Chapter 116

Chapter 116
Chapter Title: Theory

Kathy

By the time we returned to CPD, I had made a decision.

Archer had lied to me. Worse, he'd used me to get information for Benny.

He had told Benny about our trip to Ocean City, which meant he had deliberately put me in danger.

I wanted him arrested.

But first, we had another problem to deal with.

The Baltimore branch of the FBI's Organized Crime Task Force was already waiting for us.
Two agents stood near the interrogation rooms as Gray was brought inside.

Rat was being dragged toward the holding cells with the other men we'd arrested at the docks when he suddenly started laughing.

"You're fucked, man," Rat called over his shoulder.

Gray glanced at him.

"The Twin Dragons are going to kill you."

Gray nodded calmly. "I know."

Rat stopped struggling for a moment. "But I'll be waiting."

"You'll be waiting for what?" Gray asked.

"I'll be out for sure in six months," Rat yelled as the officers dragged him farther down the corridor. "Come find me if you get out. I'm taking over."

Gray shook his head. "I highly doubt that."

Rat twisted around as he disappeared around the corner. "What? What do you mean?" he yelled, as an officer pulled him away. "Wait. Me and my friend are having a conversation."

"I don't care," the officer replied gruffly.

Reynolds waited until Rat was gone before he asked. "Why do you doubt that?"

Gray smiled. "Because Benny was mostly tolerated." He turned toward us. "If you must know, the Twin Dragons are grooming a capo down in Snow Hill."

Reynolds raised an eyebrow and opened the door of an empty interrogation room. We entered. "Who's the lucky bastard?"

Gray shrugged and stepped inside. "Someone named Lester." He gestured toward the two FBI agents. "These are Agents Jackson and Miller."

The first agent nodded. "Jackson."

The second gave us a brief nod. "Miller."

Gray pointed toward us. "Detective Reynolds and Special Agent Katherine Hastings."

Before either of us could respond, the interrogation-room door swung open.

Detective Tate.

She walked in, looking exhausted. "I heard you brought in Benny's bagman." She held up her phone. "You know her?"

I looked at the screen.

My breath caught.

It was the photograph Tate had mentioned. A young woman stood in the foreground, her face turned slightly away as she looked toward someone outside the frame.

Long, dark, wavy hair. A white dress.

Behind her stood Cole Jones, making some ridiculous face at the camera.

My heart began pounding. Kelly. Or maybe I only wanted it to be Kelly.

Because I wasn't too sure.

Tate swiped and showed Gray the other side of the photograph.

"And do you know who wrote that?"

Gray studied the image for several seconds. "I have no idea who the woman is." He looked at the writing. "But the penmanship is Divine's."

My eyes snapped toward him. "How do you know that?"

"One, Benny told me. Two, I have a comparison. Grab my phone." Gray nodded toward his pocket. "There's a picture of a note she wrote to Benny. I took a photograph of it and memorized every stroke."

Tate stared at him. "So Divine wanted to get rid of her."

Gray nodded. "After Allison showed up dead, Benny took the note out from his safe and looked at it. He told me Hank had a girlfriend Divine didn't approve of. He said Divine told him to get rid of her."

Reynolds leaned against the table. "Did Benny say why?"

"Because she was a problem." Gray's expression hardened. "He said Divine paid him a hundred grand to kill her."

Reynolds whistled. "A hundred grand?"

Gray nodded. "Benny said he pushed Allison to do it because she hesitated."

"Allison knew the girl?" Tate asked.

"Yeah." Gray looked down at the photograph. "According to Benny, Allison knew her. That's why he believed Allison died because of her."

Reynolds frowned. "He didn't tell you her name?"

"He tried to remember." Gray shrugged. "He said confessions lack sincerity without a name. But it happened so long ago that he couldn't remember."

My eyes remained fixed on the photograph.

The white dress. The dark hair. Cole standing behind her.

Then I thought of the bracelet around her wrist on the other half of the photo.

