Page 28

He shrugged. “He’s probably dead anyway.”

I was taken aback by his bluntness, but couldn’t fault him. His little brother had been abducted a decade ago, his parents murdered, and the person responsible hadn’t stopped.

“I did leave for a while,” he explained. “We have another brother, Blake. He and I went and lived with our uncle. But I had to come back. This dick of a detective hasn’t done anything to find my brother.”

“Who do you think did it?”

He was quiet for a moment, his gaze moving over the crowd around us. “Everyone here has their theories. Some think it’s one of us; some think it’s a demon. Even the devil himself. We’ve all had someone that we love hurt, taken, or killed by this man,” he explained, but didn’t answer my question.

I leaned slightly closer to him. “And who do you think it is? Someone you know? An outsider? The devil himself?”

Brooks was quiet for a moment, and I heard Darren’s words in the recesses of my mind as he spoke to the crowd, but I didn’t listen to any of them. I was focused on the first person in this town who was finally telling the truth.

Finally, he spoke. “My brother always thought it was Old Man Baker on the outskirts of town. He has the most land, and you would need space to hide those kids away.” He looked around and pointed when he found who he was looking for. It was an older man, dressed in a flannel shirt, his stomach protruding. His hair was white, and his eyes an icy blue. I reached into my notebook and scrawled the moniker: Old Man Baker.

Brooks moved slightly closer to me. “I used to wonder about Mrs. Lavelle. She’s the librarian. No one thought it would be her, being a woman and all, but she’s conniving… and wicked smart.”

I scratched down more notes as he spoke: Librarian Lavelle.

“This is where I tell you the prevailing theory when I first came back,” he paused for a moment, his gaze moving to mine. “Some thought it was me.”

A startled laugh escaped my lips. “You would have been what? Close to two when it started up?”

He smirked. “Take one: a baby. But the tattoos and the general disposition that this place sucked were enough to get people to turn on me.”

“How did they explain it away?”

“Do-Gooder Darren started the rumor. He thought for a while it was a group of people, like a torch being handed from person to person each year. Some assumed I had taken up the torch. There was some kid, barely an adult, that people thought was responsible for the first ones. He lived out on the edge of town and was known for being a terror. Lighting houses on fire, slashing tires, even killing animals. He was the top suspect for a while, but no one has seen him in years. That’s when it moved to me.” He swallowed, his gaze going back to the front of the room. “The day I came back at eighteen, four years ago, was the day another kid was taken. Another family was murdered. Some still wonder if it’s me.”

“I’m sorry,” I spoke softly. And I meant it. It was obvious he bore scars from losing his parents and his younger brother.

Brooks shrugged, seeming not to be bothered by the accusation. “I’m not shocked. I’m an outsider to these people, which immediately makes me a suspect.”

“Is it a tight-knit community?”

He nodded. “It’s why that kid was a suspect so long ago. He wasn’t a part of the community. Here, that means you’re trouble. Darren hasn’t even been welcomed into the fray, and he’s been here for two decades now.”

“But you grew up here. Wouldn’t that make you part of the town?”

“No.” His answer was fast and resolute, punctuated by his tone. There was no question to him about whether or not he was accepted. “The fact that I left is enough for them to look down at me. They don’t care that the only reason I even left this town was because my parents were murdered and I was forced to go live with my uncle. It doesn’t help that I’m not willing to keep this all a secret like the rest of them do.”

An idea struck—one I couldn’t shake. “You’re the reason the existence of the notes leaked, aren’t you?”

“It was time we shook things up. Do-Gooder Darren has accomplished jack-shit. I figured getting more attention on what’s happening here couldn’t hurt.” He threw me a sly look, his arms crossing over his chest. “It worked. You’re here.”

I laughed despite myself, because he wasn’t wrong. “Why do they keep it a secret?”

“Some shit about not wanting to bring attention to the man. That it’s exactly what he wants with these notes. It was Darren’s idea.”

“And you don’t agree?” I challenged.

“Maybe after the first few years, it was smart. But twenty years later and it’s still happening? Seems stupid to me. He should be yelling from the rooftops what’s happening, calling in the cavalry. Maybe if he had gotten it out there when it all started, my parents and my brother would still be alive.” The anger radiated off him in waves.

I couldn’t help but agree. I too found it strange that it was so secretive, but I could also see why bringing more attention could cause more problems. The Watcher wasn’t talked about in the news, but the case files were all public information. Everything was being done by the book and aboveboard.

“So, you told me who the town thinks the Watcher is. Who your brother thinks it is. Who do you think it is?” I pivoted back to the question he had expertly ignored twice now.

Brooks sighed deeply and glanced around the room. “Maybe the theories are right. Maybe it is the devil himself.”