Page 51 of Deadly Secrets
Could it the same man as her childhood attacker?
The easy answer was yes, but serial killers were crafty, smart. They liked to play games and misdirection was one of their favorites. There would be no easy answer to her questions or this case.
The second photo was at the corner of the building. The reflection of light coming from the man’s upper chest caught her eye again. She moved in closer, breath still caught in her chest, pushing a manic bubble up into her throat.
Oh no.
The barest of outlines showed in the shadow around the reflection.
A cross.
A gold cross.
Her body froze. She heard Roman say her name, but he sounded muffled, far away. Her body, her mind, was back in the trunk, back in Aleisha’s room.
The man had opened the lid and stared down at her, his eyes nearly black in the shadows. He reached into the trunk, started to move the clothes.
He’s going to find me!
Goosebumps ran over her skin. She wanted to yell, scream, reach out and hit him, but she was frozen. Completely and utterly unable to move or cry out at all. Moonlight caught on the chain around his neck.
Brooke saw a gold cross hanging from the chain.
“Brooke!”
Roman was there beside her, shaking her gently. She blinked at him, trying to get her knees to lock and her mind to come back to the present.
Her gaze traveled once more to the photo on the smart board. Her attacker stared back at her from behind a mask.
“It’s him,” she muttered. “It’s definitely him.”
“How can you be sure?” Roman asked Brooke.
She pointed at the reflection in the second photo. “That’s a gold cross. The light is reflecting off it.”
“A lot of people wear those.” Win squinted at the photo. “Is there something specific about that one that matches your perp from twenty years ago?”
Brooke nodded. “I remember it.”
She hadn’t mentioned that before. “Just now when you saw that picture?” Roman asked.
Her face was as pale as the smart board. “The guy looked up at a sound in the hall and moonlight reflected on his cross, just like this.”
A memory from the childhood attacker? Progress! “Anything else?”
She licked her lips and then shook her head. “No, but I’m sure it’s the same one.”
“How?” Thomas asked. “Like Win said, a lot of people wear those things.”
“This one has an eye in the center.” Her finger trembled slightly as she pointed to the photo. “It’s inlaid with a tiny diamond. That’s what caused the camera flare.”
Roman moved closer. “Like an evil eye or something?”
“An all-knowing eye,” Emma said. “Like on US paper bills.”
Brooke snapped her fingers. “Exactly.”
She continued to study the photo, but Roman could see a change come over her. A stiffness. Was she remembering more?
