Page 236 of Keep This Promise
“All right . . .”
“I’m going off a hunch that they’re related in these possible typos.”
After rummaging through a few of Holden’s drawers, he lets out a triumphant, “Ha!” Then he’s holding a postcard, brandishing it in the air. “Found it.”
We walk back to the dining room, and Spencer sets the postcard on top of the notes so that the strange readings are right below where Theo had written Holden’s medical license number.
“I don’t understand,” I say, more to myself than anything.
“It could mean many things, but we were all confused as to why Holden’s medical license number was on the cards. If I’m right, it means there really is something hidden in the file that he wanted Holden to find.”
The second the last word leaves his lips, the power goes out in the house, and Spencer stands, pushing me behind him just as there’s a deafening explosion.
ChapterTwenty-Nine
HOLDEN
“Anything else, Cora?” I ask the prosecutor after the third run-through of the questions and documents. “I need to get home.”
“I understand, but we want to make sure you’re prepared.”
“I am.”
“Today went well with Brielle, but we need to show the pattern with the drugs used and...”
“I know. I really do.” I get to my feet. Between my shift and then this, I am freaking done. I want to go home, shower, get naked with Sophie, and sleep.
“I heard about what happened at your house,” she says while gathering up papers. “Do you think it’s Wilkinson’s guys?”
“Could be. I don’t know.”
“We hoped he would flip and give us who he worked for, but so far, he’s tight-lipped.”
That’s her problem. “Sorry to hear that.”
She pulls everything into her arms, and we make our way out of the courthouse. “I want to put this guy away for the horrible crimes he’s committed and then shut down the entire operation.”
“That’s all any of us want.”
I can hear the burden weighing on her as she releases a heavy sigh. “I worry. He has a lawyer he definitely can’t afford, and while we have plenty of evidence to get a conviction on the abduction of Blakely and the attempt to commit murder regarding Emmett, we don’t have anything that completely links him to the missing girls.”
I would be stressed about it if I were her as well. We all know he’s involved—hell, he literally confessed it to Blakely, but they haven’t found anything concrete. He was very good about covering his tracks.
“Won’t that be enough for now?”
“Yes, it will, but I want to get justice for the countless girls he’s harmed. I need that smoking gun.”
“I wish I could give it to you, Cora. All I have to offer is what I saw when I treated Blakely after her abduction and the medical information you’re asking about.”
A hint of a smile appears. “I think your testimony will go a long way. It’ll create the pattern that I’m hoping to show over time.”
“Thanks, Cora. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She grips my arm as I walk out. “Listen, I don’t know if what happened at your house was because of the trial, but I had a few things happen in the last week that weren’t normal.”
“Did you report them to Emmett?” I ask.
“No, they seemed . . . like maybe I had forgotten to put something away, but after hearing what went down with you, I’m starting to wonder if maybe they weren’t just coincidences. But then, yesterday, the ME from Portland was found in her apartment, she’s in critical condition and hospitalized after what looks to be a break-in. She clearly can’t testify now. It’s just . . . too many things tied to this case to be a coincidence.”
