Chapter 23 #2
“Yeah, well, some deals just aren’t as good as you might think.”
“Nobody told me about the murders,” she admitted. “I’m still trying to get a hold of the owner’s Realtor about that. I left her a message, but she hasn’t gotten back to me. I kinda feel as if she’s avoiding me.” And, in truth, she was. Devon felt Camden glance in her direction.
“She didn’t tell you, huh?” Jerry asked, sounding shocked. “I thought that was something that had to be disclosed.”
Devon sighed. “I don’t know enough about real estate law to tell you how that works.
However, I can tell you that it was a bit of a shock moving into the area, only to find out afterward that six people were murdered in my house,” she muttered, “and in an incredibly disturbing manner. And the fact that the case has gone unsolved seems even creepier.”
He gave her a smile and replied, “I highly doubt anybody would come back here to take you out.”
“Maybe not,” she conceded, “but I did just find out that the owners who died here long ago are related to the mother of the twins whom I adopted.” Jerry seemed surprised by that information. Devon continued. “Plus, you never know what evidence might have been left behind.”
“Nah. It was reno’d and subsequently tried to be rented out multiple times but no one ever stayed so it’s not been lived in since the couple’s son lived there,” he pointed out. “So I highly doubt there would be any evidence.”
“No, unless people remember what happened or finally speak up, thinking enough time’s gone by,” she offered. “I was just talking to Mark, the poor young cop who was first on the scene.”
Jerry stared at her, then asked in a curious tone, “You just now talked to him?”
“Yeah, we sure did. He’s dealing with some issues of his own right now,” she added. “But I guess one of the problems is he has had some memories come back over all that, and he’s not exactly sure how true any of them are. He’s trying to figure out what to do about it all.”
Jerry remained silent, just staring at her.
She shrugged. “So, it’s a little bit disconcerting, considering this is where we live now.”
“Yeah, I would say so,” Jerry muttered, turning to look at the house.
Yet something was in his voice. She took a step back and looked over at Camden, who was glaring at her. She just smiled and announced, “I better go in and check on the kids.”
“Is that where you just were now?” Jerry asked her.
“Yeah, it sure was, at the old folks’ home,” she repeated, her tone grave. “Some really weird stuff is going on in this place, and I was trying to get answers.”
“Answers from him?” Jerry asked. “He was blacked out at the time. I don’t know what answers he could possibly give you.”
“That’s one of the reasons I went to talk to him,” she stated cheerfully. “Maybe, after all this time, something jogged his memory.”
“And did it?” Jerry asked.
“Yeah, it did. He’s been thinking about it for a while now, trying to figure out what to do. But, you know, after a certain amount of time …”
“Plus, there’s no statute of limitations on murder,” Camden added, leaning against his truck as he studied Jerry.
“No, I don’t imagine there is.” Jerry frowned. “Interesting. It would be pretty wild if the old guy had something to say after all this time.”
“It would be,” Camden replied.
Jerry shook his head. “Nobody would believe him now is the thing though,” he noted, with a scoff. “He had a couple screws loose way back then. I was surprised that he even got into the police academy.”
“Yeah?” she asked, turning to him. “Why is that?”
“Just because he was pretty neurotic. The old lady who lived here, she was all into tarot cards and all that stuff,” he shared. “It was creepy. Yet Mark thought it was really cool, but I just thought it was creepy.”
“So you didn’t spend much time here then? Did you not know them that well?”
“I knew them,” he said in an offhand manner, “but not well. I knew the kids more than I knew the mom. She was okay, but the dad? … He was awful,” he declared, his tone turning a little darker.
At that, Camden asked, “Awful in what way?”
“Oh, just protective, you know, a man with daughters.” Jerry laughed. “Yet not quite knowing how to keep his girls out of trouble.”
Devon nodded. “It did seem that potentially somebody was in Amelia’s life that her parents were not happy about,” Devon shared. “I’ve heard all kinds of stories so far, but I figure we’ll find out who the boyfriend was, and that’ll end up being a potential lead to who did this.”
Jerry spun around in place and faced her. “Are you seriously thinking a boyfriend did it?”
“I don’t know whether a boyfriend did it or not,” she admitted, as she backed up ever-so-slightly. “I mean, who the hell knows? I don’t even know who the boyfriend was. I did hear a lot about how the dad was a piece of shit.”
Jerry snorted. “Everyone in town knew that.”
Devon pointed at her place. “Now I’ve got ghosts all around the place.”
Jerry straightened up and looked around. “There have definitely been some weird ghost-like things happening around this place. It’s always worse this time of year too.”
“Why is that?” Camden asked. “It’s not the anniversary of the murders or anything.”