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Justice(59)

By:Jennifer Harlow


Cam comes down the stairs before I can flee, still holding a handkerchief to his mouth. He lowers it when he sees me. More pity. I can’t abide it. Never could. “I’m fine,” I say before he can open his mouth.

“Of course you are,” he says as he approaches.

“Look, can you take my statement? I have to meet Justin’s plane.”

“Does he know? What about next of kin?”

“I don’t know. Her father’s dead, but I guess her ex-husband should be notified. He’s in prison in Donnersville. I think his name’s Micah, but I don’t know the last name. Oh, her brother’s in the Army. He’s overseas, I don’t know where. His name’s Sam.”

“We’ll find them,” Cam assures me.

“Okay.” I glance at the photos, suddenly feeling sick again. “Can we do this in the kitchen, please?”

“Sure. Of course.”

Techs work in there too. Nothing seems out of place, not even the Disney princess placemats on the table. I sit in front of Snow White with Cam beside me. He takes out his pad. “I was supposed to meet them at Millicent’s Bridal Boutique at noon. Approximately forty-five minutes after I arrived, a salesgirl told me that the Thorntons hadn’t shown up and could not be reached by telephone. I called the house and Rebecca’s cell, but there was no response on either, I decided to check on them here. When I arrived approximately twenty minutes later, the car was in the driveway, and the front door was unlocked. When I opened the door, I could smell the acid and blood and called for back-up. There was no one on the first floor, and no signs of struggle. When I went upstairs, I found all three Thorntons dead. The only things I touched were the front and back door handles, the neck of the corpse in the hallway who I can positively identify as Marnie Thornton, and the wrist of the child Daisy Thornton. I did not allow anyone to enter the house until CSI arrived. Um, I know I’m forgetting something. I covered…”

Cam pats my hand. “You got it all, Jo.”

“Did the ME determine time of death?”

“Looks to be about 6:30 this morning.”

“What do you think happened?”

“As best we can tell, he either found a spare key or picked the lock. The older woman must have heard him or was up already, and he shot acid into her face and neck area to keep her quiet. If this alerted the other two, we don’t know yet. We assume yes, because Dr. Thornton has a broken nose.”

Harry steps in without a word and hangs back by the fridge. He folds his arms and gazes at me. I can’t look back. “Um, there was a splotch of blood down the hallway,” I say.

“There’s a contusion on the back of the child’s head. We think he threw her against the wall and knocked her out there. After he was done with the mother, he carried the child to her bed and smothered her.”

“He didn’t…” I can’t even fathom it.

“No, she was fully clothed and there are no other marks on her besides the head wound.”

Thank God for small mercies. “Rebecca was the target.”

“Yes. He subdued her, restrained her, and killed her.”

“Were there signs of sexual assault?”

He hesitates, but says, “Yes. I’m sorry.”

“That’s not his M.O., Grace Pickering notwithstanding.”

“None of this is his M.O. There’s no way we could have predicted this.” He clears his throat. “Do you have any idea why he targeted the Thorntons? Did any of them mention someone following them? Anything out of the ordinary?”

“No.” I avert my eyes down to the tile floor. “But, um, at the party last night, I think I saw Alkaline.”

“What?” Cam asks.

“At the time, I didn’t think it was him. I only saw him for a second.” I look at Harry. “And I had a lot to drink last night.” I look away again. “He had a beard and glasses on, but after this it had to be him.”

“How sure are you?” Harry asks.

“Now? Ninety percent. It just happened so fast. He walked right by me, didn’t even acknowledge my presence. I turned to get a second look, but I couldn’t see him.”

“You didn’t think to call this in?” Cam asks.

“Like I said, I was drunk and upset, and it wasn’t the first time I thought I saw him. Not to mention the fact that there was security everywhere and the only way past them was by invitation, which was checked at the door.”

“Okay, I’ll call the hotel and get the security footage from last night,” Cam says. “Is there anything else you remember about him?”