Page 40 of Nightmare

“There is a lot, but I’ll start at the beginning. Went searching for your autopsy and managed to find it, as I was searching, I continued to stumble across articles on the case and got myself somewhat invested.”

“It has a way of doing that,” I agree, keeping my eyes closed.

“The only thing on the autopsy that stood out to me was that Braithe was not sexually assaulted.”

My eyes snap open at that.

“But one of Western’s charges was sexual assault.”

“Yes, it was. Curiously, I kept digging and found out that the autopsy was never used in his trial. They were told one was never done. Somehow, someone covered that up, and it took a hell of a lot of digging for me to get my hands on it. For whatever reason, it was well hidden, and I can tell you if I wasn’t a detective, I wouldn’t have found it.”

That is interesting, and it stirs up a lot of questions inside.

“I started looking around a little more, really trying to figure out why someone with no criminal past would suddenly kill two innocent people, that’s not including the bodies found in the swamp. That’s when I stumbled across a heap of missing person cases, all boys, all around Braithe’s age. They were all marked as runaways, case closed. But, they were all in the foster system before going missing.”

Sitting upright, my heart races. Everyone has heard the whisperings of boys going missing in relation to some sort of child trafficking that the club has been blamed for, but nothing else ever came of it. Western was never charged with anything like that, but some of the reports I watched back when he was arrested, had claimed they were looking into something like that.

I explain this to Nathan.

“Well, it’s funny you say that,” Nathan goes on, “because it turns out, Braithe was actually a foster child that the Gregory’s adopted when he was only eight.”

Wait a second, they adopted him? He wasn’t their biological son?

That was well hidden.

“I only figured that out because of the autopsy and police reports. It isn’t public knowledge. But, I found it all interesting and it had me thinking there is a whole lot more to this story than I first realized and there seem to be a lot of cover ups happening. I would like to know why.”

“You and me both,” I say, my mind spinning with all this new information.

“I’m going to keep looking into it, on the down low for now. I’m not in that area, so for obvious reasons, I can’t open a case that isn’t in my jurisdiction, but, if I find enough, I might just be able to get onto someone who can.”

Hope leaps to life in my chest.

Maybe Western will get his freedom, the freedom he truly deserves.

“Thank you, Nathan, for having a look into this for me. I can’t thank you enough.”

“You’re welcome, I’ll keep you updated. But, Bonnie, please be careful. You’re digging into something I have a feeling could be very dangerous.”

“I’ll be careful, I promise.”

Hanging up the phone, I cry out with joy. I have been right, all along I have been right. I suspected from the start there was more to this story, and now that has been confirmed. I wonder if Western knows all of this? Surely the club looked into it when he was arrested? Maybe they couldn’t get their hands on this kind of information. I’d love to ask him, but I’m not entirely certain how I’d approach that subject.

I stare down at my phone again and see an unread message from late last night. It’s from a number I haven’t saved, but the moment I read it, I know it’s Western.

Unknown – Be ready by ten. We’re going for a ride.

He’s taking me for a ride?

Alone?

Just the two of us?

Glancing at the time, I see it’s 9:30, so I leap to my feet.

Head pounding, I groan. Shower, coffee, painkillers. It’s the only way I’ll make it through today.

Moving my sore body to the shower, I stand under it for a fraction too long, because by the time I get out, I only have ten minutes left. I dress in some jeans and a tight tank top, and then pull on a denim jacket. I get a pair of stylish black boots and put my hair up into a ponytail. Then I brush my teeth, take a few pain killers, and make myself a coffee.

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