Page 1 of Whispers of Sin

Chapter One

Brooklyn Sloane

January 2011

Tuesday — 1:06pm

Asymphonyofsnowflakesdanced through the air before silently landing on an already thick blanket of pristine white snow. As if not wanting to disturb the ambiance of such a winter wonderland, the college students scurried quietly from building to building to make it to their next class on time. Their breaths misted in the frigid air, and the biting cold had them clutching tightly to their jackets and scarves.

Brooklyn Sloane trudged through the snow, her boots leaving deep impressions that would soon be filled by the relentless flurries. Her gloves weren’t doing a good enough job in keeping her fingers warm, so she quickened her steps. She planned to spend the rest of the afternoon working on an essay for her advanced psychology class. She’d technically graduated last month, a couple of weeks shy of her twenty-second birthday, but there had still been a couple of courses that she’d wanted to complete before deciding on what career path to take with her degree.

Another incentive to remain on campus was the fact that Brook’s roommate, Cara Jordan, had threatened to chain Brook to the bed if she so much as thought of leaving college early. She wasn’t so sure that Cara wouldn’t have stooped to such measures, either.

Snowflakes clung to Brook’s lashes as she finally reached the entrance to her dorm building. She switched her textbook and notebook to her left arm, holding them close to her chest as she pulled open the heavy door. A wave of warmth engulfed her, and she couldn’t prevent herself from standing still underneath the heating duct for a few glorious minutes. She stayed in place until her teeth had stopped chattering and the muscles in her shoulders released some tension. She then pounded her boots onto the welcome mat before stepping off onto the dull grey Berber carpet.

A few fellow students milled about, their animated conversations and laughter echoing off the walls. Brook returned a couple of smiles, but she tended not to socialize too much, much to Cara’s disappointment. There had been a few times when Brook had forced herself to join in on weekend parties, but she tried not to make it a routine. She needed all the time that she could get studying for her classes and absorbing as much learning material as she could if she wanted to succeed.

“Hey, Brook! Have you seen Cara? I knocked on the door, but she didn’t answer,” Tessa said as she walked toward Brook with a bright smile on her face. She was a good five inches shorter than Brook, which was probably why Tessa’s pixie cut looked super cute on her. Brook would never have been able to pull off such a short style, which was why she kept her black hair long enough to fall over her shoulders. “A bunch of us are going ice skating tonight. You can join us, too.”

Tessa had obviously tacked on the invitation out of courtesy. She knew the likelihood of Brook joining in on the winter activity was slim at best.

“Especially if you bring that hot guy who was here asking for you earlier this morning.” By this time, Tessa had passed Brook while fanning herself. She then turned around with a whistle and began to walk backwards. “No wonder you never want to do anything with us. Tall, dark hair, piercing blue eyes. Girl, you’ve been holding out on us.”

Brook had come to a complete stop, unable to prevent the contents of her stomach from trying to revolt. She wasn’t currently dating anyone. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to experience that amount of happiness when her best friend from high school was lying in a coffin six feet underground.

“What are you talking about, Tessa?” Brook had stopped looking over her shoulder to face Tessa. Brook turned around completely, needing to see for herself that Tessa wasn’t spinning some kind of story. “What guy?”

“I don’t know, but he was carrying a leatherbound copy of Harry Potter.” Tessa stopped in front of the double doors so that she could tie her scarf. “From the way he was talking, I assumed the special edition was a gift for you.”

Brook’s chest hurt, like the time she had stayed under water too long on a dare when she had been nine years old. Only she wasn’t sure she would be able to come up for air this time around. Tessa must have noticed that something was wrong, because she quickly retraced her steps.

“Did I misread the situation? Is he an ex-boyfriend or something, Brook?” Tessa asked as she grabbed Brook’s textbook and notebook before they dropped to the ground. “Brook, I told him which dorm room was yours. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know—”

Brook’s throat closed tight in fear as she spun around and began to run down the hallway. There was a very specific reason why she’d chosen psychology as a major. She had a desperate need to not only understand others, but to identify the twisted kinship that bound her to a monster—her very own brother.

Jacob Matthew Walsh.

A serial killer who had murdered Brook’s best friend in high school just because Sally Pearson believed that her life had been perfect. Perfect the way that Cara Jordan thought her life was at the moment, too.

“No,” Brook murmured to herself, though it came out more like a muffled wail. She couldn’t lose another friend. Not now. Not after she’d gone to the trouble of changing her name and doing everything in her power to start her life over after burying her best friend. “Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay.”

Brook finally came to a stop in front of her dorm room. She gripped the doorknob, but she couldn’t bring herself to turn it. Cara didn’t have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She had crammed all her credits on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Most likely, she was at the café enjoying a hot chocolate.

Only Jacob’s last words to Brook began to reverberate through her mind, and she couldn’t help but fear that she had made the wrong decision in not telling Cara about Jacob.

No one at the college knew about Jacob, with the exception of the dean.

Brook hadn’t wanted to be known as a serial killer’s sister. She’d wanted a normal college experience, but wasn’t that what her brother had warned her about? While standing over Sally Pearson’s body in the middle of an Illinois cornfield, Jacob had promised Brook that she would never get to be the normal one.

Five months ago, she had sensed a change in the air.

It was almost as if the college atmosphere had become thick with unease. As the days had passed one by one, she’d convinced herself that it had all been in her head. She had even placed a call to Chief Conway, the law enforcement officer who had handled Sally’s murder investigation. He’d told Brook that she’d nothing to worry about. That Jacob would never risk being apprehended by the police.

What if Chief Conway was wrong?

Brook caught sight of movement in her peripheral vision, snapping her out of her trance. She couldn’t stay in the hallway forever. Tessa was maybe twenty feet away and still apologizing for giving out private information, but chances were that Brook would open the door to find that Cara wasn’t even in the building.

Brook turned the doorknob. She then forced herself to step inside so she didn’t have to speak with Tessa quite yet. No doubt, there would be rumors flying around campus later this evening about how Brook had overreacted to an innocent situation.

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