"You know, if she hadn't dumped Anthony Mulligan when she found out he was cheating on her, I think I would have told her more about his past," Esther said.
May's eyes widened.
She just realized what Esther had told her. And this was very interesting, and something she hadn't known at all.
"Wait a second. You're saying that Molly dated Anthony?"
"Only for a while. I think they were together for a couple of months at the most. He really wasn't right for her."
Owen shook his head, looking as intrigued as May now felt.
This definitely begged another question.
"Tell me something, Esther. Did Molly ever date a man called Dave Tyne?"
"Oh, him?" Esther frowned. "No, she never did. Like I said, she didn't date very many men at all."
And then, Esther hesitated. "Hang on a minute. I'm wrong here. She did! She didn't date him per se, but she took him to the class ball when she was sixteen. If that counts for anything."
May could tell, from Owen's stunned face, that it did.
They had not realized before this moment that Molly had been involved with all three of the victims.
They had found the common thread. And, shockingly, it was her.
Now, how could it lead them to the killer?
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
May felt filled with a cold horror as she and Owen left the tattoo parlor. Someone had targeted Molly Blair, without a doubt, and the crime was personal. Someone was killing off her husband and her exes. With careful planning and clearly meticulous research, three of the men who'd been involved with Molly in the past were now dead.
It could be no coincidence, especially since Molly hadn't dated that many men.
If Esther was right, it was someone who knew all of them, had met all of them, and hated them all.
She tried to put her finger on who that person could be.
Who hated this woman enough to do this? She had never really made any enemies at all, as far as they knew.
"It's unreal that this is all about her," Owen said, as they climbed into the car. "It feels like this has come full circle."
"It has," May agreed.
"We asked her if Ed had any enemies, anyone who hated him. But we never asked her the same question," Owen said.
"We need to find out what she knows." As she pulled off, heading away from the tattoo parlor and back onto the road leading to Molly's house, May hoped that she would know. The thought was in her mind, like an uncomfortable truth, that as the sheriff's daughter, Molly might have attracted payback that wasn't her battle to fight.
But hopefully, Molly would have some ideas, and if she didn't, then May's next stop would be to quiz Sheriff Jack on who might have borne a long-standing grudge. So, painful and difficult as they were, she had options ahead.
This was the third time that they would be confronting Molly Blair to get information that they hoped would solve the crime. This time, May fervently hoped as she drove down the main road again, it would be the last time.
Molly was still at the neighbor’s house, and when May pulled up outside, she saw that the same cars were parked there. So, that meant her mother would still be there.
"I'm thinking, we might want to question Rachel as well," May said to Owen. "If there was anyone who gave Molly a hard time at school, she might remember too. And sometimes, adults have a better perspective on people's actions than teens do."
Owen thought about this as they walked up to the front door. "Good idea," he said.
This time, Molly herself opened the door, and once again, she looked more than a little annoyed to see the police on her doorstep.
