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Back Lost Hills Save as PDF
Chapters (49)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. DEDICATION
  4. Contents
  5. CHAPTER ONE
  6. CHAPTER TWO
  7. CHAPTER THREE
  8. CHAPTER FOUR
  9. CHAPTER FIVE
  10. CHAPTER SIX
  11. CHAPTER SEVEN
  12. CHAPTER EIGHT
  13. CHAPTER NINE
  14. CHAPTER TEN
  15. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  16. CHAPTER TWELVE
  17. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  18. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  19. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  20. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  21. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  22. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  23. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  44. CHAPTER FORTY
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  48. Author’s Note and Acknowledgments
  49. About the Author

He stared at her but didn’t say a word. She leaned toward him, resting her arms on the table.

“I’m not here to question you, Coyle, because we know everything.”

“There’s nothing to know,” he said.

“Your drawer of souvenirs from the houses you broke into was a big help to us. I almost came by your cell to thank you. We would have discovered the woman you raped in West Hills when we ran your DNA through the system, but because you kept her tiny teacup, we found her today. She even recognized your monkey mask.”

Coyle tried to keep a blank face but there was an involuntary twitch in his left eyelid that gave away that she’d scored a hit. Eve kept going.

“You left some DNA at Tanya’s house and on the hill where you clobbered me, too. I won’t bore you with all the evidence.”

Coyle stared at her. “Then why are you here?”

Eve noted that he didn’t deny what she said. That, in itself, felt like a confession to her, but it wasn’t one. She needed more—much more.

“Because, between you and me, I’m the one homicide detective in the LASD who does not support the death penalty. We devote ourselves to catching killers, so how can we kill them in cold blood and call it justice? The thing is, what you did was so horrible, and the evidence is so overwhelming, that the jury will find you guilty after thirty seconds, tops, of deliberation and then they will sentence you to the needle. No question about it. But there’s one thing right now I can do to change that outcome and that you can do to save yourself.”

He seemed to sink deeper into his seat. It wobbled from side to side. “What’s that?”

“I can get the DA to take the death penalty off the table if you tell me where they are.”

“Who?”

Eve shook her head, like she was disappointed in him. “Come on, Coyle. I’m trying to do you a favor here. Tell me where to find Tanya, Caitlin, and Troy’s body parts and you’ll live.”

His whole body language changed. He sat up straight and smiled. It was like seeing a puppet being lifted up by his strings and start to perform. She knew in that instant that she’d somehow overplayed her hand. He leaned forward and looked her in the eye with smug satisfaction.

“We’re done talking,” he said. “I want to call my lawyer.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Eve walked out of the interrogation room, the file and notepad under her arm, and didn’t let her anger show until the door was closed behind her. She’d tried to play him and somehow got played herself.

The door to the observation room opened and Duncan emerged with a woman carrying a briefcase. Eve didn’t recognize her.