“That’s self-defense.” Sam Cross was making copious notes. “Did your mom invite these men to abuse you?”
“She told me I must keep the secret because they put food on our table.” Grayson’s expression changed, going like stone, unemotional soulless eyes moved around the table. “I heard talk about her being a prostitute and didn’t know what it was for some time, but when I did, I realized I was just an added attraction. I did the same to the priest. It was easy to lure him to Uncle Bob’s cabin. I left him there in a pool of blood.”
“Killing your abusers is a defense.” Jo appeared so relaxed as if he’d just told her a fairy story. “Did your mom know you’d killed them?”
“Not until I stabbed her in the throat.” Grayson didn’t as much as blink. “I can still see her face, but I didn’t care. I cleaned up, burned my clothes, and went back to Pete’s house. They didn’t even know I’d gone missing.”
“You were just a little boy in an untenable position.” Jo shook her head. “I’ve seen a picture of your mother. Did seeing Julie, trigger a memory of her?”
“It was the red nails and the way she played with her hair.” Grayson leaned back in his chair and smiled. “All I could see in my head was my mother bleeding out. Watching her die was the best thing in my life. I was free.”
“So, after killing the people at the ski lodge, you figured killing Julie would purge you again?” Jo’s pen hovered a few inches above her notebook.
“Yeah.” Grayson chuckled. “I really enjoyed those.”
Jenna held her breath. Jo had extracted a confession of guilt from Grayson, but Sam Cross dashed her hopes when he jumped to his feet.
“I think that’s enough questions.” Sam Cross stared at his client both eyebrows raised in disbelief.
“Nah, I’ll tell them. I might as well go to jail and be respected.” Grayson smiled at Jo. “If she immortalizes me in her book and agrees to take the death penalty off the table, I’ll be the King of County.”
“Just wait one darn minute.” Sam Cross glared at Grayson. “I make the deals.”
“Not this time.” Grayson smiled. “I’ll have the recognition I deserve.”
“Okay, that’s a deal.” Jo lifted her chin. “What was the reason behind the ski lodge murders?”
“Revenge.” Grayson steepled his fingers, loving the attention. “They’re all responsible for the rejection of my book in one way or another. Not one of them or the authors they represented had my flare for the written word. So, I demonstrated the flaws in the murder scenes by re-creating them. I showed them how they could’ve been written through the eyes of the victim or the killer.” His gaze moved over Jenna and then settled on Jo. “Those idiots were nothing, a mere inconvenience. I have so many stories to tell you, Agent Wells. I hope you’ll be a frequent visitor and we’ll become friends.”
“Oh, I’ll be speaking to you in the future, but I’m not finished here yet.” Jo narrowed her gaze at him. “Why didn’t you kill Julie the night you broke into her room?”
“It wasn’t time and I wanted to play with her some more. Mind games, Agent Wells. Building up the fear before the kill makes it so much better.” Grayson wet his lips. “She was going to be my reward for a job we
ll done.”
There was one thing Jenna had to know. She kept her voice conversational. “What was the significance of the pen?”
“Miss Storm bought that pen after earning her first million in commissions. She used it to sign all the contracts, so I used it in her final contract with death.” Grayson grinned. “A nice twist, don’t you agree?”
“Just one more question: Why leave your mom’s earrings at the first two murder scenes?” Jo leaned forward. “You did remove them from your mother’s body post-mortem, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I ripped them out of her ears. You see, when it’s really good—the killing—I keep things to recall what I was feeling at the time.” Grayson giggled almost childlike. “You want to know why I left the earrings, the ring, and the scarf behind? That’s so easy. I bet most of the authors at the convention could’ve given you the answer. I’m a crime writer. Don’t you know only the very best of us leave a ton of red herrings?”
It took hours to complete the statements and it was three in the morning before Jenna had everything squared away. She’d dragged the DA out of bed to explain everything and he’d arrived at the office to discuss the case with Sam Cross. The deliberations led to Grayson deciding on a guilty plea to all the ski lodge murders and to manslaughter for the cold-case murders in Black Ridge. He would face a judge in the morning and be transferred to county. Jenna’s broken arm throbbed but, exhilarated, she looked round at her exhausted team. “We did it. A full confession.” She hugged Jo. “You are amazing.”
“I’m convinced he’s killed more people.” Jo rubbed her forehead. “I’ll need to delve into his background more closely. Maybe investigate some cold cases in California and I believe he was in Florida for a time too. I’ll get Kalo onto it when we get home.”
After Jenna checked that the deputies from Louan were ready to take over guarding the prisoner overnight, she grabbed the others and they headed for the front door. She looked at her team. “I’m sure looking forward to taking something for my arm and crawling into bed. We don’t have to be in the office until ten. The hearing isn’t until eleven and I have people to cover for us.”
“Hallelujah.” Carter opened the door for her and waved her through. “Tomorrow night we’ll celebrate.”
Epilogue
Over the next day or so, and after saying goodbye to Jo and Carter, it seemed life had returned to normal, apart from the awkwardness between Jenna and Kane. They worked together as smoothly as ever, but being so busy tying up the case, their breakup hadn’t been a priority. But now that the dust had settled, Jenna really hoped they could talk. One thing, Kane hadn’t moved his belongings back to the cottage, made her a little optimistic, but although they’d eat together, like civilized people, the topic of their relationship never came up. Kane would do the chores as usual, but after dinner would go to his room. He’d set up a TV in there and virtually ignored her. They didn’t work out together since she’d broken her arm, and he spent his time pummeling the punching bag, lifting weights, and skipping. They didn’t talk much and, without another case, she had no excuse to disturb him. He always had his head in a book, reading. This worried her as they were becoming like strangers. She’d had a chat with Jo and bared her soul. From what Jo said, some men didn’t like confrontation with women about such things. Her telling him she didn’t want to wait would be enough for Kane to back off—some men just didn’t feel comfortable about being where they weren’t wanted. She considered Kane to be just that type of man. If Jenna wanted to make things right, then she’d have to make the first move.
As the organizers of the crime writers’ convention had invited her, Kane, and Wolfe’s team to the ball at the ski lodge on the weekend, she’d spent a wonderful time the previous afternoon in Helena with Emily and Julie shopping for ballgowns. Jenna smiled to herself. She’d gained a deep respect for crime writers. Not one of them had left the convention, even after they’d been informed about the murders. It seemed the fact the killer had been arrested had made the experience more exciting for them. Many wanted to know the gory details she couldn’t provide, but she had encouraged them to follow the trial for more information.
Jenna worked around Kane, trying to help as he cooked dinner. He’d elected to do just about everything since her injury, but he’d always preferred to prepare the meals and did so with efficiency. She took a deep breath and looked at him as he grilled the steaks. “I thought you would’ve moved back into the cottage when we returned home.”