All the Missing Pieces

by Catherine Cowles

“It wasn’t that light-your-soul-on-fire love. It was comfortable love,” I admitted. “You deserve that burn-everything-to-the-ground love.”

“Can I ask you a question?” That buzz intensified, making my muscles almost vibrate. It was like that feeling of being at the top of a roller coaster, knowing you were about to fall. Ezra’s expression grew puzzled. “Sure.” “Did you know Emerson Sinclair?” I watched as his body language changed, could see as the wave of tension washed over him. Ezra’s jaw tightened and his eyes went hard. The jolly coffee enthusiast was gone, and I knew I’d made a miscalculation on whom to approach first. Shit.

Dean nodded. “Different dads but the same mom. He’s like ten years older, but they’re tight.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but it wasn’t her voice that rang out. It was a masculine one, a familiar one. And it was full of fury. “Get the hell off my sister’s property.”

My whole worldview had changed that day; everything seemed darker. I’d ditched my plan to open a bar with Trey and went to the academy instead. And that didn’t exactly help my perspective. Instead of seeing the best in humanity, I started to see the worst.

Marsha: If you let them know that beautiful heart of yours, that warrior spirit, there’s no way they won’t be on your side. And they are so damn lucky to have you as their champion.

A figure flashed in my vision, and then something hit me full force, and I was falling.

I hadn’t been taken out by an intruder. I’d been taken out by my three-legged cat.

All blonds ages sixteen to twenty-four. Athletes who excelled at their chosen sport. It wasn’t always the same one, everything from tennis to soccer to gymnastics. They were state champions, medal winners, scholarship recipients. All were high-achieving students as well, and when I’d done a deeper dive there, I’d found out they had all been members of the National Honor Society.

I flipped to the next page, my finger following down the list of names. Some missing persons cases. Some open murder cases. That finger stopped on the name that burned. Avery Bennett. Victim number ten. Lacrosse player. Arizona State Champion. National Honor Society. National Merit Scholar. Recipient of the Hayes Fellowship for sports medicine. Daughter. Sister. Gone. As if she’d disappeared into thin air, never to be seen again. “I’m going to find you, Avs. I promise.” No matter how many interfering sheriffs got in my way. No matter what accusations they threw at me. I would find my sister, my twin. Whatever it took.

Because if this was the perpetrator’s first crime, a bungled one at that, there was a good chance they’d left more clues behind here than anywhere else. There was even a possibility the unsub had lived in Shady Cove at the time. Maybe they still did.

Trey’s throat worked as he swallowed. “I’d been camping. Spotty service. So I didn’t get the text from Colt that Emmie was gone until an hour or so after he’d sent it. But the moment I did, I packed up and got back in my truck. Everyone was out searching, and I told them I’d do the same. Pure dumb luck I hit the road she was walking down.” He let out a shuddering breath, and suddenly it was like he wasn’t looking at me at all. “I’ll never forget it as long as I live, my headlights hitting her. She was limping, blood staining one side of her clothes, holding her arm close to her body the best she could. Terrified out of her mind.”

Celia’s brows flew up. “On your radio show?” I fought the grin that wanted to surface. “It’s not actually on the radio.” “You know what I mean. I can’t be bothered to keep up with what they call all this stuff. From the Ticker Tocker to the graham cracker. It’s all too much for these old bones.”

“I need to go,” Bryan said, swinging his legs around the bench. “We barely talked—” The coach cut me off with a shake of his head. “It was a mistake. I shouldn’t have said I’d meet you. Good luck, Miss Sawyer, but don’t contact me again.” My jaw dropped. I’d had interviews end abruptly before, but it was usually because I’d touched on a sore spot. I watched as Bryan crossed to his sleek sedan just as Grady Smith climbed out of his truck. And the glare Grady leveled at Bryan was one that would’ve had me swallowing my tongue.

Because sometimes a detail, no matter how tiny, could break a case wide-open.

Grady prowled toward me one step and then another, like a panther poised to attack. “Now I see you. You think you’re gonna come in here and pin this all on me? Not gonna happen.” His hand lashed out. “You don’t wanna know what happens to nosy little bitches—” A figure stepped between us. The way the sun was angled in the sky, he was pure shadow to me. But somehow I still recognized him. The broad shoulders and dark hair. But more, the aura that radiated around him. That aura had turned to pissed-the-hell-off as he glared down at Grady. “Don’t even think of laying hands on her.”

