“Fuck,” Jake swore.
“There is something else.” She sighed. “It’s about my father.”
“What is it?”
“He said something to me before they knocked me out,” she hesitated. “I asked him flat out why he killed mom and why the others had to die, and he said that I would understand soon.”
“I don’t like the sound of that.” Jake scowled.
“Neither do I,” Olivia muttered.
“I hate to say it, Olive, but it’s starting to look more and more like your father is the killer.”
“I know.” She stared down at the blanket. “But why would he want to turn a demon loose? That’s the part I just don’t understand.”
“I don’t know,” Jake replied. “Look, I’m going to head back to the station and go back over the case files.”
Olivia nodded quietly.
“There’s one more thing, Olive.” He took a deep breath, bracing himself for her reaction. “I’m going to pull your mom’s file.”
“What?” Her eyes widened. “Why?”
“To see if they missed anything,” he answered. “If your dad is the killer? Maybe she found out?”
“You think that’s why he killed her?”
“I’m not sure yet, but Captain McCallister mentioned that he was there the night your dad was arrested and that he was ranting something about demons and a devil’s trap. I’m going to check out your dad’s arrest record as well. It’s all connected. We just need to figure out how. Now that Chief Walcott is not here to hinder us, we might finally have a chance to do that.”
She nodded mutely, not trusting her voice.
“I’ll check in on you later.” He leaned over the bed and dropped an affectionate kiss on her head. His eyes met Theo’s for a second, and a silent understanding passed between them. He would not leave her side again, not until Chief Walcott was in custody.
Jake slipped from the room, and Theo stood slowly, stretching his legs and easing the kink in his neck. He wandered to the window and stared out into the darkness. The sun had set, and the sky was a great, empty vastness. There were no stars tonight. It seemed the heavens were as black as his mood. No matter what he did, he couldn’t shake the images from his dream of Olivia lying on the ground, the crisp white snow deep in the heart of the woods stained crimson with her blood. They were running out of time; he could feel it.
“What’s wrong?” He heard her ask sleepily.
“Nothing,” he murmured, turning back to her. “You should get some sleep.”
He was just dimming the lights and removing some of the cushions propping her up when they heard a small, polite knock, and a nurse popped her head around the door. “Sorry to disturb you, but I’ve got some more flowers that were delivered to the front desk. Can I bring them in?”
Theo nodded, and she disappeared, reappearing moments later with a vase, which held a bouquet of stunning deep blue tulips.
Olivia forced herself upright in bed, staring at the flowers with wide eyes.
“They’re so unusual.” The nurse settled them on the table at the foot of the bed, directly in Olivia’s line of sight. “I’ve never seen them this color before. They must’ve been dyed. I’m afraid there was no card with them.” She turned and smiled at Olivia. “I’ll just let you get some rest then.”
She disappeared back through the door and clicked it closed behind her.
“What is it?” Theo asked as her face paled.
“They’re from my father,” she murmured.
A memory seared through her mind, white hot and without warning, and for a brief, heart-stopping moment, she was back in the house the night her mother died. She gave a gasp, dragging in a deep lungful of air as Theo watched her with troubled eyes.
“I-I remember… He was holding them, the flowers.” Her voice was so quiet he almost missed the words. “He came home that night holding them in his arms, a big bouquet of them. They were Mom’s favorite. He was smiling. I was sitting on the stairs with Truman, and he winked at me and held his finger to his lips. He wanted to surprise her.”
“He didn’t intend to kill her,” Theo spoke quietly, moving closer. “You told me you woke that night because you heard them arguing and you came downstairs.”
