Sawyer groaned. “You sound like Palmer.”
“Thank you.”
Sawyer rolled her eyes. “My job as a crime reporter is to talk to police, detectives, criminals, and victims and then keep the public informed about what’s happening in their neighborhood, all the while being sure to remain unbiased.” She sighed. “I get that. But what I don’t understand is how I am supposed to separate all the information I’ve gleaned and do nothing with it. If it turns out that A, B, and C means that D might be a suspect, then I’m going to make sure somebody with authority knows it.”
“Whatever you’re doing seems to be working in your favor, so who am I to argue?”
After Lexi started the engine, she thanked Sawyer for lunch.
“My pleasure,” Sawyer said. And that was the truth. Never mind that Sawyer could have paid her utility bill with the money spent. She’d learned a lot about her new partner in crime, and she respected Lexi more than she had just hours before. Not because Lexi had been abused or because they shared traumatic childhood stories, but because Lexi had trusted Sawyer enough to open up.
“Where to?” Lexi asked.
“Ian Farley’s.” Sawyer held up her phone. “I have an address for our server in West Sacramento. According to Zillow, it’s a rental house.”
Sawyer read off the address.
Lexi punched it into her navigation system, and they were off.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Harper logged on to her computer to see if any other members of The Crew had signed on to their private group.
Once she saw that no one had commented since Cleo left, she exited out of the group site and simply sat quietly for a minute or two. Was she the only one who was worried about Eddie Carter?
She typed his name into the search bar. The most relevant pages popped up.
Eddie Carter and his wife, Trisha, donated half their salaries every year to charity, saying that they had more than they needed and there were too many people who didn’t.
Harper rubbed her stomach as she clicked various links and skimmed through content. Eddie Carter and his wife seemed too good to be true. They used a charity evaluator to help figure out where their money would benefit the most people.
It was the next page header that stopped Harper cold:
Eddie Carter Missing Since Sunday
The suspicious disappearance of a father and husband last seen at Maximum Workout has sparked worry in the community. A search is underway . . .
Her heart raced as she logged back on to the private group and began to type.
MALICE: Is anyone there?
Nobody. Just a stupid blinking cursor.
MALICE: It’s official. Eddie Carter is missing and a search is underway.
Harper’s eyes watered as she stared at the screen, hoping one of the crew members would log on and talk her down from the cliff’s edge. How had it come to this? She felt lost and alone. She rested her head on folded arms and let the tears come, taking in gulps of air as giant sobs consumed her. Five minutes later, maybe longer, she sat up and straightened her spine. Lily and Psycho had logged on.
LILY: I know you’re having a difficult time and I’m sorry, but you need to find a way to move on. When was the last time you talked to a therapist or psychiatrist?
PSYCHO: This slow breakdown you’re dealing with at the moment all stems from the trauma you suffered in the past. This is exactly the reason these assholes we went after got what they deserved. If not for them, we wouldn’t be talking to you right now.
LILY: Malice. You never told us who your perpetrator was. I never asked because it seemed obvious to me that it was too painful for you to talk about.
She was right. It was too painful. Even now. But it was time.
MALICE: My father was my abuser. When he first started coming to my room, he would lavish attention on me, and he made me feel as if I were the special sibling. He would buy me treats and sneak them to me when my sisters were out of sight. Always praising me for silly things I did throughout the day. When he hugged me overly long, I didn’t mind. But hugging soon became rubbing. And then he began to come into my room at night, creeping onto my bed and lying next to me. I pretended to be asleep. It did no good. My father soon became my worst nightmare. He’s dead now, but that hasn’t changed anything. I still can’t sleep. I still haven’t found a way to move on.
LILY: Did you tell anyone at the time?
MALICE: When I had finally gathered the courage to tell my mother, I saw her peeking through the door, watching, before quietly walking away.
A long stretch of nothing but a blinking cursor.
PSYCHO: And now he’s dead and buried. Let it go.
MALICE: I’m trying. We’re all trying.
Psycho had to know better than most that it wasn’t that easy. But she wasn’t here to argue, so Harper quickly changed the subject.
MALICE: Do you think Cleo will go after Felix Iverson?
LILY: If she does, I doubt she’ll stop there.
PSYCHO: If she asked for help, I wouldn’t hesitate. I have no regrets.
LILY: Although I don’t feel any closure after everything that has happened, I would do it all again.
That surprised Harper. Maybe because Harper saw Lily as the most put together of The Crew members. But who knew what lay within any one of them? Overall, their differing reactions to revenge merely proved that not everyone had the same response to vengeance. For Harper, it was finally clear that no jolt of pleasure or satisfaction would be forthcoming. Revenge simply had no cathartic effect on her.
PSYCHO: For what it’s worth, that someone you loved and trusted did that to you is seriously fucked up. Your father was a piece of shit and doesn’t deserve another thought. At least Otto Radley spent some time locked in a cell before he took the fast train to hell.
LILY: Maybe the best revenge will be having another happy, healthy baby and living your best life.
Harper knew that Lily was right. Without The Crew she might not have realized that she was taking her family for granted. Maybe there was hope, and she could somehow find a way to move on from her troubled past. But first, she had one more enemy to deal with.
MALICE: What about guilt?
PSYCHO: What about it? Would you rather have let those guys go on with their lives without retribution? If society and the law had taken care of them in the first place, we never would have had to do the things we did. Fuck guilt. We’re all just trying to make things right within ourselves.
LILY: Agree. How guilty would you feel if Otto Radley had found another victim that night?
So true, Harper thought.
PSYCHO: Before we shut down, Malice, you should know that only days ago your sister Aria was parked outside my apartment building. I confronted her and gave her a warning. She asked me point blank if I was involved with the Black Wigs.
Harper was stunned. A heavy feeling settled in her stomach. What was Aria thinking?
MALICE: I had no idea. Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll take care of it.
PSYCHO: If you don’t, your sisters might end up on Cleo’s list.
A shiver crawled down Harper’s spine.
MALICE: Our work here is done. If anyone hears from Cleo, please sign in to let me know.
PSYCHO: Will do. Take care.
LILY: Thank you both. Goodbye for now.
The screen darkened. Harper wiped her eyes and signed off. It was over.
Almost.