Page 145 of Waiting For A Girl Like You
The story was exactly what Toby had told the authorities. He had taken CeCe from her home in Missouri without her permission, not tohurt her, but to convince her that it was time to come home so he could be with Evie.
“Can we backtrack for a second?” Michael might not answer the question that kept nagging her, but it didn’t hurt to ask. “One thing is completely confusing me. If Toby is so devoted to Taylor and wants her to have a baby, why is he obsessed with my sister? The things he said in that graveyard…they were sick and disgusting, but we believed that he held some sort of deranged love for Evie. Are you trying to tell me it was fake?”
“It wasn’t fake,” Michael said. “Toby loves Evie. He always has. Taylor will never compare to your sister. Not in his heart.”
Frustrated with his answer, Jamison waved a hand in exasperation. “Then why is Taylor doing all this for a man who loves another woman?”
Michael shrugged. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Taylor is what we call a narcissist. She can’t accept thatanyone—especially poor Toby—could love someone other thanher.She gaslights herself almost as much as she gaslights other people.”
“Did you say poor Toby? That’s a fucked up way to describe a serial killer.”
“I’ve often wondered what Toby would’ve become without Taylor. He likes pain. He likes to inflict it, but killing? Mutilating the women? Removing their eyeballs, sawing off their legs?” Michael shook his head. “Would he have done it without Taylor pressing him to go further for the thrill?”
An image of Toby in his jail uniform, writhing on the table and screaming, appeared in her mind. “Yes, I think so. He’s insane. I mean, mass murder aside, why would he come in and steal random things from Haven House? That behavior—”
“Was for Taylor.”
“What do you mean,was for Taylor?” Her gaze narrowed on him. “Taylor put him up to all that crap?”
Michael smirked. “You think the rest of the world has become obsessed with your family and their insane story? Well, guess what? Taylor was the Fairweather's first Super Fan.”
Jamison didn’t think this could get much worse. Obviously, she was wrong. “You’re telling me that Taylor told him tosteal our stuff?”
“Taylor loves your mother’s paintings the most and has them hanging at several of her properties,” he replied. “Toby would talk about Haven House and the massacre all the time, and I guess through their years together, Taylor became just as obsessed. She wanted souvenirs. Trophies. Hell, she even encouraged him to act out that night when he killed women.”
She slouched in her chair. “I don’t… I don’t get it, Michael.”
“It’s simple. Taylor was raised in a world where the lives of others were considered insignificant. She loves wielding power over Toby, over anyone really, and when he killed, it was only when she was with him. Even while in college. Her father bought a villa near Grenada so Taylor could easily zip on and off the island because she demanded to stay close to him.” Michael’s green and brown gaze stared at her, unwavering and filled with suppressed rage. “Cecilia was well aware that Taylor was Toby’s pressure point, and when Taylor appeared out in that swamp, chasing her through the brush and edging Toby into a frenzy, she fucking knew what was going to happen.”
From the beginning, Liam had always thought that was the case. His very first theory during the investigation was that CeCe had chosen to end her life rather than face what her brother might do.
“Wait.” Jamison leaned forward. “Taylor was there that night?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Taylor told me.”
Jamison gave herself a second to let that information settle in her mind. “When?”
“Not long after I finished building this place.” His expression turned to dark amusement. “I was done with my... public service work and planned to live a quiet life. But I went to see Taylor during one of my visits to Haven House.”
“Whoa, what?”
“Cecilia is buried there. Even in death, I can’t stay away.” He stood to clear their plates, chuckling. “By the way, that forest? I don’t know what the Fairweathers did, but it’s haunted as shit.”
She watched him as he moved about the room. “How is it that we’ve found nothing on your relationship with CeCe?”
“Because I’m careful with my life. I’ve made too many enemies to count, and Cecilia was a liability that could be used against me.”
Out of everything she’d learned, that was the one thing that made sense. Years in PR had taught her how dangerous exposure could be—how social media could ruin or weaponize a life in seconds.
“But now you’re helping Taylor?”
“That’s what she thinks.”
“So, the phone calls? The stalking? All of it was a ruse?” Jamison shot to her feet and marched across the room. “You’ve been pretending this whole time? You don’t really want to—” she flapped her hands wildly, “—rape me and make some sicko baby for Zanmi?”
