“I know he’ll do it with you. There will be press conferences, interviews and photos of him kneeling at your grave. He’ll milk it for all it’s worth, so why would Sutton be any different? I mean, it’s not like orchestrating the murder of your mistress carries more weight than that of the President or your wife, so why wouldn’t he look at her death through the same opportunistic lens as everyone else we think he’s had a hand in killing?”
The line of questioning shakes something free inside my brain. An alternative theory floating up from the trenches slowly, appearing on the surface just as Cal’s warning about considering every angle during an investigation echoes in my mind. From the moment I heard about Sutton’s death, I’d decided that Aubrey was responsible. I didn’t look past him, justathim, and even when I couldn’t find a single reason why hemight want her dead, I kept my focus on him, missing the key difference between her death and all the rest.
I see it now, though.
The hollow look in his eyes. The despair that cracked his features when I described her death. The pure hatred when he tried to choke me for mocking her.
“Aubrey didn’t kill Sutton,” I whisper, disbelief coating my tongue. “He loved her.”
24
BECK
There’s no hurt on Selene’s face when she speaks about her husband being in love with another woman. Only shock. Like she can’t imagine the man being capable of that depth of emotion. I can’t imagine it either though I suspect he did love Selene once. As much as a narcissistic asshole can love someone besides themselves, anyway. He must have been damn good at playing the part to have convinced her to bear him a son and stick by his side for so many years.
But now his mask is off, and I couldn’t be more thankful for the sudden alienation of affection he subjected Selene to because it very well may have saved her life.
Monique taps the board with her nail repeatedly, eyes lit with excitement because of Selene’s sudden realization. “Exactly,” she exclaims. “Aubrey was in love with Sutton and someone used her to hurt him.”
Selene slips out from under Cal’s arm, striding over to the board. “Not to hurt him,” she murmurs, picking up one of the markers and circling the ‘military base’ sticky note three times. “To get him back in line.”
Cal snaps his fingers. “Of course. The news broke about him pulling out of talks for the Qatar base on the day of the State Dinner.”
“But that was just when it was announced publicly,” I add. “He met with the Cabinet to notify them two weeks prior. I remember because Cordelia waspissed.No one else seemed to think it was a good idea anyway, so they didn’t care.”
“That’s right,” Cal says. “She did that whole ‘I implore you to reconsider’ thing that she always does when he tells her no. It’s weird. Like she’s genuinely offended that he would disobey her.”
“I don’t think it’s weird at all.” Selene tosses the words over her shoulder as she writes a list of dates and events on the board. “Before Aubrey was elected, Cordelia essentially told me he would be the head of the operation, but she would be the neck, turning it in whatever direction she likes. She thinks she owns him.”
Monique passes behind Selene, grabbing another marker from the cup on one of the end tables. “Maybe she does.”
I rub my chin, considering the theory. There’s a definite imbalance of power at the heart of Aubrey and Cordelia’s relationship. She obviously holds more influence over him than he does over her, but I’m not quite ready to accept that she’s the person at the heart of all of this.
“What do you know about serial killer teams?”
Everything in the room stops. Monique and Selene gawk at me, their hands hovering above the board where a timeline that starts in February and ends on the day Sutton died is starting to fill out. Cal, who’s standing beside me watching the ladies work, cuts an eye at me.
“Where are you going with this, Beckham?”
“Okay. This isn’t going to be a perfect analogy,” I warn them, gazing heavenward to gather my thoughts. “Most of the time, serial killers work alone. In fact, teams are usually more likelyto get caught because internal dynamics and shifting power structures can lead to instability and betrayal.”
“Why team up if you have a better chance of getting away with your crimes if you work alone?” Monique asks.
“For the same reason anyone joins a team,” Selene says. “To gain something you couldn’t achieve on your own.”
“Cordelia wanted the power of the Oval, but she failed to convince her party that she was a viable candidate. They cheat her out of the nomination and put up Sanders, probably making it clear that she won’t ever have their full support.”
Selene taps her lips with the marker, considering my point. “She takes Aubrey under her wing, promises to help him achieve his lifelong dream of becoming the first President with true bi-partisan support. They kill Sanders when he poses a threat to their shared goal.”
Cal shifts his weight from one foot to the other. “Was he an actual threat though? I mean dropping those last photos of Aubrey and Sutton after the debate seemed like a last ditch effort to me. It wasn’t going to secure the election for him.”
Something sparks in Selene’s eyes, a memory she hasn’t shared. “They weren’t even upset about the photos,” she says. “I mean, not really. Aubrey screamed at me over them, accusing me of giving them to Sanders to destroy him, but Jordan calmed him down, telling him the pictures hadn’t changed anything on our front. He seemed content after that, like everything was settled, but I just kept wondering what would happen when Sanders realized the photos didn’t have the intended effect and decided to keep digging.”
Cal studies her, concern furrowing his brows at the faraway look in Selene’s eyes. “Did you ask them?”
Selene nods. “Jordan said there was nothing left to find, but when she said it, Aubrey and Cordelia shared this look that made me think that wasn’t true. Not too long after, Sanders was dead.”Her eyes fly to mine, wide and panicked. “Did I get that man killed? I mean, if I hadn’t asked the question, if I had just let them think it was settled?—”
I rush to reassure her. “They would have came to the conclusion that he needed to die anyway because the two of them are hiding something bigger than an affair. Something dark enough to warrant the assassination of a President.”