I stepped closer. "Can you show me the photo again?"

Tate looked at me. "Why?"

"Please."

She swiped her phone and handed it to me.

I stared at the photograph.

There was something about the girl that made my chest ache. But still, I couldn't get a good look at her face.

"I need to see the whole photograph," I whispered.

Reynolds looked at me. "What?"

I pointed toward the girl. "There's something on her wrist in the other half of this photo."

"A bracelet?" Tate asked.

I nodded slowly. "I need to check if it's one of the matching bracelets Mom gave my sisters."

Gray's expression changed. "Your sister?"

I swallowed. "I had a sister who died."

Reynolds looked at me. "Hastings, is the girl in the photograph your sister?"

Gray frowned. "Sister? I thought Kimberly was your sister."

"She is." I looked back at the photograph. "Kimberly had a twin... Kelly."

Gray stared at me. "Kelly?"

I nodded. "Hair is the same. But her face is turned away. I can't tell from this half of the photograph alone. I need to see the entire picture." I pointed toward the jagged edges of the photo. "But if that bracelet is the one I think it is..." My voice faltered. "Then this girl is Kelly."

Reynolds broke it. "Then the charms we found in Benny's mouth will make even more sense."

Gray looked at him. "What charms?"

"Two tiny heart-shaped charms," Reynolds said. "K and L."

Gray's eyebrows rose. "K and L?"

"Kelly Lawrence," I said quietly. "The ME found them in Benny's mouth."

"And Kathy recognized them from childhood," Reynolds added.

For a moment, Gray said nothing. Then he laughed. Not a small laugh. Not a nervous one.

He threw his head back and laughed so loudly that everyone in the room stared at him.

Reynolds frowned. "What the hell is so funny?"

Gray wiped at the corner of his eye. "Then Kimberly might not be missing."

My blood ran cold. "What do you mean?"

Gray's laughter disappeared. "She might be the one orchestrating this whole charade."

I stared at him. "That's impossible."

"Is it?" He leaned against the table. "Think about it. Kimberly spends years looking for answers. Then she finally finds out her twin sister was murdered by Benny and Allison. She even finds out who ordered them to kill her."

Reynolds folded his arms. "And then?"

"Then she starts taking them apart." Gray's eyes moved between us. "Allison is dead. Benny is dead. For sure, Divine is next."

My stomach twisted. "You're saying Kimberly is killing them?"

Gray shook his head. "I'm saying it's a possibility."

"What about Emma and Cole?" I asked. "She couldn't have kidnapped both of them by herself."

Gray smiled. "Ask her fiancé."

I stared at him. "Hank? You want me to ask Hank?"

"Oops." His smile widened. "I forgot. He's... somewhere." He pushed away from the table. "And I bet that somewhere is with Kimberly."

I shook my head. "Not possible. Kimberly and Hank? Hank would let Kimberly kill his own mother?"

"That's my theory, and I'm sticking with it," he said stubbornly.

"Whatever. Kimberly isn't the type," I argued.

"Neither is Hank," Reynolds added.

I looked at Reynolds. "We need to go."

"Where?"

"Archer."

Reynolds' eyebrows lifted. "You want to arrest Archer?"

"Yes," I said. "For conspiracy to commit murder."

Reynolds grinned. "I never thought you'd ask." He looked at Gray. "But there's a problem with your theory."

Gray's smile widened. "Yeah?"

"R. Ryder," Reynolds said. "Hank and Kimberly can't possibly be fans of a dead mobster."

"Could be the Senator," Gray said. "Maybe he's the one—"

"You need evidence, Bagman," Reynolds scoffed. "But thanks for telling us Divine's on our killer's list." He turned toward Tate. "We'll be back in a bit."

We turned toward the door.

But as I followed Reynolds into the hallway, I couldn't stop thinking about the photograph.

The girl in the white dress. The bracelet on her wrist.

And the possibility that my missing sister wasn't a victim at all.

She might be the person everyone else should be afraid of.