All the Beautiful Brides (29 page)

Cal sighed. “That and the victims’ jewelry should be enough to get Pike’s conviction overturned.”

Anna would be thrilled. She obviously still loved the man.

And now Mona would get a chance to know both of her birth parents.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Cal made certain the crime scene investigators searched every inch of the Linder house and roped it off as a crime scene before he drove to the station.

He carried the bagged evidence of the jewelry, the Bride Book, and Charlene’s letters to present to Sheriff Buckley, but more importantly, to a judge.

By the time he arrived, Mona, Anna, and Josie were waiting in the back. “I had each of them write down their statements,” Deputy Kimball said. “And I took them coffee.”

“Thanks.”

Felicity Hacker, a woman Anna’s age, looked worried as she paced the front office.

“Thank you for coming,” Cal said.

“I didn’t think I had a choice,” Felicity said, her voice cracking.

“It’s important, Felicity.” He started to explain, but Sheriff Buckley burst through the door.

He looked frazzled and confused. “What’s going on? Is Anna okay?”

“Yes, Sheriff,” Cal said.

Odd that he didn’t ask about his granddaughter.

“I’ve made an arrest in the Bride Killer case and I wanted to fill you in.”

Felicity looked panicked at the sight of the sheriff. Sheriff Buckley hitched his pants up and scowled, though, as if he didn’t know her.

“I told Anna you didn’t belong here. I don’t want Johnny Pike’s bastard kid in my town.”

Cal frowned, but Felicity curved her arms around her waist as if she wanted to disappear.

Deputy Kimball hissed between his teeth. “Sheriff, this is Felicity Hacker, not your granddaughter.”

Now Cal was beginning to understand the reason the man had retired. The brain tumor must be causing dementia.

“Let’s all sit down in one of the rooms in back, and I’ll explain.”

Felicity glanced at the door as if she wanted to run, but the sheriff shrugged and followed the deputy to the back. When he opened the door and Buckley saw his daughter and granddaughter, his face paled.

Then he looked at Mona and an odd look crossed his face. “What are you doing here?”

“Just sit down, Daddy,” Anna said. “We have a lot to talk about.”

Buckley dragged out a wooden chair and straddled it. Felicity looked at Anna, then Mona, and started to tremble.

“Take a seat, Felicity,” Cal said gently. Although he didn’t know why he was being gentle. Her statement about Pike, which he now suspected was false, had helped send an innocent man to prison for half his life.

Felicity practically fell into the seat, then shut down.

Cal took the lead. “All right, Sheriff Buckley, Felicity, I’ll tell you what we know so far, and then you can fill in the blanks or make any corrections that need to be made.”

Felicity glanced at the sheriff for support, but he had a faraway look in his eyes.

Cal explained about tracking down and arresting Charlene Linder and her son, and the revelations he’d uncovered in Charlene’s letters detailing her motive for the murders.

“So Johnny Pike was innocent,” Felicity said, her expression stricken.

Anna gave her a look mixed with anger and grief. “Yes. Why did you lie about him attacking you?”

Felicity wiped at tears. “I was so shy and didn’t have many friends, and I wanted to be in that group with Tiffany and Brittany and Candy. I thought if they liked me, everyone else would.” She hesitated, twisting her hands together.

“Go on,” Cal said.

She sighed. “I heard them talking about that pact, that they were all going to sleep with Johnny. Then he went out with each of them, but he paid no attention to me.”

“So you claimed he attacked you?” Cal asked.

She glanced at the sheriff, but he looked at her as if she were a stranger.

“Felicity, it’s time to tell the truth,” Cal said. “About everything.”

She nodded, then looked down at her hands. “I was so upset about everything that I slept with this other guy one night, my cousin’s friend, and I got pregnant. My father threw me out and I ran away. I was living in an old abandoned place and one night I . . . started bleeding and the baby came, but it was stillborn.”

She gulped back tears. “I was all alone and scared, and then the sheriff showed up, and I thought he was going to arrest me and say I killed my baby.”

“What are you talking about?” Sheriff Buckley said.

Anna stood, her angry gaze on her father. “Dad, let her talk.”

“He said I did something to the baby, and he was going to tell everyone and I’d go to jail for the rest of my life. Then he asked me who the father was, and I said Johnny, because I was just so mad and upset and I wanted it to be Johnny.”

Anna whispered a soft sound of denial, and Josie and Mona each clasped her hand.

“I’m so sorry,” Felicity said. “I didn’t mean to get him in so much trouble, but when I said Johnny was the father—” She faced the former sheriff, who was glowering at her now like she was a madwoman. “The sheriff told me not to worry, that he’d help me take care of things. He helped me bury my baby.” Tears streaked Felicity’s face, an agonized cry escaping.

