Page 133 of Coordinates of Death

“Well, almost. It started with getting rid of the wicked stepmother. She had to go.” Dale ran his finger along the brick wall. “Dad died when we were young and left us filthy rich, but I started using my middle name as my last name instead of Bryant. Jade took our sweet mother’s maiden name as her own. We don’t look alike, so no one was any the wiser. You see, we were homeschooled until high school, so it was easier to hide that way. A few years later, we both moved into Sweetwood Falls, and I figured I’d start using some of our capital to gain—or, should I say, buy—the community’s trust. Plus, it was the best way I could think of to keep my eye on you. Well, that and hacking into the cameras and the system.”

“Hey, brother. I was good at hacking too. I deleted videos from the station.”

Dale kissed his sister’s cheek. “Very good, little one. We’re quite a team.”

“How did you get so good at hacking? Not everyone can do that.” Aurora massaged her tight neck muscles.

“I lived my entire life in the shadows, playing video games and learning hacking skills. How else do you think I found out so much about you? Then with Kordell’s arrival, I did some fishing. It wasn’t hard to lure Sebastian to the Yukon to play my little game. He was a great pawn. I tried to make it appear like he was a copycat, but then your team arrived and interrupted my plan.” He turned to Jade. “Thanks for getting rid of that loose end.”

She blew him a kiss.

Aurora’s stomach turned to lead. “How did you stay ahead of us all this time?”

“Easy-peasy,” Jade said. “I planted trackers on you constantly. In your bag and jacket, and I bugged your sat phone. That sort of thing. Got into your condo and moved your mother’s Bible to your room. You know, for a cop, you’re really not that smart. Even Wheeler agrees.”

Aurora gritted her teeth at her second criticism of her abilities.

Dale wrapped his arm around Jade. “Little sister, you did all that? I’m impressed.” He returned his focus to Aurora. “I also got into your condo, planted your mother’s journal pages. Taught that ridiculous bird coordinates. Hacking into your Wi-Fi and using your printer was fun.”

Aurora tilted her head. “How did you get my mother’s journals? My father didn’t even know about them.”

“Funny story. When I searched your name, I found your mother’s obituary. It named her last residence—Gravenstone.” He paced the room. “I hacked into their records and discovered her doctor must have stolen them from her. Perhaps when she died? I don’t know, but he scanned them into his files. And you tell me I’m sick. That doctor should have had his license stripped. He’s as bad as the ones at Jade’s institution. They did unspeakable things to her.”

The words in Jade’s journals popped into Aurora’s head. “Why leave your journal for me to find?”

“Because it was time to end this round of the game. I had to lure you out somehow, and I thought it was the best way to do it. I purposely stuck our childhood picture into the journal too.” She turned to face her brother. “And I learned a trick from you. I planted the coordinates to our estate on the back for Kordell to find. He should be here soon.”

No! She had to get free in order to warn him he was walking into a trap. “How could you? Leave him out of it!” Aurora lunged toward Jade.

Dale whipped out his gun, shooting to the right of Aurora’s feet. “Next time, I won’t purposely miss. No one hurts my sweet sister.”

Aurora raised her hands. “Your sweet sister manipulated you into killing women, and you think that’s okay?”

“They deserved it.”

She had to keep them talking. Surely, Kordell would have contacted both his team and her leader. “One thing stumped me with your scenes. Why did you plant the boxes under the women’s legs?”

His gaze flipped to his sister’s, softening. “Because our stepmother used to beat Jade by hitting the back of her legs with a bat. After I killed the woman, I took Jade to the doctor to get corrective surgery. That’s why you can barely tell she has a slight limp.”

“So placing the boxes under the legs was your silent tribute to your sister and revenge for your stepmother.”

He waggled his finger at Aurora. “Now you’re getting it.”

Aurora ignored the gibe and shifted her gaze from Dale to Jade. “So which one of you paid someone to rob my mother’s grave?”

“Me. That wasn’t hard to do. You know that money talks, right?” Dale threw his head back in laughter. “I just had to find the right grave robber.”

“You bought all the buildings you sent us to, didn’t you?”

“Good guess. I did, using my many shell corporations. I had to do renovations to make it all work flawlessly, right down to flooding that room with you and Kord in it. Like I said, money talks.” He tucked his gun away. “You weren’t supposed to find my secret room and steal my stuff, though. I also prerecorded my little teaser with Candace because I wanted to be in the room at the town hall. When the timing was right, I slipped out to visit the men’s room and got into the system to play my video. Then I cozied up to our mayor, but Kordell’s father stole her attention. I think after this game is done, I’ll have to pay Maxwell Greene a visit.”

“You leave that family alone. They’ve been through enough.”

“Tsk-tsk. Little protective of them, aren’t you? Even after all the secrets Kordell withheld from you?”

Aurora had to steer the conversation away from the Greenes. “Tell me, why wait two years between your kills?”

“You shot me, and the bullet lodged in my back. I pretended to be away on many trips around the world, but I was really holed up here on the estate recovering and learning to walk all over again.” He poked her in the shoulder. “Because of you!”