Chapter Eight
"Well, that was a bust," remarked Charlie throwing his hands in the air.
"What was a bust?" Joe asked walking up to him. It had been at least an hour since Fenton, Sam, and Durham left and Charlie had been working non-stop on finding out more about Detective Brady.
"I tried looking up Brady's name in Colorado and there's nothing," Charlie stated. "Unless he used a different name, Harrison Brady doesn't exist."
"Did you try a variation of his name?" suggested Vanessa. She and Bess were lounging on the couch talking when they overheard Charlie. "Maybe Harrison isn't his real name."
"I could try but I don't understand why someone would change their name," Charlie sighed, "but I'll give it a try." He went back to his laptop and after a few key strokes, he whistled loudly as article after article came up.
"Woah," Joe mumbled looking at the screen. Curiosity moved Vanessa and Bess over to see what was going on.
"The guy is a saint," mentioned Charlie. "There's no way he is the Bridal Killer if he has done everything on this list."
"Are you sure it's him?" Bess asked. Charlie clicked a link and a photo came up of one Officer Harry Brady from Denver, Colorado. It was definitely the Brady they knew even though he looked different. It didn't completely exonerate him but it definitely made the man look innocent.
"I wonder why he left his job in Colorado to come to a small town like Milford Point," Charlie wondered out loud.
"You're right," Joe nodded. "Is there anything that says why he left?"
"Nope. Nothing. It's like the man just up and left without a trace."
Suddenly Bess' phone went off and she squeaked in alarm. "Oh!" she cried looking at her phone. "Oh, my gosh! I completely forgot! We were supposed to go get George, Mike, and Daniel from the airport!"
Vanessa made a noise as well, her eyes going wide. "And Nancy was supposed to pick up Candace's wedding gown at the dry cleaners!"
"Way to go in doing things at the last minute, Nan," Joe quipped. Vanessa punched his arm and he shied away. "Okay! I get it! Bad timing!"
"They were steaming the gown for the wedding, you lout!" she said angrily. She then pulled out her phone and dialed a number before walking away. Bess did the same though she went in the opposite direction.
"Man, remind me not to say anything stupid to her when it's our turn to get married," mumbled Joe. Charlie snickered turning back to the computer. "is there anything else you can find on Brady?"
"It might take a while but I don't think it's really necessary, do you?" Charlie asked. "He looks pretty clean to me."
"Yeah, but where's he been for the past few hours? He should be with Durham and Dad at the hospital not on a wild goose chase that we don't even know anything about."
"Phew!" Bess sighed coming back to the boys. "George was understanding. She and Mike met up with Daniel and the three of them are on their way here. They'll be here in an hour or so."
"Did you tell her about Nancy and Candace?" Joe asked.
"No, I didn't have the heart to say anything," she answered sadly. "Nancy's our best friend and George cares a lot about her. I think it would be best if I told her in person."
"That's if she doesn't find out on the way here, Bess," he pointed out.
"Oh, crap," Bess mumbled, her eyes going wide. "I forgot about that. I guess I should call her back and let her know."
"That's weird," Vanessa muttered stopping their conversation about George. She had a confused look on her face.
"What is it?" Charlie asked.
"I just called the dry cleaners to let them know I'd be by for the gown and they said someone had already picked it up!"
"What?!" cried Bess.
"Did they say who?" Joe was just as shocked as the rest of them.
"Yeah, and that's the really weird part." Vanessa paused shaking her head in disbelief. "She said it was Parker."
Sam was in the waiting room of the hospital. He had decided to skip seeing Jax since more than likely he'd just be an extra person in the room that the doctors probably wouldn't appreciate. Besides, the news had caught his eye and he wanted to see what else was going on other than the case they were on. Who knows what could have been found without any of them knowing?
