Page 60 of Saving Her Heart
“The installer posed as routine maintenance while you and she were out of the building a few days ago. My only job was to watch the feeds.”
"You're going to testify. Against both of them."
"If it keeps me out of prison? I'll sing like a canary."
The door opens. Declan enters with a grim expression that makes my stomach drop.
"We have a problem. Building 3 is on fire."
"What? How? We just?—"
"There was a secondary device. Must have been on a different timer."
We race back to the scene. The building is fully engulfed, flames shooting through windows, black smoke billowing into the sky. Fire trucks surround it, but it's clearly a lost cause.
Kendall stands with the crowd, tears streaming down her face as she watches her building burn.
"All that history," she whispers. "All those memories. Gone."
"It's just a building," I tell her, but we both know it's more than that.
But even as I say it, I wonder if we've caught everyone involved. Morrison seemed too confident for someone whose plan was falling apart. Valerie's still free. And something about this whole thing feels unfinished.
The Walking Ladies appear beside us, their FBI costumes now accessorized with "EVIDENCE" bags they definitely stole from the forensics team.
"We found something," Gladys says quietly, for once not playing for an audience.
"What?"
She hands me a phone. "Morrison dropped this when you arrested him. There are texts. Recent ones."
I scroll through, my blood running cold. The last message sent this morning:
"Building 3 is set. Building 2 tomorrow. Building 1 Thursday. Even if they catch us, the plan continues. The buyer is ready."
"There's someone else," I breathe. "Morrison and Valerie aren't at the top of this food chain."
"Who's the buyer?" Kendall asks, reading over my shoulder.
Before I can answer, another text comes through on Morrison's phone.
Unknown: Saw the arrest of Brad on the news. Unfortunate but irrelevant. Proceed as planned. Will handle the girl myself if necessary. —W.T.
W.T.
We all look at each other, the same realization hitting simultaneously.
"William Thornfield," Kendall whispers. "Valerie's husband."
Chapter 13
Kendall
"William Thornfield," I whisper, staring at the text on Morrison's phone. "Valerie's husband is behind all of this?"
"It makes sense," Jax says, already dialing Captain Ramirez. "He owns Sunset Services. Has access to everything Valerie knew, plus the resources Morrison lacked."
The Walking Ladies are still hovering nearby in their ridiculous FBI costumes, but Captain Ramirez approaches with a stern expression.