Trey had keys to my place, and if Bowser would listen to anyone, it was him.

Colt’s deep-brown eyes darkened to black. “Ridley—” “Don’t,” I snapped. “I forgave you once. Forgave you for being a dick of epic proportions at least three times. But now I’m done. Just stay the hell away from me.” And with that I slammed the door right in his face.

I focused on that instead of him. I’d take the book’s judgment over Trey’s any day. But it was just as accusing. And it had every right to be. A different sort of prejudice lived inside me, but it was prejudice all the same.

I clapped Ezra on the shoulder. “Thanks for caring about my sister.” He glanced up at me, his ruddy complexion back to normal. “Of course. We take care of our own, right?”

“I’ll tell you what: you record that first episode this summer, and I’ll take a listen whenever you’re done. Give you notes.” Dean’s eyes widened. “Seriously?” “Yup. But you gotta jump.” He grinned, looking more like an excited little boy than an emo teen. “That’s sick. Thanks, Ridley.” And then he took off at a jog in the opposite direction. I couldn’t help but laugh. Sometimes a little purpose was all we needed.

The file was protected by a Ziploc bag, and there was a note inside. Don’t make me regret giving this to you. My heart beat faster, and I opened the bag and pulled out the file. Flipping it open, I saw Emerson’s name at the top. I recognized the pages I’d been given previously, only this time there were no blacked-out sections. It was a completely unredacted copy of the case file.

Tater let out an angry meow, and I turned, but it was too late. Someone grabbed me by my hair and jerked me back. Shock hit my system, panic quick on its heels as a hand closed around my throat, cutting off my air supply. I thrashed and kicked, trying to get at my attacker, but nothing seemed to land. They just squeezed my throat harder as they leveled a brutal blow to my ribs. Spots danced in front of my vision as darkness closed in. A deep voice cut through my gurgled attempts to scream. “Go home, or I won’t let you off this easy next time.”

“Your producer or something?” I asked. I didn’t like that he was conveniently in town the night Ridley was attacked. She nodded. “I’ve been with him for almost three years now.”

“I’ve got you in a guest room with its own bath, so we can sequester the attack cat in there. I had Trey pick up a litter box and the same food that was in your van.”

Colt wasn’t perfect, but he was kind. His words might not always be the best, but his actions always were. And I’d take actions over pretty lies any day.

“All of the victims were blond. Ages sixteen to twenty-four.” Colt’s dark eyes cut to me. He didn’t voice his doubts or tell me that wasn’t enough, but I could feel them. So I pressed on. “All athletes, but not just any athletes—the stars. Ones who won state championships or received awards.” Colt leaned forward, setting his takeout containers on the edge of the deck railing. The hook had caught hold. He was really listening now. “They were all incredibly good students, recipients of scholarships, on every kind of honor roll.” “All high achievers,” Colt said, pulling the strands together. I nodded. “Every single one was a member of the National Honor Society.”

“I was having an affair.” The words tumbled out of Kerr’s mouth so quickly it took a second for me to understand them. Colt straightened, head turning just enough so that I could see the flutter of muscle along his jaw. “Bullshit. You would’ve said. No one would take a murder charge over their wife finding out they were fucking around.” Kerr’s hands tightened in his lap, knuckles bleaching white as the blood drained from his face. “It was with a student.”

“Tara Gibson,” Kerr whispered. “She was seventeen. It was legal in most states, but—” “Not in California, you sack of shit,” Colt snarled. “You knew your ass would be fired, and you’d be blacklisted from any future teaching or coaching jobs. Not to mention your ass would’ve ended up in jail, and they don’t take too kindly to men like you there.” The coach’s head lifted. “You won’t tell, right? Promise me you won’t tell. My wife—” Colt scoffed. “You’re disgusting. She was your student, your athlete. Not only were you twenty-five years her senior, but you were in a position of power over her. Your wife is the least of your worries.”

“We’re going to get him,” she vowed. “I know.” Because I knew both of us were too damned determined for it to be any other way. “But what else are we going to find along the way? How many monsters? I’m not sure I can handle knowing the reality behind the people I’ve been living alongside my entire life.”

