground. The wisest decision was to have Theo on board the transport flight. His unwavering loyalty to her had supported her through some of her darkest moments.

“That’s fine. Once we debrief, they can drive back to Silverton later this afternoon for another try.”

“The second Jacob’s name came into the conversation, Mekhi Hale clammed up and ordered them off his property.” Theo gestured for Brook to take the seat across from him, but standing eased the tension in her shoulders. “Sylvie described the area as extremely remote. Everyone they spoke to in town said that Mekhi keeps to himself and only goes into town once or twice a month. By the way, Bit wasn’t too happy to find there weren’t any public security cameras set up in or around town.”

Sylvie Deering, Bobby ‘Bit’ Nowacki, and Arden Hinnish completed the team of S&E Investigations. Brook owned the company with a silent partner, and their private consulting firm primarily investigated cold cases of serial killings. The consulting agreement with the federal government regarding active crimes made such a mission more cumbersome, but the profits were lucrative.

Jacob fell into both categories, as well as checking off a personal objective that had devoured Brook’s life. She needed to see this through to the end.

“Do we know anything else about Mekhi Hale?” Brook already had her answer, but she wasn’t ready to return to her seat.“That we didn’t already know before?”

“No.” Theo remained on the small couch, though he leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table. His cell phone was next to his laptop, and an open bottle of water had been pushed off to the side. “Everything we know is in his file. Born and raised in Silverton. Fisherman by trade. Worked with a fishing charter most of the time in Whittier, but he would rent out his MAKO 234 CC to tourists from time to time to make extra money. Hence, the photograph that Bit discovered on social media with Jacob in the background.”

Seeing that Sylvie and Bit hadn’t been able to get Mekhi Hale to discuss Jacob, it was doubtful they had managed to get a word in edgewise about Jacob’s defense attorney. Mitch Norona was somehow connected to the reason her brother needed to be in Alaska, but she couldn’t find evidence to link both men to Silverton on the same day.

Separately, yes.

But not together.

Considering how much time had passed, she wasn’t sure they would be able to obtain the evidence needed to prove to the judge that Mitch Norona should be removed from the case.

“We know that Mitch rented out Hale’s private boat for a day of fishing in 2014,” Theo reiterated before tapping his phone in frustration. “If we can get the fisherman to verify that Jacob and Mitch knew one another back around the time when Lusa Kalluk went missing, we could present the evidence to Judge Colletti.”

Theo’s focus shifted down the aisle toward Jacob.

“Speaking of our guest, he seems relaxed.”

“Too relaxed.” Brook forced herself to keep her back toward the others. Normally, she would have worn one of her usual business suits. Flying blind into cold terrain and an unknown situation had her opting for a ribbed black turtleneck and a pair of dark jeans. “Mitch Norona, on the other hand, hasn’t been able to bring himself to utter a word to his client the entire flight. I noticed that he’s taken to biting his nails in the past five months. I’d even go so far as to say that he’s scared of Jacob.”

“Given what we know, maybe the connection between Norona, Jacob, and Haleisenough to get us a warrant. If we can convince Nathaniel that Jacob is using this excursion to try and escape, he might be willing to go to bat with us. Maybe we should try and get Nathaniel to speak with Hale while we are here.”

Mekhi Hale wasn’t the only one with a peculiar background when it came to Jacob. Mitch was a criminal attorney out of Baltimore, though he initially started out in financial law. Two trips to Alaska seemed to have changed the course of his career, not that Brook or the team could prove that Norona had any interactions with Jacob during those so-called vacations.

“We have no concrete evidence that Norona and Jacob’s paths crossed back then. The picture of Jacob on Hale’s boat could have been taken on a different day or even a different month. I don’t want the judge rejecting our request based on mere coincidence.”

“The fact that Lusa Kalluk went missing in 2014 makes it more than a coincidence, Brook,” Theo said wryly as his gaze switched to Mitch Norona. “He was fresh out of law school. We have to assume Jacob has something on him to use the man as a puppet.”

“I agree, but I don’t want to play our hand just yet.”

“This will all be over with in twenty-four hours, anyway,” Theo reminded her as he reached forward and slowly closed the lid of his laptop. “I take it that Graham is meeting us at the landing strip?”

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