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It was almost half past four and her appointment had been at three-thirty. Dana glanced at the receptionist. She’d apologized repeatedly for the wait.
But it wasn’t the wait that had Dana’s tension escalating. It was second thoughts.
Was she making a mistake by starting this? Should she leave the past in the past? She was twenty-nine years old. What difference did it make now? Learning the truth wouldn’t change anything. Her sister would still be dead. In reality, the truth would change nothing at all that mattered.
What did she hope to accomplish?
Dana closed her eyes. Peace. That was her goal. She couldn’t live with the uncertainty or the nightmares. Not anymore. The longer this went on, the more detailed and intense the nightmares became.
It was time to have closure.
To know the truth…whatever the cost. Whatever it accomplished.
“Ms. Hall?”
Dana looked up, then stood. “Yes.”
The older woman who’d called her name smiled. “I’m Mildred Ballard, Victoria’s personal assistant. I apologize for the wait. Victoria can see you now. This way, please.”
Dana followed Ms. Ballard along a long, lushly carpeted corridor until they reached a smaller, but every bit as impressive, lobby. Ms. Ballard indicated the double doors across the carpeted expanse. “Go right in, Ms. Hall. Victoria is waiting.”
As the older woman took her seat behind her desk, Dana gathered her fleeing courage and walked toward the double doors. She was doing the right thing. No question. She couldn’t continue to live this way. She had to know the truth, and this was the only way.
The Colby Agency came highly recommended. Not one she’d looked into had a better reputation. The agency’s long-standing in the business and priority on discretion sealed her decision.
Dana opened the doors and entered the elegantly appointed office of Victoria Colby-Camp, head of the prestigious Colby Agency. The woman in charge stood in greeting.
“Ms. Hall, welcome to the Colby Agency.”
Dana summoned a smile. “I appreciate your personal attention to my case, Ms. Colby-Camp.”
“Call me Victoria.” The head of the agency directed Dana to one of the chairs flanking her desk. “I give my personal attention to all our clients.”
Dana’s spine stiffened with continued uncertainty as she lowered into the upholstered chair. This was good, wasn’t it? Assuredly she couldn’t complain about not getting her money’s worth if the woman in charge saw to Dana’s needs personally.
Victoria reclaimed the seat behind her desk. “How can my agency help you, Ms. Hall?”
“Dana, please.” Dana took a breath. “I suppose I should start at the beginning.” When Victoria nodded, Dana continued. “I’m from a small town in Indiana. Brighton. My family and I lived there until…my sister was murdered when I was thirteen. My sister and I are…were twins. I’m looking for closure. I’m hoping the Colby Agency can help me find it.”
Victoria leaned forward and penned a note on a file that likely had Dana’s name on it. “A tragedy such as that is difficult to move past. I’m sure you were all devastated.”
Dana managed a wooden nod. “At first we tried to move on with our lives, but considering the murders went unsolved, staying in Brighton was impossible.”
“Murders?”
Dana swallowed tightly. “My sister was one of three victims murdered that fall. All three were local children. They died within mere days of each other. The whole community was devastated.”
Sympathy etched itself across Victoria’s brow. “Does the case remain on active status or has it been officially closed?”
Dana shrugged. “My mother receives calls from time to time whenever some new-to-the-force deputy decides to take a look at the town’s most infamous case. Nothing has ever come of it. The case has been cold for nearly a decade now.”
“But,” Victoria offered, “you need to know the truth. Closure, as you said.”
Dana’s heart pounded harder with each passing moment. “Yes.” The word was scarcely a whisper. She needed the truth. She needed to face the past or put it behind her once and for all. So far she’d been able to do neither on her own nor with the help of a psychiatrist.
Victoria braced her elbows on her desk and steepled her fingers. “Losing a family member is difficult under any circumstances,” she said gently. “But losing a twin is like losing a part of yourself.”
Echoes of memories whispered in Dana’s ears. She moistened her lips. “Yes.” It was a nightmare…one that wouldn’t end. “My mother and I faced a second blow when six months after we moved from Brighton my father committed suicide.” She fought back the emotion that accompanied thoughts of that time. “He blamed himself for not taking better care of us.”
After a moment’s consideration, Victoria said, “William Spencer is a member of our Recon Team, a division of the Colby Agency created specifically to find the missing. Though the children in this situation are deceased, the truth is missing.” Victoria settled a reassuring gaze upon Dana. “The members of this team are the best in the business, Dana. If it’s humanly possible to find the truth for you, Spence will find it.”
Victoria checked what appeared to be a large desk calendar. “I’d like you to meet Spence. We’ll go over the details you remember and determine a starting place and strategy.” She reached for the phone on her desk and gifted Dana with another reassuring smile. “You can take a deep breath, Dana. The Colby Agency will find the answers you’re looking for.”
Dana wished she could take a deep breath…wished that what she felt at those sincere and comforting words was relief, but the truth was, in this case, she felt fear. Fear and dread.
