has genetic markers that indicate it came from a male.”
“You mean . . . my father?”
“I don’t know, Jess. It could be your father or a brother.” Sam heaved a sigh. “I don’t know if this is good or bad news, but maybe you can ask Chief Cook why he left out that second DNA sample. He didn’t tell me about it. And apparently he never said anything to you either. I’d sure want to know why.”
Terrible thoughts crossed Jessie’s mind. And it left her reeling. She couldn’t sit anymore. She had to stand, but when she caught a glimpse of her face in the mirror, she suddenly got nauseous.
With all the talk about kids being seen at Angela DeSalvo’s place prior to her murder, Jessie had to wonder. She had to have been one of those kids since her DNA was found at the crime scene. And now it appeared her brother had been there, too. The joy of knowing she might have a brother mixed with a flood of dark thoughts.
Had her brother been taken the way she had been? Did Danny Ray Millstone torture her brother, too? Had he been in that house where she was held prisoner, and she hadn’t even known it?
“No, that can’t be.” She swallowed, hard.
“What?”
“Oh, Sammie. Give me a minute here. I gotta process all this before I say anything.” Her voice cracked as she paced the floor. “Just wait a minute.”
Although Sam could check into the Millstone case, looking for names of the survivors or the names of the kids the bastard had killed, that would take time. Sam would have to pull the case files and do legwork to find out what Seth Harper would know in short order. Harper had his father’s old murder book. And he’d been making contact with the Millstone survivors. That was how and why they’d met. Harper would know what she needed.
“I’ve got to talk to Seth,” she muttered.
“What? Slow down, Jess,” Sam urged her. “Take a deep breath.”
“I know. And you’re right, but I gotta think. What did Cook tell me? I gotta remember.” As she ran through everything the chief had said, she paced the floor and searched through her mind.
Chief Cook had told her that he’d looked into the Danny Ray Millstone case and knew about what happened to her as one of his victims. Maybe he knew more than he’d let on. Or maybe he only wanted to spare her feelings. Either way, she hated that he’d kept the truth from her. And what she was thinking was far worse than if he had just told her what he knew.
Besides the possibility of having a brother who might already be dead—or a survivor of abuse like she had been—there was a darker scenario that lurked in the back of her mind, one that made her even more sick.
“Hold on, I gotta . . .” Jessie dropped her cell on the mattress and ran to the bathroom. She emptied her stomach until all she had left were dry heaves. Her face was hot, and beads of sweat clung to the skin of her arms. With trembling hands, she cleaned up. And when she could, she got back on the phone with Sam.
“Are you okay, Jessie? I’m so sorry.”
It took her a moment to catch her breath and calm her racing heart.
“Can you do me . . . a favor?”
“Yeah, anything.”
“Do you know if they have a sample of Millstone’s DNA on file? I mean, maybe after he was caught red- handed and killed, no one bothered to collect it.”
“That’s hard to say. Back then, digital DNA records were hit-and-miss, and not every case got consistent treatment. Why are you asking about this, Jessie?”
“I need to know if Millstone was . . . my father.”
It took everything she had to say those words.
She had no other explanation for how she ended up with the serial pedophile. Being related to that scumbag would be the worst she could imagine, and that was saying something. She knew it was a leap, one she didn’t want to take, but if this trip had been about uncovering her past, she had to go the distance. She had to keep an open mind about the possibilities, or she’d never find the truth.
“Oh, my God, Jessie. I never thought . . . If Millstone’s DNA wasn’t on digital file that could explain why Cook didn’t get a hit on that second sample. And if we can confirm that second sample is Millstone’s, then odds are that Chief Cook can solve his old murder case.” Sam rambled on for what felt like an eternity, trying to console her, but finally she said, “Yeah, I’ll look to see what I can find. And I’ll call you the minute I know something.”
“Thanks, Sam.”
Jessie ended the call, knowing she’d never get to sleep. She had too much to try to remember—and way too much she’d never forget.
She’d contact Seth in the morning, first thing, but confronting Chief Cook face-to-face weighed heavy on her mind. She had to know why he’d lied to her about the DNA analysis. Did he already know what Sam had promised to find out, about her possible connection to her childhood abuser?
According to Cook, his men had missed getting an interview with Sophia Tanner. The interview had been missing from the murder book, but what if that original document had been taken from the evidence on purpose, to cover up the truth?
And if Cook had been behind that cover-up, why would he have gone through the motions of interviewing the woman again? He could have blown Jessie off and made excuses. There was plenty for her to be suspicious about and not enough cold hard facts, but the chief of police in La Pointe would be the man to see.
Had he held back the truth to spare her feelings, or was he protecting someone? Either way, Jessie wanted to look Cook in the eye and dare him to lie to her again.
Chapter 11
Waiting had never been Alexa’s thing. It gave her too much time to dwell on Kinkaid’s predicament, but something else was eating at her. And she had to say something to Garrett. When she found him hunkered down next to Hank, she moved closer and spoke in a hushed tone.
“What happens when Perez sees Kinkaid?” She didn’t wait for Garrett to say anything. “If it’s true that bastard killed Jackson’s wife and kid, then he’d know Kinkaid on sight. Once he sets eyes on him, he’ll know he’s not you. The masquerade would be over. All Perez has to do is pull the trigger, or order it done.”
Garrett didn’t act surprised to hear what she’d said. He only heaved a sigh as he turned his back on Hank.
“I’m sure Kinkaid knew that going in,” he told her. “I tried to warn you. He’s not planning on walking away from this.”
Until now, Alexa had thought of this as a rescue mission, but nothing could be farther from the truth. She turned away and didn’t say anything more. She didn’t want the moonlight to out her to Garrett as her eyes filled with tears. Whatever Kinkaid had planned, he was going out in a big way. And the odds were against him, even with Garrett’s team being outside the stone walls of the Perez estate.
Jackson Kinkaid was beyond saving.
“What was so important that couldn’t wait?” Manolo Quintanilla Perez said in his native tongue.
Ramon Guerrero clenched his jaw as the drug-cartel boss stared at him and Miguel Rosas, his number two man. Perez hadn’t offered them a seat. He’d made them wait to see him while he relaxed. And now they stood in front of him as the big man sat behind a massive cherrywood desk in the study of his estate. He leaned back in his leather chair as he sipped a fine Cognac from a crystal snifter.
Rosas was about to open his mouth to speak first, but Guerrero couldn’t let that happen. The American had been his to find, and he wasn’t about to let Rosas take credit for his diligence or downplay his part, not after he’d made the call to Perez that had brought him there.
“My men took a hostage in Juarez, a very influential American. His name is Garrett Wheeler and he claims that you know him.”
