Page 36 of All Mine

Page List


Font:  

Derek broke down, sobbing. “I… I didn’t mean to… but she’s gone…”

Ken shook his head. He was disgusted by Derek. Sarah hadn't deserved that. Sarah was a good person who just wanted a better life—she didn’t deserve to have that ripped away.

"I didn't mean to kill her!" Derek exclaimed. "But we were fighting, and she picked up my gun, and it just--it just went off."

Derek's voice was starting to break up. Ken wasn't sure he was able to understand everything he said.

"So, Derek, you killed your wife," Nicky said.

"She made me do it! She made me!" Derek said. "She had to pay. I didn't mean to hurt her. I didn't mean to kill her. But I did." Then, Derek started bawling uncontrollably again. "I killed my wife, okay? I did it.”

Ken shook his head. This wasn't the kind of thing you could ever get used to.

Nicky leaned down. "Derek, you're going to go to jail for a long time," she said. "But we can help you, if you start talking to us. We can help you get some mental health care."

Derek screamed. "No! No! I don't need any help. I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't mean to kill Sarah."

"Where's the body?" Nicky said.

Being asked point blank seemed to make Derek sweat. His eyes were darting all over the place, like he’d been backed into a corner and he knew it. Finally, he said, “I, it’s…”

“Derek,” Nicky warned. “It’s over. Tell us where Sarah is so we can bring her home.”

"I dumped it in the woods. I didn't know what else to do."

Jesus,Ken thought. It was so cold, so evil. To kill the woman who’d married you and just leave her body out there in the woods for the animals to feast on.

"Did you kill anyone else?" Ken asked.

"No!" Derek cried. "I would never have done that. I didn't mean to kill Sarah. I loved her. I really, really did. I loved her."

There was a change in Derek's demeanor. His eyes narrowed, and he looked at Ken. "I bet you think I'm shitty, huh? You think I'm a loser because I didn't appreciate Sarah. Well, you should never treat your wife like shit. You should appreciate her every day. She's the most important person in your life, so you should treat her that way."

Silence. This guy was beyond crazy, and Ken didn't know what to think about him. He definitely belonged behind bars, that was for sure. But if he killed Sarah, did he also kill Meghan Salinger? There would be a motive for Sarah--but there didn't seem to be anything linking Derek to Meghan.

Nicky must've been thinking the same thing, because on her phone, she pulled up a photo of Meghan Salinger and shoved it in Derek's face.

"Do you recognize this woman?" Nicky demanded.

Derek looked at her and scowled. "What? No!"

"You sure about that?" Nicky said. "Because she looks pretty familiar to me."

"That's not Sarah," Derek said. "That's not my wife. I would know. That girl looks different."

"You're right, she's not your wife," Nicky said. "This is another woman who went missing. And I think you know something about it."

"I don't know anything about that girl," Derek said. "I haven't seen her. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb with us, Derek," Nicky said, "because we're going to figure out what's going on, just like we did with Sarah."

"I'm telling you," Derek pleaded, "I killed Sarah by accident, but I don't know who that other chick is!"

Ken didn't know what to think. All he knew was that if he was being honest with himself, he felt like Derek was actually telling the truth on this one. Ken didn't think that Derek was the guy who killed Meghan Salinger. There was just no connection between them, and it’d make no sense.

Either way, they needed to take him in.

Nicky slapped cuffs on Derek. "Derek Mills, you're under arrest for the murder of Sarah Mills..."


Tags: Blake Pierce Mystery