Foam and feathers litter the floor after each piece of furniture has been dissected.
“He isn’t smarter than we are, so let’s think about this for a minute.”
I sit on the living room floor so I can get a look at my surroundings from a different angle. It’s several minutes before I notice multiple dents and scrapes on the ceiling above the top of the built-in bookcase. Definitely looks as though something has been going on there.
I stand on a dining room chair and run my hand over the top that’s hidden by the wide decorative dentil molding. “Got something.”
“He’s hiding something good up here,” my dad says.
Stacks of money is not what we discover. “Looks like a coin presentation box. And it’s locked.”
“People hide things they want to protect from others. Rare coins can be worth a ton. It would be a good way of ensuring there was no money trail if he traded with the right people.” My dad is right. There’s no telling how many millions this little wooden container could hold.
I inspect the bolt on the box. “This is going to require a tiny pick.”
I open Bleu’s paraphernalia collection for a second time and choose the smallest tool.
“Bleu’s little kit is coming in handy tonight. I’m glad she had the foresight to send it with you.”
“Aye. My wife’s a clever one.”
I push the tip of the tool into the lock’s hole and pop my second lock of the night. “Got it.”
I open the box but rare coins worth millions aren’t what we find. A pair of women’s diamond stud earrings. A child’s ring with a green stone in the center. A small golden locket. There’s at least a dozen more items that have absolutely no value.
Why would he lock these worthless things in a box and hide them? Only the diamond earrings can possibly be of value.
My eyes are drawn to the necklace so I take it from the box. I hold it by the chain, the golden locket dangling back and forth. I recognize it.
“CEB.” Cara Elizabeth Breckenridge.
Dad takes the necklace with his trembling hand. “My sweet Cara.”
This is my sister’s. She never took it off but it was missing from her neck when we found her smothered body. Only her killer would have this.
Dad closes his fist around it and brings it to his chest. “My own Fellowship brother killed my daughter.”
The epiphany of what this collection of items is nearly knocks the breath from my chest. “These are his trophies. Taken from people he’s killed.”
Which would make him a serial killer living among people who taught him how to kill and get away with it.” It couldn’t be more perfect for him.
I look at the tiny ring with the green stone. “Emerald is Bleu’s birthstone. I think this could be hers.”
My father inspects the diamond earrings. “I gave these to Amanda.”
There’s no doubt in my mind. Todd Cockburn murdered my sister, Bleu’s mother, and attempted to kill Bleu when she was seven. They aren’t his only victims judging by the contents of this box.
Todd Cockburn is the worst kind of monster. He kills for sport. Not necessity.
* * *
It’s after midnight when I arrive home. Bleu’s already asleep. She said she’d wait up for me but it looks as though her body had other plans.
I turn on the lamp and lower myself so I’m squatting beside Bleu. I nudge her shoulder gently. “Wake up, Bonny.” I kiss her temple. “Wake up for me.”
She finally stirs. “Sorry I fell asleep. I stayed up as long as I could.”
“It’s okay. I hate to wake you but I need you to take a look at something.”
“Now?”
“Aye. It’s important.”
She rises to sit and stretches. “What is it?”
“That’s what I need you to tell me.”
She swings her legs to the side of the bed and slides off the edge. She presses her hand to her lower back as she walks to the bathroom. She has developed the pregnant sway. “I gotta pee first.”
Of course she does.
“Dad’s here so put on your robe.”
Bleu has brushed her hair and pulled it into a ponytail when she comes into the living room. Her robe barely meets over her pregnant abdomen but she’s growing fast these days. Give it a few weeks and it won’t.
“Sorry to get you out of bed at this hour, Bleu.”
I place the wooden box on the cocktail table in front of her. “We have a suspicion about what this is but you’re more experienced in this department.”
She cocks her head. “Sounds intriguing. I’m going to assume there aren’t coins inside.”
“We found this in Todd Cockburn’s house. It was hidden and locked.” I open the box. “Do you recognize any of these contents?”
She immediately reaches for the emerald ring. She takes a close look and holds out her hand. She slips it onto her middle finger but it stops at her second knuckle. “This is my birthstone ring. My mother gave it to me for my seventh birthday.”
She stares at the ring for a moment before looking at the rest of the collection. She removes the diamond stud earrings next and studies them intently. “My mother’s ears were pierced twice. She wore diamonds like these in the second hole. She never took them out but there was no mention of them in her autopsy report. I assumed they’d been stolen by someone who handled her body.”
I take the child’s necklace from the box. “This is my sister’s locket, engraved with her initials. It went missing the night she was murdered.”
“These are probably trophies from kills.”
“What does he do with them?”
“Killers typically take them as a show of accomplishment. For him, it’s a souvenir to extend the fantasy. He needs something to get him through his downtime until he can kill again. He’s using these as a way to relive the murders over and over.” That means he takes these items out often to look at them. That would explain all the marks and dents on the ceiling. He was excited and careless when removing and replacing the box.
