Page 60 of The Sleeping Girls

He parked and sat for a moment, soaking in the sight of it. A tree branch fell from a skinny pine and hit his windshield, jarring him back to his task, and he climbed from the vehicle.

When he opened the trunk, his pulse hammered at the sight of Ruby lying curled on the floor, motionless, her skin such a milky white you could see the spidery blood vessels beneath her paper-thin skin. Her bones looked too big for her slender body as if she was half-starved, her hair tangled around the sharp features of her youthful face.

The girl had been a scrapper, just like Kelsey. He liked the fight in her, that she had grit. Of course, she had to in order to survive with that trampy hoarder of a mother. Through the window, he’d seen shit piled so high you could barely walk through the rooms.

Swallowing back the rage that lived deep inside him, he slung his backpack of supplies over his shoulder, then scooped up Ruby. She weighed next to nothing, legs and arms limp and dangling as he carried her inside the building.

Wind whined through the eaves as he walked down the hallway, the empty rooms and spaces echoing with the feeling of abandonment. He laid her down then raked her tangled hair from her face.

“I’m sorry, Ruby,” he whispered.

Sorry she had been given a raw deal in life. Sorry she had to be sacrificed.

SIXTY-FOUR

HOG HILL ROAD

What the hell have you done, Digger? Why would you kill again?

Careful not to touch her or anything in the room, Heath dropped his head into his hands. His body trembled with the memory of seeing his sister just like this. His father counting as he performed CPR. Digger standing in a stupor with the pillow in his hand.

Only it was too late for her. It was too late for Kelsey, too.

Bile rose to his throat, and he turned and fled the room. The pulled pork sandwich he’d eaten earlier was about to come up.

He hit the outside and flew down the steps, then over to the giant oak where he puked into the bushes. A groan erupted from deep within him and sweat streamed down his face. Coughing, he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and dragged it across his mouth. Then he sank to the ground and stared back at the house, pain wrenching his gut.

Seconds turned into minutes as a silent debate thrashed in his mind. He didn’t want to believe his half brother had done this. Had taken another innocent life.

But the scene, the way the body was posed, the place where Kelsey had been left… it all pointed to Digger.

Shit. He’d become a cop because of Anna Marie’s death. He’d taken an oath to serve and protect.

The Tillers deserved to bury their daughter and to know that the person responsible was in jail.

He hadn’t told Ellie anything about his past.

He reached for his phone with a clammy hand.

But he had to tell her now.

SIXTY-FIVE

CROOKED CREEK POLICE STATION

Ellie muttered a choice word at the sight of Deputy Landrum’s name on the caller screen. She jerked the phone up, vying for patience when her tank was running on empty.

“Deputy Landrum, where have you been?” she barked.

A sharp breath echoed back. “Working the case.”

“Really? Because I’ve been trying to reach you and—”

“Just listen, Detective,” Landrum said.

Ellie stiffened at his curt tone “Then this had better be good.”Because I know about Darnell.

“I found Kelsey Tiller’s body,” he said gruffly.

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