“So when the first murder occurred, the sheriff assumed it was Johnny,” Cal said. “That he’d attacked the girl. Then Charlene framed Johnny and claimed he tried to strangle her, and the sheriff believed her because of your story.”

Felicity nodded, her face tormented.

Sheriff Buckley’s face contorted. “Who are you? What are you saying about me?”

Anna crossed her arms. “Dad, you turned on Johnny based on a lie, and then you railroaded him into jail.”

“I’m so sorry,” Felicity cried. “I . . . I’ll testify to the truth if you need me to free Johnny.”

“I think we have enough evidence to exonerate him,” Cal said.

Mona stood and went to the woman. “I’m sorry for what you went through, Felicity, but thank you for telling us the truth now.”

Sheriff Buckley made a blustery sound. “I got to go arrest that Pike boy. He’s nothing but trouble.”

Anna hugged Josie to her as her father shoved his chair away and strode from the room.

Cal gestured to the deputy to let him handle the situation. “Drive the ladies home. I’ll take care of the sheriff.”

“He needs to be hospitalized,” Anna said, her voice bitter.

Cal nodded. Buckley had memory issues now that would play in his favor, but he had definitely run roughshod over a young man’s life, and by focusing all his efforts on putting Pike away instead of finding the truth, he’d failed to do his job. Worse, he’d allowed his own personal feelings to cloud his judgment.

Because of that, Charlene Linder had escaped prison and raised a serial killer, who had started a murder spree of his own.

Mona was still in shock as the deputy dropped off Anna, Josie, and her at her house. She’d stripped off that hideous wedding gown and dressed in her own clothes before they’d left. But she still felt dirty.

Anna had asked them to make a quick stop at her father’s house, where she and Josie packed an overnight bag.

They had all just found each other, and none of them wanted to part. They had missed so much of each other’s lives that they had to make up for it.

Still, Mona was worried about Josie and the trauma, but Josie insisted she didn’t want to go to the hospital or see a psychiatrist.

“I have to shower,” Mona said, still feeling the touch of Billy’s hands on her.

Josie shuddered. “Me too.”

Mona showed Anna and Josie to the guest room and bath, and she disappeared into her own bathroom.

She closed her eyes as she stepped into the shower, hoping to erase the memory as the dirty stench from Billy’s house swirled down the drain.

But the dead girls’ faces would haunt her for a long time.

So would Billy’s. He was related to her—she still didn’t know how to wrap her head around that fact.

They shared a father—Johnny Pike.

Yet Billy was psychotic.

Because of his mother, she reminded herself. An abusive mother,
not
because of their father.

Their father was an innocent man who’d served the majority of his life in prison because he’d been framed.

She scrubbed herself, washed and dried her hair, and yanked on a pair of sweats and a T-shirt, then went downstairs. Suddenly jittery with excitement and relief that she’d finally found her birth mother, and that she had a half sister, she hurried to join them.

A minute later, Anna and Josie both appeared, also showered and dressed in pajamas, and looking as shell-shocked as she felt.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Mona said as she looked at Anna. “I dreamed about finding you for so long.”

Tears filled Anna’s eyes. “No more than I dreamed about finding you.”

Mona glanced at Josie. She could understand if Josie had reservations—she had been an only child all her life. But understanding and excitement glittered in Josie’s eyes.

“I always wanted a sister,” Josie whispered.

The three of them hugged and cried for several minutes, emotions overwhelming them.

“I know you have questions,” Anna said. “And that you may have felt abandoned when you discovered you were adopted.”

Mona didn’t respond. She had felt those things, natural emotions for an adopted child. “I had a good family, though,” she said. “I loved my parents, and they loved me. They took good care of me, Anna.”

A mixture of sadness and relief lined Anna’s face. “I’m glad they were good to you and loved you. I prayed for that every day.” She tucked a strand of Mona’s hair behind her ear. “There wasn’t a moment that went by that I didn’t think of you and wonder what you were doing, what you looked like, how big you were.” She wiped at a tear, and Josie squeezed her mother’s arm. “I wrote you letters all the time. And I bought a card for every birthday and holiday and wrote in it. I . . . just never sent them.”

Mona’s heart tugged painfully, and they hugged again.

When they pulled away this time, Anna smiled. “Now, tell us about your life, where you grew up, how you liked school.” She clasped Mona’s hand in one of hers and Josie’s in the other. “I want to know everything.”

“I want to know everything about you, too.” Mona smiled. “And about you, Josie.”

Mona poured them each a glass of wine, turned on the gas logs in the fireplace, then retrieved the photo albums she’d kept from her childhood and set them on the coffee table.

Then the three of them huddled by the fire and traded stories long into the night, replacing the horror of the evening with new memories of becoming a family.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

TWO DAYS LATER

Mona, Anna, and Josie sat in the courtroom, tense but a unified front, their bond obvious as they watched Cal produce the evidence they’d uncovered.

