“As far as the police reports go, they found nothing unusual about her or what led up to her murder.”
“Next,” Jackson continued, “We have the first grade teacher that was at a conference in L.A., Chelle Michaels. Yet again, another where circumstances came together and she was murdered. So far, five had some kind of long term relationship with Anthony; the next two were essentially in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Then there was Heather Roberts. Now she was a kick-boxing instructor, so you would assume she had some moves on her. That must mean she was completely taken by surprise. Although, all Jeremy had to do was show up as you.” He nodded towards Anthony. “And he’d be in. She would’ve let her guard down. But they never found her. That makes me wonder. Did he really kill her, or maybe she just took off on her own to start a new life.”
Evie thought about that for a minute. “It would make sense except for the fact she was part owner in the boxing club. She would’ve drained her portion of the business down. She had two children and by all accounts they were a close, loving family. No, I don’t think she just took off. We need to find some way to put Jeremy at each of the locations.”
“Airline manifests? Is that even possible?” asked Jackson.
Anthony thought for a moment. “I might be able to get them. Not sure if it is completely legal, but I know someone who might be able to.”
Evie jumped up. “If we can see flights around the same time the murders took place, we might be able to tie it to him.”
“It will take a couple of days, at least,” Anthony said.
“Well, then why don’t we take a trip to St. Thomas? Since she was never found it seems like a good place to start.” Evie said.
“Why do you have to go?” Lexi asked quietly.
Evie walked over and sat down next to her. “Because I have to. Because I can. This is what I can do to help.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Neither do I. If I had it my way, she wouldn’t be going at all. But the stubborn woman she is, she’d probably just hop a flight and follow me,” Anthony stated.
Lexi gave a little laugh. “You do know her well.” She looked between the two of them.
Clearing his throat, Jackson continued. “So then we have Lexi. And Anthony going to prison. As far as we can tell, he didn’t kill again until Christina Cooper. Which brings us back to Lexi again. Is that it?”
Evie and Anthony looked at each other before Anthony said, “Not quite. When we were searching his New York apartment, we found another woman. The police have tried to keep it quiet but the lady’s name was Jackie Olsen. She had been seeing someone for the past year, but none of her friends had ever seen him. They searched her place and found DNA that matches Jeremy. It appears that he’s becoming sloppy since he has nothing to hide now.”
“That poor woman. To be fooled for so long and to have it end that way.” Lexi said.
“Just be thankful you didn’t see it.” Evie shuddered.
“He’s got to be stopped.” Noah’s fist hit the table.
“That he does. So Anthony and I will take a quick trip. Hopefully the information we need will be here when we get back. Then we can all start going through it and see where it takes us.”
Lexi got up and hugged Evie tight. “Please stay safe. After everything he’s taken I couldn’t bear it if I lost you, too. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Evie looked at Anthony over Lexi’s head. Her attention was sidetracked by the look of hatred on Kat’s face. It would seem Kat was having a hard time separating the two men.
*
Jeremy rubbed his hands together. It couldn’t be going any better if he’d planned the whole thing himself. Thinking it was a stroke of genius, he’d made up for Lexi and Noah a plaque from the Humane Society thanking them for their donation that said ‘Pepper’s Grub – Keep your paws off.’ As he was hoping, they put it above her food and water dishes, which gave him the perfect view of the living room from the kitchen. Since he had made sure someone from the Humane Society had delivered it to them somehow, thankfully it had bypassed security. He was able to see and hear everything that was said. Laughing at the fact it hadn’t been discovered yet, he listened closely to what was being said just a few miles from where he was.
– CHAPTER FOURTEEN –
Anthony and Evie were able to get a flight out the next morning so by late afternoon they were in the warm tropics. Since there was nothing they could do until tomorrow, they decided to have a nice dinner on the patio of their room. Anthony didn’t want them in separate rooms, not even adjoining and Evie had to admit, she was happy they would be sharing a bed.