Chapter 23 #3
"No."
"That's good. I want to ask you a few questions," he said, then proceeded to ask me my name, birthdate, address, and where I was staying in Stonecross.
After I answered those successfully, and he checked my vision, he said, "I think you're okay, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to get checked out at the hospital. "
"I'll be okay. I don't want to go to the hospital. I feel better now that I'm sitting down."
"You're definitely going to want to take it easy tonight. And you'll want to put some ice on your eye. It's already starting to swell. You're going to have a shiner tomorrow."
I didn't care about my face right now. I was just happy to be alive. And to be able to tell everyone what Jeff had done.
"I'm going to help my partner with the other victim," the paramedic said as he got to his feet. "Will you be all right here?"
"Yes. And he's not a victim. He's a killer."
The EMT's lips tightened, but he didn't comment before moving down the hall toward the basement stairs. A moment later, Finn returned to my side while the others brought a noticeably wobbly Jeff up the stairs and into the living room, his hands cuffed behind his back.
When he saw me, he said, "She's a liar. You all know she's making up stories. She planted evidence down there. She's trying to come up with a killer for her podcast."
"Shut up," Tom said. "For the love of God, shut the hell up, Jeff."
Tom followed his brother, the EMTs and one of the deputies out the door. I assumed the other deputy and the mayor were still in the basement.
"I'm going to take you to the medical center," Finn told me.
"No. I have to go back to the inn. I have to confront my grandmother."
"Do you really think Ellen and Tom were trafficking women? That sounds like something Jeff made up."
I met Finn's gaze. "He didn't make it up. He told me how he intercepted the women. He knew where the pickup was supposed to be, where they would be expecting a ride from a stranger, and he became that stranger."
"Usually, in trafficking, the women don't go willingly."
"Maybe they didn't know they were being trafficked. But my grandmother will know, and maybe once she realizes what Jeff did and what information he has, she'll finally come clean."
"You should let the deputies talk to her first."
"No way. But you don't have to go with me. I'll go on my own."
I started to stand up and had to pause until a wave of dizziness passed.
"You're not going by yourself," Finn said. "I'll drive you."
"Thank you." As we moved through the front door, I suddenly realized Dorothy was still gone.
"Dorothy," I said abruptly. "Jeff said he told her there was an emergency with Cole, and she needed to go talk to him.
I don't think she should come back here and find the police here and that stuff in the basement. "
"She was with Sophie at my parents' house when I left. She told me Jeff sent her there to talk to Cole, but he hadn't shown up. She mentioned that you were in her house looking for photos, and she hoped Jeff was taking care of you, and I thought that was odd, so I came straight over."
"I'm glad you did, because if that wrench hadn't worked—" Tears pooled in my eyes, but I didn't want them to fall, not yet, not when there was still stuff to do.
"It did work," he said quietly. "And I'll text Sophie to keep both Cole and Dorothy at my parents' house. She can stay there overnight if she needs to."
"I thought Sophie and Cole would be on their way to New York by now."
"Cole got delayed by his dad, who'd figured he was trying to leave.
They got into another argument, which is why he was late.
I'll text everyone now." Finn opened the car door for me and then sent his texts as I got into the car and fastened my seat belt, my body aching from head to toe.
But I was safe, Jeff was going to jail, and I finally knew what had happened to Natalie.
I just had one more person to talk to, one more person to confront.
Finn got in the car and started the engine, and I felt a wave of relief as we drove away from Dorothy's house. I know she hadn't meant to put me in danger, and it had been my idea to go and see her. But I thanked God that I'd been able to battle Jeff and come out on top.
As I looked down at my hands that were still shaking, I wasn't sure when I'd start to really feel safe, but it certainly wasn't happening yet.
Finn kept shooting me looks of concern, and I tried to give him a weak smile in return. "I'm okay," I said.
"I should have been with you. I shouldn't have left you alone today."
"I didn't think going to Dorothy's house was dangerous. I never imagined it was Jeff who had hurt Natalie, who had forced her to disappear. If anyone, I thought it was Tom or Ray, not Jeff."
"And yet in some ways, it makes sense," Finn muttered. "The Holloway family has a long history of violence."
"Jeff said his father used to knock him and Tom around, that Tom did the same to Lily.
He couldn't understand why Lily would want Tom, or even my father for that matter, because he didn't think David treated her well, either.
But she only had eyes for them. She never saw him, and he was right there in front of her.
It drove him crazy that women always chose the wrong guy when he was the right guy.
I think that's what he said. It's all a jumble in my mind, and he wasn't always making sense. "
"Because he's mentally ill," Finn said. "I wonder if Tom knew."
"He didn't. Jeff said the best part of it all was knowing that Tom had no idea what he was doing right under his nose."
"Then Tom is in the clear?"
"For killing Natalie, but according to Jeff, Tom and my grandmother were trafficking women, and he used their operation to find his victims. I hate the idea that she's been doing that."
"You should let the police talk to her."
"Who knows when they'll get to her? She might disappear before then. And I want to look her in the eye. I want to hear her try to excuse what she's been doing."
"She could be as dangerous as Jeff."
"Well, I'm going, and I’m hoping you’ll come with me," I said.
"Oh, I am definitely not letting you talk to her on your own."
"Thanks." I paused. "I don't want my grandmother to be a trafficker or a murderer, but maybe my dad was right. Maybe it was a mistake to ever want to know her."