Through the window, I caught sight of Trey working in the garden. A wheelbarrow sat to the side, already half-full of what looked like weeds. And I didn’t miss that Trey himself had lost his T-shirt somewhere along the line. As I lowered myself into one of the two overstuffed chairs by the window, I noticed Emerson’s gaze lingering on Trey. I didn’t blame her. If I hadn’t been so caught up in her brother, I would’ve taken advantage of that view a little longer.

Rounding the corner, I found Emerson standing in the living room alone.

It has to be Trey

“Where’s Trey?” I asked. Emerson swallowed, her fingers digging into her sides. “I told him I needed a minute. He went out front to return a call.”

Then I frowned, nose scrunching. There was hair on the desk. The worst possible reason for such a thing filled my mind, but then I realized it was a wig. A mix of blond and gray. And then what looked like skin but I finally realized were prosthetics.

“Ah, she’s finally awake.” I whirled at the voice. I should’ve recognized it earlier. Should’ve known. But it was different somehow. Younger? The face that greeted me certainly was. No paunch or jowls. No wrinkles at all. He didn’t look decades older than me. Not now. But I knew those eyes, even if they had morphed with disgust. “Sully?” I croaked.

Oh i was totally off base

“What about him?” Trey asked, tapping a photo in the yearbook. It was a shot of Emerson with a guy I didn’t recognize. He was young. Maybe five or six years older than her, and it looked like he was instructing her on a swing. Emerson frowned down at the book. “That was one of those clinics Coach signed us up for. Shawn Sullivan. He was All-American, just out of college. He—” Emerson’s words cut off as she started to shake. Trey dropped the book, his arm going around her. “Emmie, what’s wrong?” She stared straight ahead, but I knew she wasn’t seeing the room in front of her. “Grape Bubblicious.” Everything in me stilled and then instantly went wired. It was the one thing law enforcement had kept from the press. The scent of grape Emerson had identified. “He always chewed grape Bubblicious gum. Always.” Emerson’s gaze shot to me. “Was it him? Was it Shawn?”

Sully’s face twisted into a grin that was as far from warm and comforting as you could get. “What’s the matter, Rids? Don’t recognize me without the old-man getup?” I wanted to look at what I’d seen on the table, the wig and the prosthetics, but I was too terrified to take my gaze off the man getting closer and closer. It wasn’t just the absence of wrinkles, graying hair, and a paunch. Sully even moved differently now, more agilely. Like he could strike at any moment. “Who. Are. You?” I croaked, the pain in my side intensifying as I struggled to catch my breath. The man I knew as Sully made a tsking sound. “Come on now, Rids. You know me. But you should’ve been paying closer attention. Because you saw me before I ever started editing your goddamned show.”

“That’s the best part about it, Rids. You’re a living, breathing reminder of possibly my favorite kill. Hell, I know it is, and that’s thanks to you.” I shuddered, pulling the rope tauter as I struggled to get free. “It’s you reminding me of her that makes it the best one. I get to relive it all every time I hear your voice. It was worth those countless months of classes on audio editing. Worth playing the idiot fan of your show to get in on the ground floor. Because every time you speak, it’s like she’s still here. It’s really too bad I have to kill you and lose that. But maybe killing you is going to be the best of all. Because it’ll be like killing her all over again.”

“The FBI has been going over his RV and a storage unit in Alabama for the past thirty or so hours. He kept journals. Maps. Trophies. It turns out his mother was a high-achieving athlete, blond, beautiful. She walked out on him and his father when he was quite young. And it sounds like his dad filled his head with a lot of opinions on women like that—they were both special and the devil incarnate. But there’s a history of behavioral issues reaching back to when Shawn was in middle school, ones that should’ve been a red flag.”

My eyes flared. “You pulled me out…” Those shadows danced in his dark depths, but there was heat in them too. “What choice did I have? You jumped off a fucking cliff.” My eyes narrowed. “You didn’t have to jump after me.” Colt’s hand tightened around mine. “Always going to jump after you.”

Trey and Emerson on the edge of the grass. His head was bent, and even from this distance, I could tell he spoke gentle words to her. It wasn’t a gentleness borne of thinking she was weak. It was one that came because of her importance to him.

“She’s with us. Had a talk with her this morning. Thanked her for bringing you to me. For giving me back a life with light and joy and belief in the good.” More tears fell. “Colt, you helped me find all the missing pieces. Even the ones I didn’t realize I needed.”