Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kain
Inside a reserved room, Senator Falcone poured a glass of red wine and offered it to me. “Thanks for coming today.”
“Thank you.” I sipped the wine, letting the taste linger on my tongue. “You know I support your foundation.”
He ushered me to the chair across from him. “Your donations mean a lot to me and the foundation. They help us expand to other states in New England.”
“Education is important.” I swirled my wine glass. “Knowledge is priceless.”
That statement rang true for me, and I knew it was the same for Timber too. Godfrey and Hudson’s families were better off than Timber and me. Their families helped them, whereas I couldn’t have done it without assistance.
Aside from education, the will to succeed and the vision of a wealthy future drove me to build my empire. Each step was a critical move on the chessboard. In order to survive this cruel world, I needed wealth, power, and status.
“You should have access to Ozarrow next week. I’ll have them send you a confirmation letter with an ID number from our system.”
The Falcone family owned the portion of the woods that was still undeveloped. A few members of his family wanted to sell it to a developer to expand the retail area. He didn’t want to, so there was a family dispute, which delayed my request to enter that area.
“I appreciate it.” I finished my wine glass. “Is everything okay with your family?”
“Money can solve a lot of problems. I paid them off for their portion, so now I own it.”
Senator Falcone knew my friends and I had survived a hellish ordeal close to his property.
“Sorry it took longer than necessary,” said the senator, looking more tired than the last time we met.
“You seem tired. Is something wrong?”
“Too much is going on.” He sighed. “Family can be a pain in the ass, you know?”
I didn’t have that problem because I didn’t have any family left.
Despite not wanting to add more stress to his day, I had to ask, “I’m sorry to hear about your niece, Shelly Clark. Can you tell me about her?”
“Shelly was kidnapped months ago along with her friend, Malory.” Worry sparked in his eyes. “The abduction was kept from the media until her body was discovered.”
“Do you know who took her and her friend? Was it for ransom?”
“I don’t.” He shook his head. “The authorities didn’t know either.” He looked up at me. “Malory’s body was discovered yesterday in Etched Square.”
“How did you find out?” I asked, wondering if he knew it was a fake corpse.
“A note was sent to my office, telling me to watch the news.” His hand trembled on his thigh. “I realized it was a fake corpse from the news later on.”
“The real body was sent to the hospital.” I watched him intently.
“Oh,” he said, trying to hide the shock. “That’s strange. Why would the person do that?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Why did they send you the letter?”
“Maybe because the suspect knows Malory was friends with Shelly?” He shrugged, looking frightened. “I’m Shelly’s closest relative on the East Coast.”
Detective McNally had contacted Malory’s parents when he arrived at the hospital to see the body.
“I’m not sure what’s going on.” He placed his wine glass down. “The police will have a briefing tomorrow morning.”
I deduced the suspect could use the senator’s influence to garner more publicity for the murder. But why didn’t they alert him about her actual body at the hospital?
“The suspect is the Bleeding Hearts Killer.” I briefed him on some information. “Could be a copycat of the Black Rose Killer.”
The crease deepened between his eyebrows. “Who could it be now?”
“I don’t know yet, but I’ll find out.”
“Do what you need to do. Let me know how I can assist.”
“You’re already helping by letting me visit your property.”