Page 43 of Once Broken
Riley reached out with her thoughts, pulling at strands of possibility and intent, drawing them together for insight into a killer’s mind.It was her gift—and her curse—this ability to slip into their mindset, to see through their eyes, even if only for moments.
At first was as though her consciousness floated through the darkened theater below.She could almost see the eerie glow of the screen as Crystal Keene had watched, too unsuspecting to sense danger.
Then she felt the presence of the killer watching in the control room.Her mind put together everything she had glimpsed or felt or been told about this person, subtleties she wasn’t even consciously aware of, anything from previous discussions, both actual details and mere wisps of possibilities.It was her talent to turn all of that into a sense of connection with the mind of a killer.
She felt this killer’s satisfaction, the snug fit of the plan, the intoxicating sense of control and artistry.And something else …
Revenge.
As her eyes opened, Riley saw Anne Marie watching her, but didn’t think anyone else had taken special note of her brief mental absence.
She reached for the box of latex gloves Detective Hayes had brought, snapping them onto her hands.“I need to look at the film,” Riley said, her voice steady despite the sense of the killer still strong in her mind.Now she would turn to more tangible physical evidence, starting with the film itself, deliberately sabotaged to set up this macabre scene.
Hayes nodded, gesturing to a crime scene technician who had been documenting the evidence.“Let Agent Paige examine the splice.”
Riley approached the projector, careful not to disturb the position of Crystal Keene’s body still chained to the machine.The melted film hung like a grotesque ornament, its edges blackened and curled from the intense heat of the projection lamp.She peered at the section of film just before the burn, where the frames remained intact enough to examine.
“There,” she murmured, pointing to a spot several inches before the melted portion.“That’s the slice Coonfield mentioned.”
Ann Marie moved closer, her shoulder nearly touching Riley’s as they both studied the sabotaged film.“It’s almost invisible unless you’re looking for it.”
Riley nodded.“It’s deliberate—meant to catch in the gate after running for a specific amount of time.”
“So the killer knew exactly when the film would jam,” Hayes observed, leaning in to see the detail Riley had identified.
“More than that,” Riley said, straightening to face them.“The killer knew exactly how a projector works, how film moves through the mechanism, precisely where the weak point would be.”She glanced around the booth, taking in the complex array of equipment.“This isn’t amateur work.It’s calculated—someone with knowledge and experience.”
Hayes and Ann Marie remained silent, giving her space to process the scene.
“The killer clearly came prepared,” Riley said, her voice dropping slightly as the various impressions clarified in her mind.“Knew the exact layout of this booth, where everything was positioned.”She gestured to the corners of the small room.“Knew where to hide, how to ambush someone entering.And where to stash someone they wanted out of the way.”
She turned to face Hayes directly.“The killer must have known that Crystal had arranged a private screening.And not just that—they knew Ted Coonfield would come early to prepare, that he would be alone, vulnerable.”
“How would they know that?”Hayes asked, his brow furrowed.
Riley’s gaze drifted to Crystal Keene’s body.“Either they overheard the arrangements being made, or they have a connection to the film community here.Maybe both.”
Ann Marie tilted her head thoughtfully.“Crystal Keene was in Atlanta for the Roberta Rimes festival.After Veronica’s murder, she might have mentioned to several people her disappointment about the festival being postponed.If she was looking for a way to seeDandelion Dayson her own...”
“Word could have gotten around,” Riley finished the thought.“In a community still reeling from Veronica’s death, people talk.The killer could have learned about Crystal’s plans through conversation, maybe even overheard Crystal herself discussing it.”
Hayes nodded slowly, processing this angle.“So our killer either had a key to this place—”
“Or knew how to pick a lock,” Riley interjected.“The theater’s been closed for a month.Security probably isn’t a priority.”
“No,” Hayes agreed.“Not a single working surveillance camera in the theater.I’ve directed one of my team to find out if any cameras picked up something outside The Velvet Screen, but there aren’t a lot of those nearby.”
Riley moved toward the door of the projection booth, reconstructing the sequence in her mind.“The killer came early, before Coonfield arrived.”
“Waited in here?”Hayes suggested.
Riley scratched her chin.
“No, Coonfield himself told us otherwise.The killer surprised him by a knock on the projection room door.Coonfield opened the door, and the killer knocked him out with a single blow to the head.”
Riley walked through the space, following the invisible path of the killer’s movements.“After Coonfield was unconscious, the killer bound him, gagged him, and moved him downstairs to the janitor’s closet—out of the way, but not killed.Why?”
“Because Coonfield wasn’t the target,” Ann Marie suggested.
