Page 58 of The Sleeping Girls

“Was she awake when you went inside her bedroom?”

He narrowed his eyes in confusion. “I… told you I don’t remember going in there.”

“But you were in her room,” the detective said. “You were standing by her bed.”

Darnell nodded.

“Did she fight you or try to scream when you attacked her?” Traylor pressed.

“I…” Digger closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Either trying to remember or trying to forget, Ellie wasn’t sure which. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Maybe she fought you,” Traylor said. “Is that how you got those scratches on your knuckles?”

Ellie made a mental note to check the ME’s report and confirm that his DNA was underneath Anna Marie’s fingernails.

Darnell studied his hands, tracing one finger over his bloody knuckles. “I… don’t know.”

“So you don’t remember how you were scratched or going inside the bedroom or if Anna Marie screamed. But you know you killed her?”

Slowly, the kid gave a nod, then dropped his head into his hands and began to sob.

Silence stretched between Ellie and Derrick as they considered what they’d seen.

“What do you make of the confession?” Derrick asked.

“He looks like a scared kid in shock. I can see why Ms. O’Connor wanted to dig deeper into the case.”

Derrick pulled up the police report. “No other suspects were ever mentioned. Just as Traylor said, Darnell’s stepfather stated that he heard a noise, went to check on things and found Darnell standing over Anna Marie. He yanked the boy away and Darnell fell backward. Father tried to perform CPR but it was too late.”

“Traylor had his confession, so he didn’t feel the need to consider other suspects.” A bad feeling niggled at Ellie. She ran a search for news articles about the trial and arrest and skimmed the contents. All reported similar statements made by Traylor. Photographs showed Darnell being hauled away from his house in handcuffs with his father and a younger boy watching as he was shoved in the back of the police car.

Heath was so young in the picture. His eyes haunted.

Did he believe Digger was guilty?

SIXTY-TWO

RED HAWK RIDGE

As night set in, Heath grew more and more antsy. He’d called the O’Connor woman again and left another message. He’d also asked her to send contact information for Digger’s parole officer. But no word yet.

He’d followed Detective Reeves’s orders and tried to trace the source of the photographs of the dead girls, but they’d come from burners and were untraceable. Finally, he’d narrowed down the tower they’d pinged off.

Shit. It was near his childhood home. The house hadn’t been visible in the picture. The shots were simply close-ups of the girls. But if Digger was reliving his first murder by killing Kelsey and Ruby, he might have left them in the house where he killed Anna Marie.

Cold fear caught him in its clutches.

He should call Ellie. Tell her everything. But he swung his vehicle onto the road leading to the old house instead. He’d wait. Check out the place first. He could be wrong.

Sweat beaded on his neck. He hoped to hell hewaswrong.

Except for a sliver of moonlight peeking through the storm clouds, the sky was as gray as his mood. Wind whined through the tall pines and oaks as he sped around the switchbacks.

The house was dilapidated now, boards rotting, paint peeled off, a couple of windows cracked. The roof was in disrepair, and sticks, tree branches and debris had accumulated.

There were no cars in sight. No sign anyone was here.

Still déjà vu struck him. In his mind he saw Digger being hauled to the police car that horrible night fifteen years ago. Heard the slamming of the door and screeching of the siren as the police car carried him away.

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