Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 91212 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91212 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
I take a seat in the living room, wondering if I'm going to get the chance to sleep tonight.
There was an hour and a half between informing Cora about her sister and heading to the airport, making it after two in the morning now.
I don't have much that I can do right at this very moment. I didn't want to have to get ICE involved with this situation, but they're involved with the Full Deck Killer.
I've read about the case in the past, catching stories from agents working it on occasion, but never really paid much attention to it. I work in sex trafficking, and although Sadie had a weak link to Daydreamer's Spa and now has been murdered, there's not a strong enough link to think that the killer has any ties to sex trafficking.
Sadie's body was left with the two of hearts shoved into the bullet wound that ended her life.
Research on this man or woman is extensive even though it hasn't led to any arrests. It's believed that the hearts suit are connected to murders hired out by someone who once loved those they're paying to have killed. It strengthens the idea that we're looking in the right direction by focusing on William Preston Jr.
If it were a spade, then we'd look to a business associate. A club would've pointed us toward someone in their personal life. No diamonds have been found yet, so there isn't any speculation as to what one of those would mean. And, of course, all any department has is speculation. It's all circumstantial because no one has gotten close enough to even question a suspect, despite many agents thinking they're on the right track.
The closest they've gotten is solving a case by the person hiring the hitman confessing to hiring out the job, but the hitman wasn't disclosed. They swore that they had no idea who it was, and for the man to have stayed in operation for as long as he has, that guy was probably telling the truth.
They've used the information they've uncovered trying to set up a hit in order to draw him in, but the man has never taken the bait.
The most anyone can hope to get out of this entire situation is William's confession.
Because catching the Full Deck Killer is impossible.
Chapter 22
Cora
My stomach turns when I roll over in bed, and with the slosh of alcohol in my stomach comes another wave of regret.
Sadie is gone, dead only a couple of days after I sent her away for the last time.
I feel responsible, even though, realistically, I know this could've been the outcome any one of the times she left with her greedy hands full.
I feel like a failure, as if I failed both of my parents and my brothers, even though nothing they did made her change her ways either. Maybe I feel more responsible because, as a sister, I should've been able to relate to her on a level they couldn't reach.
It's clear I'm in a hotel room, although the memory of getting here seems more like an out-of-reach dream, much like the way Sadie felt when I saw her in my sleep. She was always just beyond my grasp, taunting me for not being able to clasp her hand. If that isn't a depiction of how she led her actual life then I don't know what is.
Sadie always wanted people to show they cared until they called her actions into question. We were expected to love her unconditionally, no matter how many times she snapped and snarled at us. If only I had held off one more time, maybe I wouldn't feel like I'm being buried under so much grief that I can hardly breathe.
I sit up on the side of the bed, my head swimming for longer than it should, before my eyes regain focus.
I feel isolated and lonely, much like I imagined some of those students back at the college felt earlier in the day, but there's no sun for me to bask in. There's no place for me to seek refuge.
But there is, isn't there?
Eddie has to be nearby. He was on the plane with me, and if my shattered memories aren't mistaken, he brought me to this hotel room.
I stand from the bed, nearly tripping over the bag of belongings I packed in a rush so we could catch our flight out of Reagan.
I carry the bag to the bathroom, making sure to brush my teeth extra well before washing my face and changing into clothes better suited for sleep.
I know it's a very bad idea to bypass the bed and go seek out wherever Eddie may be, but that doesn't stop my feet from carrying me in his direction.
His room is as dark as the one I woke up in, the only light coming from above the stove in the tiny kitchenette.