“What are you saying?”

“I have no doubt that one of those people I just named had something to do with it. You won’t like it and I would rather know now what your actions will be if I try to go after them.”

“If you’re hinting at me stopping this investigation because people I care about are involved, then let me answer you right now, and there won’t be any need to return to this again. I want to know who killed those women. The most important thing to me is it to stop the deaths right now. I’m not the type of man who uses his connections to cover deaths or injuries my family may have caused. Do we understand each other?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Why are you looking at my family and assistant instead of the other men who were on this property?”

“Because Dayanara Castillo is directly connected to both murders.”

I froze into a block of ice right before his eyes. “How do you know this?”

“Last night when I was questioning people on the grounds, I happened to see your assistant arguing with your grandma as she helped her down the stairs. It looked like they were coming from where Mrs. Dayanara Castillo lives.”

“What were they arguing about?”

“It was in Spanish. I’m not sure.” He must’ve noticed my shocked expression. “Is something wrong, sir?”

“I had no idea Reece could speak Spanish.” It was reasonable to assume anybody in Miami knew how to speak it. Spanish was practically the first language of the city, but Reece had never informed me of this during the interview, on her resume, or at any point of working with me.

Why didn’t she tell me that, and what could she be fighting with Grandma about?

“I waited for your assistant and grandma to leave, and then ventured up to Dayanara Castillo’s area. A bin of soiled items rested in front of the door, probably to be picked up by a cleaning service, but what struck me as odd was that these items smelled like blood. When I opened the bag, I confirmed that it was so.”

So caught up with Elle, I’d forgotten to tell Detective White about my grandma and Dayanara’s bloody field trip last night. Maybe that was a good thing.

“I tried to call you, but your phone was off.” Detective White stirred in his seat. The next information didn’t seem like it would be good. In fact, the more he talked the more my body switched into defense mode. “I had the clothes tested.”

“That was a smart decision,” I said. “What did you find from these tests?”

“Human blood saturated both your grandma’s and Dayanara’s clothes. However, on Dayanara’s clothes, and I assume this is her shirt and pants due to how short your grandma is, the test showed the victim’s blood from last night was near the bottom of her sleeves and around the knees of her pants.”

I sat there speechless. There had always been a tiny hint of worry in my mind that Dayanara was somehow involved. But I wasn’t ready for the realization to hit me like this.

“There’s more.” The investigator pulled out large photos from the manila envelope in his lap. “When the two girls were killed, not much activity happened with other people on the grounds. But on both nights, those three people I mentioned earlier--your assistant, grandmother, and brother--were active in the area near the garden where the first body was found. Although for the second victim, your brother was on stage. Some of the times were so close I’m certain at least two knew that the first body was there before you spotted it.”

“That can’t be true.” I shook my head. “Why would they let me find it?”

“I’m not sure, sir.” He placed five photographs in front of me. “The coroner stated that the first girl was killed somewhere during the time of three to five in the morning. This is her walking to the pond where I’d told you many people smoked marijuana. As you can see, the time says four thirty in the morning.”

The girl held a flashlight and seemed to be in a hurry to meet someone.

Why would she walk off by herself like that so late at night, if not to meet someone she trusted? She must’ve known the killer or expected to meet someone else and the wrong person met her first.

“This is Dayanara Castillo at three in the morning on the same night.” Detective White pointed to the picture on the right. Dayanara walked the grounds like a ghost. Her white gown flowed to the ground and glowed in the moonlight. Her long brown hair rode the wind. Her eyes looked crazed. Her hands held a large knife.

Dear God. Where the hell did she get a knife?

“There were many photos of her roaming the property with the knife, but this was the closest I could find with her near the kill time. The closer we get to five in the morning, the less I can find her within the camera’s view, which tells me she was in that blind spot.” He placed another photo to the front. “I have your assistant running out of the house at five in the morning. She headed straight to the blind spot. Like Dayanara, she is missing after five in the morning. When she returns, she’s with a bloodied Dayanara.”

Tags: Kenya Wright Mystery
Source: readsnovelonline.net