After the news story about the abduction was over, a couple came in and sat down on the couch and began talking quietly. Another story came on to the screen and the couple immediately went silent, their faces staring intently at the screen on the wall. Sam wondered what had caused the change and he looked back at the screen to see a newscast about a hit-and-run accident that occurred earlier that morning. He thought it was strange considering it was out in the middle of nowhere. How could a driver miss a person walking along the side of the road when there was no one else around? Sam listened to the reporter who was on-site as she pleaded for help over the airwaves.
"If you have any information that could lead to the identity and apprehension of the driver, please contact Riverton Police. They are currently working on finding out who the victim is as well for sources say that there was no ID found."
"That poor girl," the woman said softly then turned to her husband. She looked lovingly at him, placing a hand on his and squeezing. "I am so proud of you, Darby. You saved that girl's life."
"Yeah," he grumbled embarrassed by the attention. "Let's hope she makes it."
"I know she will."
"I just don't understand why anyone would do such a thing then drive off," the man continued. "And not to know who she is I think is worse because I'm sure her family is looking for her by now."
"Excuse me," Sam interjected shifting himself closer to the couple. The two looked at him curiously and waited. "I'm sorry but I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. My name is Sam Radley. I'm a private investigator working with the police on the Bridal Killer kidnapping."
"Oh, I heard about that!" cried the woman. "So sorry to hear about those girls! I hope that you can find them soon before that nasty man does something awful to them. I'm Jill Gillis and this is my husband Darby. He's the one who found that girl who was hit by a car. We're just here to make sure she's okay. They don't know who she is so we were just worried about her."
"That's very nice of you," he nodded. "And it's nice to meet you as well. Maybe I can help with finding out who this girl is. Can you tell me the story, Mr. Gillis?"
"Darby," the man growled in a grubby voice. "Call me Darby. There's not much to tell, Mr. Radley."
"It's Sam," Sam smiled politely. "Anything will do to help."
"Well, okay," Darby shrugged. The man went on to describe everything that happened that morning up until he went home after the police released him. "Officer Carlisle is the one in charge. He told me that he would get fingerprints from her to see if she's in the system somehow. Like Jill said, we just want to make sure she's okay. The girl looked innocent enough but was pretty banged up. I think she might have had a broken leg."
Sam took all the information in. It was more than what the reporter had said but it was understandable since the man was an eyewitness. Still something was nagging at him about the whole case and the next question he asked would more than likely help in more ways than one.
"Can you tell me what she looked like?"
"It was hard to tell, Sam," Darby replied. He paused to think before he continued. "Her hair seemed light but there was a lot of blood so I couldn't really tell you what her hair color was. I do know that she had the brightest blue eyes I'd ever seen. She opened them right after I called for help. Not sure if she was still awake though when they brought her here."
"She had blue eyes?" Sam's heart was racing. It couldn't be her.
"Yup," the man nodded. "There was something that struck me as odd about her though."
"What's that?"
"She was barefoot. Don't know why someone would be out on that road in their bare feet." Darby paused again then snapped his fingers. "And she wore a really skimpy dress. Almost like she was at a club but there's no clubs out there. Only in Milford Point."
Sam's face went white. He was describing Nancy almost to a tee. Fumbling for his phone, he scrolled through his photos before coming to the one that had Nancy and Candace from the night before. Sam held up the phone to Darby. "Is any one of these girls her?"
Darby stared at the screen, scrutinizing it before nodding. "Yeah. That's her," he said pointing to Nancy. "It's the same dress. Who…who is she?"
"Her name is Nancy Drew and she's one of the missing girls," Sam said excitedly. He rose and thanked the couple as he got his phone out. He dialed Fenton's number as he rushed down the hall but got mad when it went right to voicemail. "Of all the times, Fenton!"
Whitney sat in her car looking at the gate to the Hawkley mansion. She knew she saw Parker earlier that day at the dry cleaners but he wasn't driving his normal car. And when she called to him, he completely ignored her which was strange even for Parker. Something was wrong and she felt that she needed to tell someone which led her to the mansion on the outskirts of town.
But she was afraid that no one would believe her. After the night before when she thought she saw Jasper at the club again, Whitney wondered what was going on. Jasper had been gone most of the day too which was weird since he was practically a part of the house already. He didn't seem himself either. He seemed moody at times.