“Charlene’s love letters are filled with her obsession over Johnny. We also found notes she kept detailing her father’s abuse and her plans to make Johnny suffer for rejecting her. She lured her victims to the falls by sending them notes supposedly from Johnny, saying he wanted a romantic rendezvous. In the original trial, these notes helped convict Pike, but handwriting analysis proves that Charlene Linder wrote them.” Cal paused. “She admitted this in her letters, then described how each girl cried and begged for her life just before she killed them.”

Johnny Pike sat stone still, his shoulders square, yet Cal noticed the twitch in his jaw. He still didn’t believe he was going to be freed.

“The photos in the box found beneath Pike’s bed were also planted. We found identical copies of those pictures, along with the camera used to take them, in Charlene’s house. Her fingerprints were the only ones on the camera. There were additional photographs of the girls there as well, graphic ones showing them on their knees begging to be saved.” Disgust knotted Cal’s stomach, but at least now justice was done. “Charlene was also in possession of the jewelry she kept from the victims as souvenirs. We have tagged and identified each piece and submitted it all into evidence.”

The judge nodded, his expression grave.

“She also lied to the police about Pike attacking her. That false report was crucial in convincing the sheriff that Pike was guilty.”

The judge clutched his gavel. “Is that it?”

“Not quite,” Cal said, then turned to Johnny. “After Mr. Pike’s arrest, Charlene told him she was pregnant with his child and she threatened Anna. When the evidence became stacked against Pike, he finally gave in to a plea bargain to avoid the death penalty and to protect Anna.”

Pike fidgeted and looked down at his scarred hands.

“Charlene Linder was extremely devious and manipulative, and Pike was a victim.” Cal addressed the judge directly. “There’s something else. Apparently her father molested her. He forced her to bite down on a rose when he was assaulting her so no one would hear her cries.”

He paused. “Charlene’s mother blamed Charlene for the abuse. She hacked off her daughter’s hair in an attempt to make her look less attractive to her father. In turn, Charlene cut her victims’ hair to make them look less attractive to Johnny. We also have conclusive evidence confirming that she lied to Pike about the baby.” He glanced at Mona, Anna, and Josie. “Charlene was pregnant, but the child was not Johnny Pike’s. DNA proves the baby was her father’s.”

A shocked, hushed whisper reverberated from everyone present.

Pike swung his gaze toward Anna, his look full of sorrow and regret.

The judge pounded his gavel. “Under the circumstances and in light of the new evidence presented today, I am officially overturning the murder conviction against you, Mr. Pike. On behalf of the court and legal system, I apologize for your false incarceration. All charges against you will be expunged. While I realize you have a right to be angry, and there’s no possible way to make up for the time you’ve lost, I hope you’ll try to look forward to the future.” He pounded the gavel again. “You are free to go.”

Johnny stood in shock, but Anna shrieked, ran toward him, and threw her arms around him.

“You’re free, Johnny,” she whispered.

“I can’t believe it.” Johnny turned to Cal. “I’m really free?”

“Yes, you are.” Cal extended his hand. “Your name is cleared, and you can walk out of here today.”

Anna kissed him, then eased away as Mona approached. “Now there’s someone I want you to meet.”

Cal stepped back to give Mona and Anna some space. Anna clasped Mona’s hand and coaxed her forward. The moment Johnny and Mona looked at each other, emotions clouded both of their faces.

“Johnny, this is Mona,” Anna said softly. “She’s your daughter.”

“I’m so sorry,” Johnny said in a hoarse voice. “I . . . we missed so much.”

A tear trickled down Mona’s cheek as Johnny opened his arms and she hugged him.

Mona couldn’t believe all that had happened in the past two days. The previous night Anna had retrieved the letters and cards she’d written Mona over the years and given them to Mona.

As she’d read them, she’d realized how much her mother had loved her, and how difficult it had been for Anna to give her up.

She also knew how much Anna loved Johnny.

Mona’s father.

“I didn’t know,” Johnny said, his voice thick.

“I didn’t either.” Mona wiped at a tear.

“I’m so sorry,” Johnny said. “If I’d known—”

“That’s my fault,” Anna said. “I shouldn’t have listened to my father. I should have told you about the baby.”

Mona took Anna’s hand, then Johnny’s, and smiled. “At least we’re together now.”

Johnny looked at Mona and then Josie, his face riddled with emotion. “I don’t have much to offer, but I love your mother with all my heart. I always have. And I hope you’ll both let me try to be a father to you. Or at least, a friend.”

“I’d like that,” Josie said without hesitation.

“I’d like that, too,” Mona said softly.

Anna and Johnny hugged and drew Mona and Josie into their arms. Mona’s heart soared with happiness. Cal had done this—he’d protected her and solved the Bride Killer and the Thorn Ripper cases, and brought her family back to her.

Only when she turned to thank him, he was gone.