Page 53 of Deadly Secrets
“Who do you think this bad man was—is? The Reverend?”
She faced him, her arms hugging herself. “No clue. Nothing else happened to me after that night, and believe me, I kept my eyes peeled for the ‘bad man.’ I stopped making friends, stayed vigilant in case he tried to hurt my mom. Nothing happened. After I got older, I chose to believe my adopted parents, that Mom had made up the whole thing. The killer went after the Dunkirks that night, not me. Maybe it was just wrong place, wrong time. But I had a DNA test done several years ago. My biological parents came from Spain and Russia, with a little Romanian and Greek thrown in for good measure. The Heatons are French-Canadian and British. Everett had dusky skin and dark hair. Growing up, I thought I got my coloring from him. Once Mom’s mind started going wonky with the Alzheimer’s, she told bits and pieces of the same story to me, but she never knew the woman’s real name and the man who’d provided the papers disappeared right after he delivered me, apparently. I never know, though, how much she’s actually remembering and how much is delusion. She and Everett couldn’t have children and she said once that it was like an angel had handpicked them to be my parents.”
Roman sat back, wanting to go to her but understanding that she needed space. She was sorting through a lot of crap. “Do you think The Reverend could be this bad man your mom talked about?”
“If he wants me, why is he killing other people?”
That was the question of the hour.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Brooke added, affirming Roman’s thoughts. “I feel like this could be all tied together, but I have no idea how.”
“You said some people from the church put together a fund to stave off the bank after the Dunkirks were murdered. Your attacker wore a cross. Do you think he might have belonged to this church group?”
The slightest spark of hope lit her eyes. “Do you think it’s possible?”
“Anything’s possible.” And they now had a new lead to check out. “We can get the names of the members from back then, start checking into all the men who might fit the profile Nadia came up with. See if any of them currently live in this area.”
She flew back over to the couch and sat, throwing her arms around him. “I’ve never told anyone about my adoption or the bad man. I was always too scared. Thank you.”
He hugged her back, a welcome relief at having her in his arms coursing through his system. Secrets sucked. He knew what it was like to keep them buried. “You did good today, Brooke.”
Laying her head on his shoulder, she sighed audibly. “I’ve held that secret for so long, I had no idea what it would be like to let it out.”
Roman held her close, stroking her hair, wondering if he’d ever be able to let his own horrible secret out.
A knock sounded on the door.
“Yeah,” Roman called out, turning to see Cooper stick his head in.
The SCVC Taskforce leader held up his cell. “Sorry, man, but I have to bail. Celina’s water just broke.”