When he left early that morning, Whitney decided to take matters into her own hands and search his room. That was when she found something that sent shivers down her spine. Jasper was a photographer and kept photos everywhere. Her mother even allowed him to turn the bathroom into a dark room for a time. The only thing he didn't anticipate was someone snooping. She went through the dresser drawers and found a photo. Whitney held onto it, staring at it as a tear escaped down her face. She had been so wrong about everything and this was just the icing on the cake.
Taking a deep breath, Whitney put the car into gear and drove up to the gate. Even though she didn't like Candace or Nancy, she had to do something. They didn't deserve this and Whitney needed to tell the right people about it.
Carson slept for only about an hour before he woke up. As far as he knew there was no word yet on Nancy…or Candace for that matter. They had to be out there somewhere. He just couldn't imagine life without his daughter.
A knock came from his phone and he picked it up to see that he had a text message from an unknown number. Putting his reading glasses on, Carson read the very short message and was immediately confused. All it said was "Check your email."
Curious, Carson opened up an app on the phone and saw a new email from a very familiar person: Parker Hawkley. Why would Parker send him something? When he clicked on it, he noticed there were a few attachments while only a link was in the message box. Carson clicked on the link and was immediately shown what looked like a live video feed.
"Oh, my God."
"I'm telling you, I have no idea what you're talking about!" yelled Parker. He was in the parlor with Joe, Charlie, Bess, and Vanessa. Joe had just finished interrogating him about the missing wedding dress from the dry cleaners.
"Then how do you explain the clerk saying that it was you who picked it up?" Joe asked folding his arms in front of him. "Was she lying?"
"I don't know!" He threw his hands in the air. "I've been here the entire day, Joe! You know that! When would I have had the chance to go get it without anyone seeing me?"
"What is going on here?" boomed Senator Hawkley as he entered the room. Laura and Hannah were right behind him. "Parker, I thought you were sleeping."
"I couldn't sleep, Dad," Parker growled. "I came down here to see if anything changed and I was interrogated by Joe about picking up Candace's wedding gown, which I didn't do!"
"Joe?" Laura looked at her son. "What's going on?"
"Vanessa called the dry cleaners to tell them she was on her way to pick up the gown," Joe explained.
"But the clerk told me that Parker had already picked it up!" Vanessa finished.
"I wasn't there!" cried Parker. "I've been in my room the whole time!"
"Surely the clerk was mistaken," the Senator replied calmly. "I know Parker wouldn't leave the house then come back without anyone finding out. He'd have to go through the gate but the guard would have phoned me immediately."
"This is strange," Laura stated. "I believe the clerk but I also believe Parker. What if there's someone else out there who's impersonating him? Maybe that's why we haven't been able to nail down any suspects."
"But how could that be, Mom?" Joe asked confused. "Is this guy a master of disguise or something?"
"I don't know, Joe," she said softly, "but your father needs to know this development."
As Laura sent a message to Fenton, the doorbell rang and moments later, Giles escorted a nervous looking Whitney into the room. She did an intake of breath when she saw Parker then closed her eyes.
"Whitney?" Charlie replied surprised rising from his chair. "What are you doing here?"
"I…I shouldn't have come," the young woman stated when she saw her brother. She turned around quickly but Laura stopped her by placing a hand on her arm causing Whitney to drop the photo onto the floor. It landed face up and the room became eerily silent. Laura bent down and picked it up, her mouth open slightly.
"Where did you get this?" she rasped staring at her.
Whitney's mouth moved but nothing came out. She was too nervous to say anything with everyone staring at her in shock. She backed up only to stop when she felt a body behind her. Whitney turned to see Frank looking down at her with concern.
"Am I missing something?" he asked glancing around the room.
Laura stepped up to Whitney who shied back a little, worried that she would be yelled at. The woman surprised her by gently placing her hand on Whitney's arm, speaking softly toward her. "Where did you get this?"
