Chapters (97)
- Cover
- Back Cover Text
- Praise
- Booklist
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- Eighty-Four
- Eighty-Five
- Eighty-Six
- Eighty-Seven
- Eighty-Eight
- Eighty-Nine
- Acknowledgments & A Personal Note
- Excerpt
“Yes,” Garcia said. “As for her dying claim in the ambulance, it appears Lavenza, or Nikki, was making a final attempt at revenge against your wife. From Lavenza’s discovered notes, she wanted to find Emma, extort her, frame her for murder and destroy the life she had.”
“But why?”
“We suspect Lavenza could not stand to see her succeed and be happy in life. Perhaps we’ll never know. It was as if Lavenza was locked in time, never outgrowing her life as a tormented fourteen-year-old.” Garcia looked at his notes. “Lavenza had written: ‘I’ve got nothing to lose and I’ll do anything to win in the end.’” He looked at Ben. “It seems clear that she wanted to control the Skull Sisters to her very last breath.”
“My God.” Ben took a moment to grasp what he’d been told. “And Torrie Tullock?”
“Still under investigation,” the FBI agent said. “We’re working with the RCMP on her case but it’s clear that she had hired a team of investigators, including Del Brockway, Marisa Joyce Narmore and Leo Wicks, to locate and follow those responsible for her family’s deaths, intending on committing an act of vengeance on all three women.”
Despite holding a memorial service for Emma, it took Ben and Kayla weeks to absorb and process what they’d experienced.
Together they went to a counselor, who had helped them come to terms with it all, coming to the bitter relief of acceptance and healing.
Ben reached deep inside for the strength to resume working.
He hired lawyers who made successful legal applications in Canadian courts for all the court and prison records he could get concerning the Skull Sisters, including all of the journals they’d kept while incarcerated, using the argument that because they were deceased, Girl A, Girl B and Girl C no longer had identities to protect.
The court agreed, and all the requested records were released to him.
Then one day while Kayla was doing laundry, she scooped to the bottom of the large box of powdered detergent and found a clear plastic bag containing the journal Emma had started after she and Ben were married.
Tears came as she read the few words and shared them with her father.
Started a new, wonderful life. Finally and truly, I buried my past. This new journal will be the last of many I’ve kept in my life. It will stand as testament after I’m gone.
No one knows the truth about me, that I set in motion all the steps that led to unthinkable, horrible events: The murders of four people. I tried to stop it. I tried so hard. I never killed anyone but I will always feel responsible. I buried Janie, the person I was, long ago, to work on being a better human being. But for as long as I live, I will never forgive myself…