“Yeah. After my father left, we had some people like that call our house. My mother had to handle them. My father was the breadwinner, and he left us with the bills. My mother started working two jobs to keep us going. Eventually, Mom took him to court and got back child support. She was finally able to drop one of those jobs.”

“That’s the first time you’ve told me that,” Tony said. “You only mentioned that she was very shut down.”

“She was. She worked, came home, and went to bed. That was it. No time for Dan and me.” River sighed. “I don’t think I gave her enough credit for what she gave up. Maybe I was too focused on my own pain.”

“You were a child, River. That’s normal.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

Tony didn’t say anything else. It had been a tough day. She needed to process what she was feeling. She’d always been that way. Ever since he’d known her anyway.

They drove in silence the rest of the way to her house.

HE SAT IN HIS CAR AND WATCHED them drive away. He couldn’t stop laughing. Here he was, so close to them, but they had no idea. Tonight, he would deliver the old trunk to the place by the water where River Ryland would face her final moments. The clock was ticking, and soon he would finish what had been started.

He’d made other plans as well. As soon as River was dead, he would take his next victim. The little brunette at the antique shop would follow River into the water. They had to be washed clean. The way his mother had tried to wash his sins away. But he wouldn’t use scalding water the way she had. He still carried the scars from her cruelty.

Then after River and Megan had been dealt with, he would keep going. He would finally unleash the beast that growled inside him. And that monster would force St. Louis to cry for mercy.

He started his car and headed to the place of River’s execution.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-THREE

Dinner with Tony went well. River’s mother was happy to see him. She seemed to be having one of her good days. They laughed at Tony’s corny jokes, and Scutter tried valiantly to jump into his lap during dinner. Once they were finished, Tony picked up the friendly cat and stroked his golden fur, which Scutter loved.

Although Tony wanted to help with the dishes, River made him leave, knowing that Watson was waiting for him. Then she made Mrs. Weyland and Rose go to the living room so they could watch their favorite show. They loved watching reruns of NCIS. River suspected they both had slight crushes on actor Mark Harmon.

As she loaded the dishwasher, she couldn’t seem to relax. She was unsettled, but she wasn’t sure why. To distract herself, she kept running April’s remaining cold cases through her mind. She felt strongly that her disappearance had to be tied to one of the people connected to her podcast. But which one? Which case should they focus on?

Once the dishwasher was loaded and River had wiped down the counters, she went to check on Rose and Mrs. Weyland. Her mother was already nodding off.

“I’ll get her to bed,” Mrs. Weyland said softly. “Then I’d like to talk to you for a few minutes. It won’t take long.”

“Sure.” River headed to her room. She was tired tonight and just wanted to take a shower and crawl into bed. Instead, she sat down in the overstuffed chair in the corner of her room and waited for Mrs. Weyland. River leaned her head back and closed her eyes. When she heard the knock on her door, she realized that she’d fallen asleep.

“Come in,” she said, trying to clear her head.

Mrs. Weyland pushed the door open and smiled at her. “I’m sorry to bother you, honey. I’m sure you’re tired, but something happened today. You need to know about it.”

“It’s about my mother?”

“In a way.”

River got up from her chair and motioned to the older lady to sit down.

“Oh, thanks, but I won’t be here long. I just need you to know that your brother called again today. He talked to your mama for a while, and when she was done, she gave the phone to me. He and your dad plan to visit on Saturday. I told him he needed to talk to you about it first, but he reminded me that this is your mama’s house. She told them to come, honey. Now, she may have felt that way today, but it doesn’t mean she’ll feel the same way on Saturday. I just wanted you to know that whatever you decide to do, I’ll support you.”

River knew this was coming, but she certainly didn’t think it would happen so soon. She knew eventually she had to face her father. She wished her brother had talked to her about this first, but he was right. This really was their mother’s house. Still, he had to know how traumatic this could be for her and for River.

