“Hello, Val, good news! Dennis Tate pleaded guilty. Though I have no doubt we would have won this case. No jury would have set him free.” Haywood practically sang the words.

“What?” Val pressed the phone to her ear, stunned. Did she hear correctly?

“He took the plea deal. We offered life without the possibility of parole. Smartest thing he could have done. He avoids the death penalty this way. Though I have to admit I personally would have loved to see this son of a bitch take a needle in the arm.”

For some reason, Val didn’t feel as relieved as she should have. “What changed his mind?”

“He had no chance of winning,” Haywood scoffed. “Val, even his own counsel advised him to take this deal. With you testifying, someone he bit, someone who survived and could tell the horrors this man put you through, this case was over before it even began.”

Oh my God, it was me. I made this decision. Val kept telling herself this was absurd. She didn’t cause this. Of course he killed those women. He had just confessed to doing so. Why did she have this sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, then?

“The newspapers are comparing this case to Bundy. I think a lot of people are relieved Dennis Tate will be behind bars for the rest of his life.”

Ted Bundy was also arrested in Florida and a bitemark sealed his fate too. He was convicted, sentenced to death and executed. Bundy was a win. A monster who was destroyed. Was Mr. Tate a monster? Did he kill those women? There was no other evidence linking him to the crime. Bundy had a ton of strong circumstantial evidence to go along with the bitemark. Not to mention he was on the run after escaping from prison when he murdered those women in Florida. When he broke out, he’d been serving time for kidnapping.

“What happens now?” Val asked.

“Nothing. He goes to jail for the rest of his life. Val, I can’t thank you enough. As I’ve said all along you were my star witness. Without you—”

Val interrupted, “Well, Mr. Sinclair, I hate to cut you short but I have another call that I have to take.” She did. This wasn’t a lie to get rid of Haywood: she had Jack on the line, though she knew he would have waited.

“Have a good afternoon. I won’t keep you,” Sinclair said, and with that, the call ended.

“What are you doing tonight?” Jack asked.

“The usual. Trying to pin the tail on those who cause murder and mayhem.” She laughed uncomfortably, her mind still grappling with Mr. Tate.

There was a second of silence before Jack responded. “Let’s have dinner just the two of us. Text me the name of where to go and I’ll meet you downtown.”