“It just seems so crazy that you were married to someone who was a serial killer then the first guy you date after that is accused of being a serial killer,” Aggie said.
“It is crazy,” she agreed. “It’s crazy that I met Luke on the anniversary of the day that I killed my husband.”
“In self-defense,” Hope added. “If you hadn’t killed him, he would have killed you.”
“I know, but I still remember what it was like sitting at the police station, giving my statement, wondering if I would be charged with something. I know how Luke must be feeling right now. That’s why I wanted to be there with him. Maybe I should take a cab to the precinct.” Summer knew she wouldn’t relax until she could see Luke with her own two eyes and make sure he was okay. Maybe she could talk to Jonathon and Allina and convince them that they were wrong.
“Nick told you to wait here,” Aggie reminded her.
“I need to know what's happening.”
“And you will soon,” Aggie soothed.
“What if they found something at his apartment that they can twist and use against him?” she worried.
“They obviously have enough evidence against him to convince a judge if they showed up at his apartment this morning with a search warrant,” Hope said.
“It’s all circumstantial,” she protested.
“I'm not disagreeing with you,” Hope said. “I don’t know Luke like you do, but I know he saved our lives when he turned up at your house the other day. All I'm saying is you might have to be prepared for the fact that this might take a while to resolve itself.”
“That is what's worrying me. What if he goes to prison?”
“Try not to jump ahead of yourself,” Aggie said. “Luke isn’t alone, he has his brother, he has you, he has a good lawyer, and he has the fact that he’s innocent.”
“Youaren’t alone either,” Hope said. “I'm glad you finally told us why you hate Valentine’s Day so badly.”
“You could have told us earlier,” Aggie said, a hint of reproach in her tone. “Did you believe we would think differently of you because of what your husband did?”
“People were dying right beneath me, and I didn’t know.” As much as Summer wanted to move forward, she didn’t know if she would ever be able to let go of the guilt she felt about those women’s deaths.
“How could you have known?” Hope asked.
She shrugged. She didn’t have an answer for that, it was simply how she felt.
“He did something to them, right? So, they couldn’t call out for help,” Hope said.
“He dislocated their jaws and shoved a ball gag in there,” she said. She remembered the photos the cops had shown her when they were trying to convince her that her husband was a monster. “The police believed that he popped their jaws out of place by forcing in a huge ball gag. Then he wrapped their bodies in chains. He put them in a padded box so their chains wouldn’t make any noise clunking against the side of the box.”
“So, there was no way for them to let you know they were there. Summer, you could not have known. And once you found out, you put yourself in danger to stop him,” Aggie reminded her.
“Did you know any of his victims?” Hope asked.
“No. They were young women who were his clients. He wasn't even smart enough to pick victims who weren’t connected to him. When the police realized that several women from the gym where he worked had been murdered, it didn’t take them long to figure out it was him. They couldn’t arrest him because they didn’t have any physical evidence. They believed some of the women died in the box, and some he strangled. All of them he scrubbed down thoroughly with bleach. Inside and out,” she added.
“He raped them,” Hope said softly.
“It’s a logical conclusion,” she agreed. It made her feel filthy to know that her husband had raped his victims and then come home and shared their bed.
“The police told you all that?” Aggie looked horrified.
“They wanted to convince me that Carlton was a monster who needed to be stopped. It took me weeks before I got up the nerve to check under the bed. I didn’t want to believe that the man I loved would hurt anyone let alone kill. In that time, he could have killed another woman, or more than one. Back then, I saw what I wanted to see, but it’s different this time. IknowLuke is innocent. I can't explain how, and I know it doesn’t make sense that I believe it so strongly because I thought Carlton was innocent too and it turned out I was wrong. But with Luke, I justfeelit,” she tried to explain.
“I get it,” Aggie said. “Nick feels the same way. He knows his brother didn’t murder anyone even though he and Luke haven't been close for most of their lives.”
It strengthened her a little to know she wasn't the only one who believed in Luke. “I can't wait any longer. I have to know what’s happening. Can you call Nick?” she asked Aggie.
“If he’s with Luke and the lawyer, or with Jonathon and Allina, he might have his phone off or on silent,” Aggie warned.