"I…I found it in our guest room," she stammered. "The…the one Jasper is staying in. He had it hidden in the dresser along with a bunch of other photos."
"Jasper Wilkes?" Vanessa asked surprised. She looked over at Joe who was just as shocked. He stared at the photo of Nancy and Candace. Nancy's face crossed off while Candace's was circled. It confirmed that Candace was the target.
"Parker!" yelled a voice interrupting the silence. Carson stormed into the room, his face filled with fury. He aimed right toward Parker and punched the young man knocking him back.
"Carson!" Hannah cried in alarm but he ignored her.
"How could you?" Carson boomed, holding his phone tightly. "How could you do this to them?"
"What are you talking about, Mr. Drew?" Parker shouted wiping blood off his lip. Without a word, the lawyer lunged at him and had his hands wrapped around the young man's neck before Frank and Joe were able to pull Carson off. Senator Hawkley helped his son back up.
"Where are they, Parker?" Carson screamed struggling with Frank and Joe. The women in the room cried out as he broke through to go after Parker again. "WHERE'S MY DAUGHTER?"
By the time Frank and Joe were able to get Carson off Parker again, the four were breathing heavily. Parker stood with his father rubbing his neck while Frank and Joe stood in front of Carson.
"Tell us what's going on, Carson," Laura said calmly standing in between the two groups.
"Ask him!" the lawyer yelled pointing to Parker. "He sent me an email so I know he's the one who did this!"
"Email?" Frank looked at him strangely. "Why would Parker send you an email especially if it would incriminate him? Can we see it?"
Carson shrugged him and Joe off then handed Frank the phone reluctantly. The video was still playing and as Frank watched, his mouth opened. He turned to Parker, his eyes wide then handed him the phone. Parker took it and stared at the screen before his knees buckled. His father was right there to hold him up as the phone fell to the floor. The reaction took Carson by surprise and he stared at the ground in defeat.
"What is it?" Hannah asked.
"It's Candace," Frank said solemnly looking over at the woman as Joe picked up the phone. "And she's screaming for help."
The killer stared at himself in the mirror. He got what he wanted. He knew that the Bride would die in a matter of hours from suffocation. He had a live video feed set up on his phone, the same one he sent to Carson Drew from Parker's hacked account. The killer wanted to stand in that room and watch with glee as the so-called detectives broke down and accused Parker of kidnapping and murder. He had taken that makeup off hours before but he still remembered the look on Candace's face when she saw who she was her beloved interrogate her. She was now crying out to Parker, wondering why he would hurt her. When it's all over, it would be Parker who was arrested.
He walked out of the bathroom, his bags sitting on the bed. In one were his clothes that he had neatly packed up. In the other were the things that helped him through life, inherited from his mother and father: a makeup kit that his mother used daily in her life as a makeup artist and the knife that his father so lovingly used on those who crossed his path. These were the things he cherished most and he made sure that they were with him always.
The packing was almost done. He knew his time in Milford Point was at an end. He went to where he kept his photography equipment and stopped. Someone had been in here recently. His most prized photo of his recent kill was missing. He snarled in annoyance. The usefulness of the family he was staying with was at an end but he had to find out which one of them took it before they were able to tell anyone about it. And when he was done with them, the killer had one more lose end to clear up before he disappeared for good.
A knock came at the door and he went over to answer, a smile rippling across his face.
"Why hello, Mrs. Stanton," Jasper Wilkes replied with his deep Southern drawl. "You are just the lady I wanted to see."
Author's Note:
Thank you everyone for keeping up with the story! I was able to get this chapter out a little early because I have no kids in my house today! Woo hoo! My school was off for a trade day and since I did all my training over the summer, I got to stay home! Besides, I had this chapter partially written with all the time I had last week in waiting for the glitch to clear up. I hope this cleared a few things up but it probably gave you a few more questions as well. Thank you also to those who left reviews! You guys rock! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and if you will, please let me know what you think! Have a great day and God bless.