“Would it be a fair assumption to say that Todd Cockburn is a serial killer?”
“It’s very likely. There must be three separate murders with a period of time between to be classified as serial. The circumstances should indicate that he felt a sense of dominance over the victim.”
“Such as smothering a child with a pillow or stuffed animal.”
“Exactly.”
I hold up the specimen I took from Todd’s toothbrush. “Are you sure you want to know?”
In light of this new information, I’m not sure Bleu needs to hear that he’s her biological father. “You don’t have to find out.”
“Yes I do.”
“Harry raised you. He was your father.”
“I want the truth.” But at what price? Can she handle learning that she’s his daughter?
“You’ve believed all these years that your biological father was dead. What will you accomplish by finding out Todd fathered you?”
“Nothing but the truth. Clear and simple,” she says.
I can’t leave him unleashed. He’s too dangerous. “We’ll need to contain him immediately so he can’t kill again.”
“I want to know the paternity results before we do anything with him.” We aren’t doing anything with him. I am.
“Why do that to yourself?”
“Because I want to know if I’m killing my biological father.”
This is the part I’ve been dreading since swearing that oath to my father-in-law. I promised Harry that I wouldn’t allow Bonny to kill. I gave him my word because I believed it was the right decision, and I still do. My sweet Bonny Bleu will never know the darkness that accompanies cold-blooded murder.
Chapter Seventeen
Bleu Breckenridge
Sin kisses the side of my face and nuzzles his scruff against my neck. “Wake up, sleepyhead.”
“Mmm … no. I don’t want to.”
“Yes. We have an appointment with Ani a
t ten o’clock to look at houses. We’ll be late if you don’t get up now.”
“What are you talking about? We didn’t have an appointment when we went to bed last night.”
“I called her to set up something for next week and she told me her client for today had canceled.”
How convenient. I wonder if Sin had anything to do with that. “I know what you’re doing, and I love you for it, but I’m not sure I have the right mindset for looking at houses today.”
“You aren’t sitting around for the next three days fixating on the results of that paternity test.”
I’m not planning to be fixated but I’m not sure I can help being distracted by it. “House shopping probably isn’t the wisest thing to do during these three days.”
“You’re a week away from the halfway point of the pregnancy. If you deliver early like the doctor expects, then you’re already beyond midway. We can’t keep waiting so get your arse up. We’re doing this today.”
I groan loudly as I swing my legs over the side of the bed. “You’re such a bully sometimes.”
“Dear wife, I’m no such thing. I would be far too afraid to bully you.”
Has he forgotten he has a job? “What are you doing about work?”
“I have several cases going to court next week but none the next few days.”
I’m not going to have the energy for this. But Sin is right. We need a house. “How many are we looking at?”
“Your top three choices from the options Ani is sending over plus the Hameldon estate by my parents.”
I already know which is my favorite. “I want to see the Hameldon estate first.”
“Anything you want, Bonny.”
Two hours later Sterling parks in the drive of my favorite property. Ani takes her folder from her briefcase. “This home is an elegant and spacious six bedroom with an attached garage. As you can see, the property has been well maintained by the current owners.”
We’ve driven by this house often on the way to Thane and Isobel’s. I’ve always admired it from the road. “I love the mixture of modern architecture with the round corner castle thingy.”
“It’s called a turret. You’ll see a lot of those paired with modern architecture on newer houses.”
We get out of the car and Sin reaches for my hand. He brings it to his lips for a kiss and mouths, “I love you.” We stand in the front yard looking at the exterior. “What do you think?”
“The house is beautiful and the landscaping is lovely but it’s a lot of yard to maintain. You’re going to be tied up with work and I’m going to be busy with babies. Who’s going to keep it up to par?”
“We’ll hire a lawn service.” Of course we would.
“I like growing my own tomatoes. Can I do that in this climate?”
“You can when you have a greenhouse, which you will have if this is your final choice. It’s small but the current owner successfully grows a variety of vegetables.”
I like the idea of growing my own vegetables. “I’m going to introduce you to fried green tomatoes. And you will love them.”
We go inside and Ani stops in the foyer. “Total square footage comes in at a little more than forty-five hundred square feet. The first thing I want to point out is the ornate cornice work throughout. All of it is original to the house along with the wood flooring and fireplaces.”
I’m only in the foyer and I already love it, just as I knew I would. “It’s very beautiful. Elegant.”
We complete the walk through of the house with our final stop in the master bedroom. “That concludes our tour of the inside. I’ll give you a little time to look around on your own and we’ll finish up in the backyard when you’re ready,” Ani says.
Sin comes up to me from behind and wraps his arms around my expanding waist. “What do you really think?”
“Of course I love it, but it’s so big. We’ll never fill six bedrooms.”
“But we’ll have them just in case.” He kisses the side of my neck and chills erupt down my body. “Can you see us going to bed in this room every night?”
