Speak No Evil_ A Novel - Allison Brennan [124]
“Brandon, I can help you,” Carina said, diverting his attention to her as she continued to assess the situation and Brandon’s state of mind.
“Shut up. You’re a woman. Women lie.”
“But I’m a cop. Leah’s alive, Brandon.”
He shook his head. “I don’t believe you.”
“It’s true. She’s on her way to the hospital right now. Right before you left the house you tied a garbage bag over her head, but you didn’t wait for her to die. You left. I arrived at your house as you were leaving. Another officer jumped out and found Leah as I followed you.”
“I’m not stupid,” he said. It seemed to be important to him that he be seen as smart, Carina thought. Okay, she could play with that.
“No, you’re not stupid, Brandon. In fact, you’re one of the smartest killers I’ve ever faced.”
“I’m not a killer.”
He said the words without emotion or meaning. He didn’t believe it.
“You almost got away with it,” she said, keeping eye contact with Brandon. Kyle was inching across the room, heading slowly toward the stove. “We had nothing after Angie. You did a good job cleaning her body. We had no evidence.”
A small, smug smile cracked Brandon’s lips, but he didn’t say anything.
“It was Becca that screwed you up.”
“You’re lying. Again,” he added for emphasis.
“We have proof,” she said. “DNA evidence.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Believe it. Plastic attracts hair. We know you covered Angie with a wool-cotton-blend blanket when you suffocated her. But you didn’t put a blanket on Becca. You wrapped her in plastic wrap, but you laid on top of her as she died. Your hair attached to the plastic.”
“Now I know you’re lying. I shaved my body.” He moved Josh to the side and pulled down his pants just enough to show that he had in fact shaved.
“I didn’t say pubic hair,” she answered quietly. But her mind wasn’t on what she was saying. She was staring at Brandon’s navel. Four rings, including the missing earrings from Becca and Jodi, protruded. One hoop had the shell, leaf, and rose charms of the navel ring in one of Angie’s online pictures.
Carina swallowed her revulsion.
“Do you know why I was asking questions about your father? Because the DNA evidence we found was a close-blood-relative match. That means that a brother, son, nephew, uncle, or first cousin of your father left his DNA on the body of Becca Harrison.”
“Not possible.” Brandon shook his head.
“It’s just us,” Carina said. “You, me, and your brother. No one else will know. But it’s been bugging me since the beginning. Why did you kill Angie? Was it because of her sex diaries? Was it because she wouldn’t go out with you? Why?”
Brandon turned his full attention to her and for the first time, Carina was scared.
There was no soul in Brandon’s ice-blue eyes.
“She was the girl on the tape,” he said simply.
“What tape?” she asked.
He didn’t elaborate, but said almost as cryptically, “When I saw her website I knew it was her, even though she was supposed to be dead. And then she walked into the Shack and everything came together. I’d been watching her on the computer for nearly a year, and she’s real. It was meant to happen. She already died once.”
Carina didn’t know if Brandon really believed what he was saying or if it was some stunt. She pushed.
“What about Becca? Becca Harrison had no Web page, she didn’t look or act like Angie. Why her?”
“Because I couldn’t have Jodi.”
Nick was right, Carina thought. He took Becca because he couldn’t get to the girl he really wanted.
“But why her and not some random woman off the street?”
“She was nice to me.”
Carina forced her face to remain blank at the killer’s revelation. Brandon had lowered his gun. He was still holding on to Josh’s shoulder with his left hand, but his gun hand was level with his leg.
“Why Leah?” Kyle asked, turning Brandon’s attention from Carina to him. “Why did you take Leah? You know her. You’ve always liked her, you said so after I told you Maggie and I were dating.”
“Because Leah reminded me of Becca.”
That didn’t make sense to Carina, but she didn’t push it. Brandon was getting