Was she putting the past behind her…or the rest of her life?
WILLIAM SPENCER TYPED the conclusion and hit Print. His first “final” field report was finished. He’d worked six months for the Colby Agency before being assigned a case where he was the primary investigator. Until then he’d done research and assessments. It felt good to be a full-fledged Colby investigator. The work here gave him a sense of accomplishment and self-satisfaction—something that had been sorely missing in his former career as a child advocacy attorney.
He gritted his teeth when he considered the numerous times he’d helped remove a child from harm’s way only to have another judge overrule the decision and place the child right back into dangerous territory—typically with his or her own mother or father. The last child he’d rescued using his legal expertise had been returned to his mother and stepfather only to end up dead twenty-four hours later.
Spence had walked away from his firm. Enough was enough. He wanted to be at a place where his efforts actually did some good for the long term. Landing at the Colby Agency was the best thing that could have happened to him, professionally as well as personally.
A distinct buzz drew his attention to the telephone on his desk. Anticipation zinged through him. He pressed the speaker button. “Spence.”
“Spence,” Victoria said, “I have a client, Ms. Dana Hall, in my office. Could you join us?”
“Absolutely.” His pulse quickened as he tapped the speaker button to end the connection and grabbed his notepad and pen. The idea of being assigned a new case immediately after completing his first had him practically sprinting toward Victoria’s office.
Grinning, he gave Mildred a little salute. She smiled back at him. That was another thing he loved about working at the Colby Agency. The staff operated like one big family. Since he had no family of his own, not since he was sixteen anyway, the camaraderie filled a long, empty void.
As he entered the boss’s office, she announced, “Ms. Hall, this is William Spencer.”
The obviously nervous client extended her hand as he approached. “Mr. Spencer,” she said softly.
“Ms. Hall.” Spence gave her a firm handshake then settled into the chair next to hers.
Dana Hall was blond and petite. She dressed like most female white-collar professionals, skirt and matching jacket, with a starched white blouse and practical shoes. But it was the big brown eyes filled with sadness and intense worry that overwhelmed her attractive oval face. This was a lady with heavy personal baggage. He knew that look.
Victoria briefly reviewed Ms. Hall’s situation. Spence had to admit that he was a little surprised he was chosen for the case considering the three children involved were deceased, more specifically murdered. The only homicide he’d been involved with had happened in the present. Personally, he wasn’t sure he was the right man for the job. But he trusted Victoria’s judgment. She had a reason for asking him to sit in on this meeting. And if she asked him to take the case, she had her reasons for that as well.
“I’d like to be closely involved with the investigation,” Ms. Hall said when Victoria had finished bringing Spence up to speed. “The police haven’t been very cooperative with any of my past efforts. I need to have an active part in solving this painful mystery once and for all.”
“That’s understandable,” Victoria granted. She turned her attention to Spence. “Ms. Hall’s participation will likely be an asset, don’t you agree?”
“I do,” Spence concurred. Dana Hall would know those closest to the victims and would likely recall the players involved in the official police investigation that followed the murders.
“I’d like to get started as soon as possible,” Dana went on to say. “I’ve lived with this a very long time. It will be a tremendous relief to put this behind me. The sooner the better.”
When she spoke of the murders, she avoided eye contact with him, Spence noted. There could be a number of reasons for that, none of which were particularly good. “I’m available immediately.” He’d finished the final report on his last assignment. There was no reason he couldn’t get started right away.
Dana met his eyes now. “When can we leave?”
Brighton was only a few hours’ drive from Chicago. “I’ll make the necessary arrangements this evening, and we’ll meet here at nine tomorrow morning. We can be there shortly after noon.” She nodded and he went on. “I’d like you to compile a list of any relevant details and names you recall that we haven’t already discussed. We’ll go over those on the way and lay out our strategy.”
Dana took an audible breath. “Excellent.”
As the meeting concluded, Spence watched Dana interact with Victoria. Every instinct warned him that the lady wasn’t being completely open. He had worked with the parents of abused and neglected children long enough to recognize deception on any level when he saw it. This lady was hiding something…something she understood was relevant to the case.
The only question was why.
Chapter Three
Brighton, Indiana
Dana hadn’t been back to her birthplace in sixteen years.
Nothing had changed.
Brighton was one of those towns where time seemed to stand still.
Her stomach twisted into knots as if her thirteenth birthday had been just yesterday. Images from the party…her and her sister, Donna, wearing silly pink party hats. Balloons floated everywhere and the clown dancing around the room laughed loudly. Dozens of kids played and sang—then everyone had gone home. Night had come and their parents had tucked them into bed. They’d giggled and whispered, too excited to go to sleep. Donna had wanted to sneak out to play in the woods behind their house. Dana hadn’t wanted to…but she’d caved beneath her sister’s pleading. She’d never been able to say no to Donna.
Dana remembered playing in the damp grass beneath the moonlight. Even now she could almost feel the wet blades tickling her toes…the crisp air whispering against her skin.