“Not in this peachy beige color, I can’t.”
“Imagine the walls in a different color. Something more suited to our style.”
When I picture this as our bedroom, I envision cream and pale blue posh linens. “I can definitely see it.”
He twists me so we’re facing the bed. “Now imagine waking up right there to our wee ones climbing all over us.”
It isn’t a hard image to conjure. “I can see us being happy here.”
“And my parents are just down the road. Mum can come at a moment’s notice when you need her.”
“Which will please her to no end.” I’m certain Isobel is pulling for this house.
He takes my hand and leads me to the bedroom across the hall. “Imagine this bed gone and two cribs in its place.”
“With what color walls?” I’m curious to know if he has an opinion.
“Your choice.”
I already know how I’m going to decorate the nursery, regardless of gender. “Gray and yellow is what I want for boys or girls.”
“You can have any and everything you want for this house, Bonny.”
He’s being very accommodating. “You’re trying to sell me on this one harder than Ani.”
“Because I can see us here as a happy family.”
He wants this one. I can tell. “Do you even want to look at the others?”
His lone dimple makes an appearance. “Would you be terribly angry if I told you I already had?”
I’m not sure if I should be pissed off because he went without me, or relieved that I don’t have to traipse through more houses today.
“They aren’t nearly as wonderful as this one but I’m more than happy to look again with you.”
I’m leaning toward being peeved now that I’m thinking about it. “I can’t believe you went house shopping without me.”
“Think of it as a preliminary to narrow down the choices.”
A single house doesn’t qualify as choices. “Seems you’ve narrowed it down to one.”
“But you do love it, don’t you?”
What’s not to love? “I do. Very much.”
“Would you be terribly angry if I told you I’d already made an earnest payment on it? There was another couple looking at it. I didn’t want them to buy it out from under us before we had a chance to look.”
I would’ve been heartbroken if someone else bought this house. “I’m not mad.”
“Thank God.”
I laugh aloud. “We have a house.”
“We have this house.”
“I love it. I really do.”
Sin puts his arms around me. He scoops me from the floor and spins me full circle before returning my feet to the floor.
I cradle his face with my hands and plant a kiss on his mouth. “I love you so much.”
He pulls me close and kisses me like crazy in the room where our babies will one day sleep.
“I want to bring Ellison out to see it as soon as possible. And Isobel. I want her help with decorating.”
“Don’t let my mum fool you. She has someone to do all her decorating.”
I don’t care. This is my first real house. And I’m the wife of a leader. Fellowship events will be held here. I want it to look great. “Then I want to hire your mom’s decorator.”
“I told you, Bonny. Anything you want is fine with me. Always.”
“When do we get to move in?”
“Should be ours first of next month.” Much sooner than I thought.
I place my hand over my growing tummy. “Another chapter in our story.”
“The happily ever after part.”
* * *
Sin was successful at distracting me yesterday with the house. Now it’s day two. He wouldn’t tell me his plans but he says he has another full day planned for us. I’m glad. Otherwise I’d be preoccupied by Todd Cockburn.
“Wakey wakey, Mrs. Bre
ckenridge.”
“No! Go away. It’s too early.”
He tickles the tip of my nose. It’s annoying so I slap at him. “Stop.”
He tickles the inside of my nostril this time. Feels like he’s picking it. Ugh!
“Wake up, Bonny.”
“I’m awake!” I yawn and groan loudly while stretching. I feel a sudden, sharp pain in my lower abdomen. “Oh!”
My reflex is to turn on my side, bend my legs, and bring them to my belly. The change of position instantly relieves the discomfort.
“What’s wrong?”
I massage the area above the bend of my leg. “Sharp pain in my groin.”
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah. I stretched and it felt like I pulled something. The pain stopped when I brought my legs up.”
“Aye. I remember reading about that. It said it’s worse with twins because your womb is growing so rapidly.”
Bound for him to have read about it. He’s a know-it-all when it comes to pregnancy. “I can believe that.”
“If you don’t feel like doing anything, we can cancel our plans.”
Yesterday was pretty perfect. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for today. “Absolutely not. What’s on the agenda?”
“We’re going on a day tour to Stirling Castle, Loch Lomond, and for my pleasure, a stop at a whisky distillery for a tasting.”
“Well, that seems a little unfair.”
“Perhaps, but we’re doing it anyway. It’s part of the tour package.”
I don’t think he’s kidding. “We’re going on one of those bus tours?”
“Yes, ma’am. You’re married to a Scotsman. You’ll soon bear two Scottish children and you’re almost clueless about Scotland. I mean to remedy that.”
Sin’s right. I know very little about his homeland. I have to play catch-up. “I look forward to being enlightened.”
I move to get out of bed but he catches me by the waist and pulls me close. “Not so fast, Mrs. Breckenridge. We have about twenty minutes to spare.”
“Your pregnant wife could have slept longer but instead you woke her up early for a morning shag?”
“Maybe something like that.”