Taken by Evil: A Bridget Bishop FBI Mystery Thriller Book 2 by Melinda Woodhall

Author:Melinda Woodhall [Woodhall, Melinda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Creative Magnolia
Published: 2022-04-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Nighttime had fallen by the time Dr. Luther Crane pulled up to the modest, single-story house on Chesterfield Road. He hadn’t thought to leave on any lights when he’d headed out for D.C. late that afternoon, and the house lay in total darkness as he pulled onto the driveway.

Parking his Audi sedan in the garage, he opened the door to the kitchen and flipped on the light, then dropped his keys and laptop bag on the counter with an exhausted groan.

His back was sore and stiff from sitting in the car during the two-hour drive, and his head throbbed with stress and worry.

He’d spent the entire drive back to Settlers Creek replaying his discussion with Deputy Santino and Bridget Bishop and wondering what he should do now that questions were being asked about Dietrich and the boys ranch.

If only I’d done something back then. If I’d told someone what Kilpatrick and Dietrich had been up to…it could have been stopped. So many lives could have been saved.

Opening the cabinet, Crane reached for a bottle of Ibuprofen. If he was going to figure out what to do next, he needed to be able to think. He needed the pounding in his head to stop.

Shaking two tablets into his hand, he downed them with a cup of lukewarm tap water, then sunk into a chair at the kitchen table.

Deputy Santino is bound to follow the money trail. Once he finds out about the kickbacks Judge Dietrich was getting from Kilpatrick, it’ll only be a matter of time before the rest comes out.

He should have known the cover up and the lies would be found out eventually. They all should have known.

Justice always prevails in the end, isn’t that what they say?

Dropping his head into his hands, Crane closed his eyes, too weary to block out the memories any longer. No longer able to deny his guilt and shame, even to himself.

He pictured Tate Everest as the boy he’d been, that day he’d arrived in Crane’s office, newly orphaned and in shock.

The teen’s angelic face had been so vulnerable, so scared. And his spirit had been damaged, but it hadn’t yet been broken. That had come later. After Tate had gone to the ranch. After Dietrich and Kilpatrick had gotten hold of him.

Of course, Crane had long suspected something unseemly had been going on, but he hadn’t pieced together the truth behind the two men’s unholy alliance until after the explosion.

It was only after the tragedy, after all the deaths, that Tate told him about Champ, and about the ordeal both he and Champ had endured at the hands of the men in power.

That’s when Crane figured out what Champ had done. How he’d set off the explosion intentionally to take out Commander Kilpatrick and the other boys.

Clutching at his aching head, Crane let out a tortured sigh.

I should have told the truth. I shouldn’t have urged Tate to stay strong. To stay silent. I should have helped him find justice.

But Judge Dietrich had been so powerful in the little town, so untouchable.

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