But she remembered nothing beyond that.
In the wee hours of the following morning, after an intensive search by local authorities and neighbors, she and her sister had been found deep in the woods behind their home. Her sister was dead, and Dana was disoriented and suffering from mild exposure.
Dana blinked away the past, stared out the car window at the storefronts lining the main street that split the town in half. A left turn would take one to the downtown area where the courthouse dominated a well-manicured square of shops and offices. Beyond the town square were neat rows of streets dotted with brick ranch homes and painted bungalows. A right turn revealed the smaller, mostly rundown homes of the poorer residents. The railroad, light industry and warehouses were interspersed with blocks of tiny duplexes and walk-up apartment buildings. A mile or so outside the town limits lay a stretch of road with a few scattered houses surrounded by big yards and woodlands.
Home.
A place so calm and quiet. Not at all the type of town where one expected to encounter evil.
But it had been here.
And now she was back.
Would anyone suspect her motive?
Or her?
“Dana?”
Banishing the disturbing thoughts, she dragged her attention back to the driver. “Sorry, I was lost in thought.”
“Which way to the police department?”
Dana frowned, surveyed the street name on the corner sign and dredged her memory banks for the directions. The last letter her mother had received from the chief had been from the same old address. “Two more red lights then right. You’ll see the building on your left, I believe.”
William Spencer, or Spence as his colleagues called him, focused on making the turns she’d suggested. Dana studied his profile. He wore his dark brown hair short. His eyes were equally dark. Thirty-six. Law school graduate. She’d looked him up on Google the night before. He’d graduated at the top of his class and gone on to work at one of Chicago’s most prestigious law firms. But then the county had persuaded him to give up half his income to work as a child advocacy attorney. Married once. Then divorced. No children. He’d worked at the Colby Agency for only eight months.
Fear that she’d started something she would regret abruptly clasped around Dana’s chest. She should just let the past go.
But then she would never know.
“Here we are.”
Spence braked to a stop in the parking lot. Dana stared at the long, drab brick building that housed the police and fire departments. Despite the air-conditioning in the car, perspiration dampened her skin as her heart thumped harder and harder.
“Chief Gerard is expecting us.”
Dana heard the words Spence said, but the larger part of her attention was focused on the official lettering sprawled across the glass entry she’d last entered sixteen years ago.
“Dana.”
Dana gave herself a mental shake and reached for the car door. “Right.” Chief Gerard had struggled through the town’s first homicide case. Her sister’s case.
Sherry’s and Joanna’s case.
Three victims…three unsolved murders within a week in a town small enough that everyone knew everyone else. Three young girls killed by someone they apparently knew since there were no signs of struggle. How was it possible that no one admitted to having the first clue who that someone was?
Stop. Dana slammed the car door and squared her shoulders. She had to stop allowing her thoughts to go down that path. Focus. She had to focus and let this man—she glanced at William Spencer—do his job. He was the expert here…she was just the desperate client.
And maybe, just maybe, she would learn that she wasn’t the one who’d killed her own sister…and two of her best friends.
SPENCE WATCHED Dana Hall closely as they waited for Chief Gerard to finish an afternoon meeting that had, according to his secretary, run over. Dana’s emotions appeared to vacillate between high anxiety and extreme dread. The anxiousness was to be expected. The dread, however, surprised him. This was a woman who had clearly suffered for years due to not knowing what really happened to her sister. She’d sought the Colby Agency’s help in finding the truth. Despite her insistence that she needed to learn what happened sixteen years ago, she appeared to fear learning that truth.
Spence recognized the symptoms. The woman knew something she wasn’t sharing. In his experience with the parents of abused or neglected children, he’d seen those very symptoms time and time again. The burden of guilt weighed on most, even when their instincts urged them to protect themselves. No one wanted to face the reality of what they had done much less the consequences related to the act or acts.
But what had Dana Hall done besides find herself a victim of the most heinous of crimes?
“I realize,” Spence began, “this is difficult.”
Dana Hall jumped as if he’d startled her from her thoughts. “I’m sorry.” She cleared her throat. “What did you say?”
Seriously distracted. To some degree that was to be expected. “This is difficult, I know,” he reiterated. “Revisiting a painful past is never easy. But it’s my job to ensure that it goes as smoothly as possible.”
She wet her lips. Until then, he hadn’t noticed how full they were. Incredibly full and rich in color. She blinked, as if clearing her weary eyes of any emotion that might give away her true feelings. “I can handle it.” She glanced around the small office. “I have to.”
Was she attempting to convince him or herself?
“Afternoon, folks.” Chief Gerard hustled into the office, coffee cup in one hand, a stack of files and papers in the other. “I apologize for keeping you waiting.” He shook his head as he rounded his desk. “Sometimes things get a little hairy even in a small town.”
Spence stood. “William Spencer. The Colby Agency,” he said as he shook hands with the chief. “You may remember Dana Hall.”
Dana remained seated, her gaze locked on to the man in charge of local law enforcement.
