Still trying to remove Cord’s grip, Sandra’s posture drooped, and her head swung around the room as she tried to make eye contact with the rest of the team. In a wobbly voice, she said, ‘I told Lys that I had a baby brother who died from SIDs.’

Alyssa waved her comment off. ‘Everything you told me about your family was nothing more than a story you concocted in an effort to “connect” with me. The only truthful element to that fabrication was how you weren’t close to your parents.’

Sandra stopped struggling, but remained quiet, and Alyssa couldn’t decipher if the expression on her face was curiosity or something else. She continued. ‘After you killed Hayden Benson, you and your mother left Del Luna, and shortly after, you were able to track down your brother using social media. Somehow, you managed to convince Adam to give you a chance. But at some point, he had to have realized how dangerous you really were, so I was confused as to how you managed to convince him to keep you around. That is until Hal uncovered some interesting information in Adam’s past, specifically his high school days. It would seem that there was one accident and one rather gruesome murder, and incidentally, both boys had somehow threatened Adam. My guess is when we reopen those cases, we’ll learn that they have your fingerprints all over them. Maybe Adam was your accomplice then, too, or maybe he was simply aware of what you’d done, but either way, that’s the hold you had over him, so you probably had no trouble manipulating him into doing your bidding.’

A gleam of admiration, probably for herself, appeared in Sandra’s eyes.

This was where the story became a little murky, but Alyssa forged ahead as if her hunch was fact. ‘Somehow you discovered that Elizabeth Monroe had hired Gabriel Kensington, and you had to stop him before he discovered the truth. But you were too late, weren’t you?’

The calculated expression that settled onto Sandra’s face was almost as good as a blatant confession, as far as Alyssa was concerned.

‘In hindsight, I guess I probably should’ve suspected you sooner, especially after you called to inform us Elizabeth’s vehicle had been located. You said, “Didn’t she own a BMW?” Past tense, of course, because you thought you’d killed her.’

Sandra’s lips tightened, and a veil of anger dropped into place. In that moment, Alyssa could easily sense the evil that had driven Alexander Greene and Barry Campbell away. And she had to admit, she couldn’t blame them.

Ignoring the hatred shooting from Sandra’s glare, Alyssa kept her eyes trained on the young officer. ‘Knowing what you’re capable of, Adam, perhaps in a misguided attempt to protect the girls, kidnaps them and stows them away so you don’t also murder them.’