“Thanks for telling me.” She sat down again and stared at Mrs. Weyland. “How do you feel about this?”

She smiled. “Honey, it doesn’t matter how I feel. You have to search your heart and listen to God. What does He want you to do? One thing I will say—if your mother’s illness proceeds along a normal course—the sooner she faces your father, the better. Your mama thinks she’s ready for this now, and I believe she is. But a few months from now . . . Well, it could be a different story.” She sighed. “I’m goin’ to bed now, and you should too. You sleep on it. Maybe by the time you wake up, you’ll know what to do. That’s worked for me many times. ’Night, honey.”

“Good night.”

When the door closed, River sat for a moment, trying to digest what the elderly caregiver had told her. It occurred to her that she hadn’t been very accommodating to Dan. He was trying to bring healing to their family, but she’d been acting as if he were trying to cause harm. She felt the need to talk to him before he and her father showed up. Of course, Dan wasn’t asking for permission to come, but at least she could let him know she wanted to see him. She and Dan had been close growing up, but he’d fled when he was eighteen to get away from their mother. River had felt abandoned. Even betrayed. But in truth, she couldn’t blame him. Their mother had been very difficult to live with. River had blamed herself because her father left. It wasn’t true, of course, yet River had felt guilty about it for years. She’d tried to be perfect, hoping her mother would finally forgive her. How strange that now, after getting Alzheimer’s, Rose was finally showing love to her daughter. She credited Mrs. Weyland for much of her mother’s transformation.

But even more than facing Dan, seeing her father again after all these years made her feel . . . what? Nauseated? She knew she was supposed to love him, but she didn’t. She had forgiven him . . . told herself she had anyway. But there was still resentment. Her pastor had said once that love wasn’t a feeling. It was a decision. When he said it, River had felt as if God was actually speaking to her. The revelation that her feelings didn’t define her gave her a sense of freedom. She’d experienced such a sense of relief—and she was finally able to begin to let go of the guilt she’d felt. Her feelings toward her father were still negative, but she’d made the decision to forgive him, no matter how she felt.

A wave of weariness washed over her, and she took off her boots. Yet instead of preparing for her shower, she continued to sit there and think about the case. Things had turned deadly, and she was concerned that someone else could be next. She suddenly wondered if Jeffrey, April’s father, could also be in danger. If someone was watching and they’d seen him come to their office . . . She found her phone and quickly called Tony.

“Hey, sorry to bother you, but have you wondered if we should warn Jeffrey Bailey to be careful? Nathan is in protective custody because he visited us, and now Jeffrey’s been to our office.”

Tony was quiet for a moment. “I don’t know, but it’s a good question.”

“I think if something happened to him, we’d feel awful. Especially after today.”

“Tell you what,” Tony said, “I’ll call him and let him know that someone may be targeting people who are looking into April’s disappearance. I mean, you showed him the picture. I’ll remind him about that. Maybe that will be enough to make him cautious.”

“If he doesn’t take it seriously, tell him about the guard, Kevin,” River said.

“Should we tell him Nathan is in police protection?”

River thought for a moment. “No. The police are pretty secretive about things like that. If Jeffrey said the wrong thing to the wrong person . . .”

“Of course, you’re right,” Tony said. “Sorry. I’m tired. I’ll just mention the guard’s death and that we think it might be connected with April’s disappearance.”

“Sounds good,” River said slowly.

“Something else on your mind?”

“Again, how do you know what I’m thinking? Stop it. It’s weird.”

Tony laughed. “Great minds, I guess.”

“My father’s coming to visit on Saturday.”

Tony didn’t respond immediately. Finally, he said, “How do you feel about that?”

“Well, according to Pastor Mason, I’m not supposed to worry about how I feel. Just decide to love him.”

“I know it’s hard, but I know you can do it.”

“I guess we’ll find out. Remember you promised to be there when I face him.”

“I will,” Tony said. “I promise.”