The deputy raised his hand to knock.
Miranda stepped to the side carefully. And waited.
The door slid open slowly. An elderly woman stood there, a puzzled expression on her face when she saw the deputy’s uniform. “Oh, my. What’s this about?”
Just as a young woman came up behind her. “Aunt Janet, who is it?”
“The police. Why are the police here?”
The young woman came out more fully. Until the light hit her.
Miranda just stared.
“Can I help you?”
“Are you…are you Terra?” Miranda asked, quietly. “Terra Gibson?”
A woman who looked a great deal like Hailey Gibson stared back at her. The woman’s blue eyes widened. “W-w-who wants to know?”
“Kora, honey, what’s this about?” The older woman asked, nerves in her voice. “Is something wrong? Do you know what’s going on?”
“Aunt Janet, go back inside. I just need to talk to them for a minute, okay?”
Kora.
Miranda looked at the younger woman, comparing the woman in front of her to the girl in the photos. It was very possible. “I think we need to talk, don’t you?”
Because Miranda was convinced of one thing: Terra Gibson was alive.
And standing right in front of her now.
Chapter 48
Well. This was one for the textbooks going forward. It…she was still floored by what they had learned. What had happened after they’d confirmed the girl living with John Stenson’s great-aunt was in fact Terra Gibson the day before.
“This…took a turn I didn’t expect,” Miranda said, as Knight was gathering all his precious paper copies of everything and slipping them into his bag. They were going to drive home from Indiana now. There was already a case with Knight’s name on it waiting for him. One he’d been working for a while that was trying to heat up again. Miranda hoped there was something there—that case was one she knew Sir Galahad felt strongly about, even if he hadn’t said it.
She was going to head to St. Louis, then drive up to Masterson to get her son. She missed that kid so much. He was her world. She hadn’t ever been away from him on a case this long before. Thank God for her parents in Masterson who had kept him as long as needed. If the case had extended too much longer, her dad had said he’d fly Bentley home to stay with Jac and Max and the girls until Miranda returned. Bentley loved it with his half-sisters, even though living with them full-time wasn’t something the psychiatrists had recommended when he had first been found, because of the depth of his trauma and those little girls’ trauma. Now, he was adjusting and spending much more time with them.
But Miranda was his mom now. And that was a role she would never take lightly.
Things were wrapped up here in Indiana now.
Bryan was going to eventually heal. He might have a bit of mobility issues in his shoulder, but he would recover eventually. And his little girl was going to be okay. Miranda had already spoken with Asa’s mother, recommended therapy. Bryan and Cass Stenson were good people, good parents. They would make sure Asa had what she needed to heal.
Pierce would handle the wrap-up from John Stenson’s arrest now. It was Pierce’s arrest. PAVAD had just been there to help guide. “I’m glad we caught Stenson before Pierce left.”
“Hell of a way for him to end his career. With a literal bang. I’m glad we could help him solve it. Get rid of the ghosts.”
“I think it will still haunt him. How could it not? If John Stenson had been identified earlier, Terra would have come home sooner.” Miranda was silent for a moment as she thought about the man in question. “He’ll blame himself for that. For not being…perfect, or something. He is just that way.”
“Sometimes, the one we are hardest on is ourself.” He held her coat out to her. Miranda took it. “There wasn’t a damned thing he could have done differently to solve the case any quicker. You and I both know that. Until Dani found the other cases, how was Asher supposed to know John had done similar before? We would have eventually identified John as the unsub, but his argument with his brother just precipitated it more.”
“Or…what Asa had told me that morning. That is a smart kid. John hadn’t done anything, until after his daughter died. Was he always a monster—or did losing the ones he loved send him over the edge?” She could profile the victims, and even the killers, but sometimes, she just didn’t understand how ordinary people could be so…evil. Or what would cause them to become that evil. “Grief, anger, hate?”
“A mix of all of them. But the seed of that monster was probably always there. His resentment for others, especially those who had more than he did. Or thought weren’t as deserving. He’s probably resented his brother Bryan’s entire life. Or resented his mother leaving him and Bryan’s not. More research into what causes that will always be needed. He was more possessive than I think he wanted to admit—or what our profile showed. I think some men…just want to possess and control. And the more life took that control from him, the more bitter and angry and dangerous he became. To be honest, his ex-wife probably got away from him just in time. If she hadn’t moved three states away, he probably would have eventually built up enough anger to target her. And he would have killed her. And maybe himself. Instead of just focusing on substitutes.”
Miranda just nodded. She was tired. And she wanted to go home. They still had a four-hour drive ahead of them. Well, he would drive. He was very predictable, after all. “This is why women are choosing the bear, Knight. I’m sure of it. How is a woman supposed to trust a man out there? Relationships can be way too complicated, as I am learning.”
