Her Final Confession

Chapter Twenty-Two

Before she pulled away from Gretchen’s, Josie texted Noah.

Did the search teams find the phone or the MDT?

He tapped back almost instantaneously.

Nope. Nothing. A dead end.

With a sigh, she moved on to something more personal, typing in:

I’m home. Want to come over tonight?

His reply was rapid.

Would love to. Believe me. But my mom’s hot water heater crapped out, and I’m helping her put a new one in. Will be a late night.

Josie sighed again as she fired up her Escape. Noah’s parents had divorced when he turned eighteen. He was the youngest of three, and the only one of his siblings who had stayed in Denton. Josie couldn’t help but adore the way he looked after his mother. She almost typed back, Tell her I said hi, before remembering that the one time she’d met Noah’s mother, the woman had looked Josie up and down and said, “This is the woman who shot you, huh?” Noah had explained ad nauseam about how Josie had been trying to rescue a teenage girl when she shot him, how she’d thought she was doing the right thing, how he hadn’t pressed charges and had forgiven her instantly, but Mrs. Fraley still didn’t warm up. Josie really couldn’t blame her. She still grappled with her own guilt over the incident. She texted back, No problem. See you tomorrow, and pulled out of her parking spot, heading home.

The lights were still on at her house, and from the driveway she could see the flicker of the television through the living room window. Trinity’s sporty red Fiat was parked in her driveway. Josie was surprised by the feeling of relief that washed over her. After a night alone in Philadelphia, she was glad to still have company. Inside, Trinity sprawled across Josie’s blue couch, wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt bearing the logo of her network news show, the remote clutched firmly in her hand. On the coffee table in front of her sat a large bowl of popcorn. Trinity pressed a button on the remote, freezing the action on the TV when Josie entered.

“You’re still here,” Josie said.

Trinity laughed, sitting up and patting the couch cushion beside her. “I’m happy to see you too.”

Josie dropped her bag and her jacket on the foyer floor and plopped down next to her twin. She grabbed a handful of popcorn and ate it, talking around it. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just thought you had to be back at work.”

“I go back to New York tomorrow. I hope you don’t mind me crashing here.” She waved the remote around the room. “It still fascinates me to be in your space.”

Now it was Josie’s turn to laugh. “You should invite me to New York so I can see your space.”

Trinity swatted her thigh lightly with the remote. “Please. You’d actually have to give work a rest to do that. Unless I could come up with some clue to whatever case you’re working in the heart of Manhattan. That would get you there.”

They were both equally as career-driven, so Josie made no apologies. Instead, she said, “Speaking of which, have you ever heard of the Devil’s Blade or the Dirty Aces?”

“Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs,” Trinity said. “OMGs. You’re not working a case involving either of them, are you? They’re bad news.”

Josie had to stifle her groan. The last time Trinity had told her someone was bad news, the bodies piled up faster than Josie could count them. “I’m not sure. I mean, not directly. I don’t think.”

“That clears that up,” Trinity joked.

“Do you know a lot about them?”

“I know a little. We did a big story on them last year. One of my producers had a deep contact within the Dirty Aces organization. They weren’t the only OMG we covered, but they were the one we learned the most about. The Aces deal heavily in drug and illegal arms trafficking. They’ve staked their claim on the East Coast, and they don’t take kindly to the other gangs encroaching on their areas. Anyone who gets in their way is either killed or mysteriously disappears.”

“I heard that,” Josie said. “My source said they leave a calling card.”

“A half-burnt ace of spades,” Trinity supplied. “That’s not a calling card, it’s a warning.”

“What do you mean?”

Trinity placed the remote on the coffee table. “The Dirty Aces are responsible for a lot of murders, but they only leave the burnt ace of spades when they want to send a message to rival gangs.”

“Okay, what about witnesses?” Josie asked. “Say someone saw one or two of their members commit a murder, and that someone was going to testify against them in court.”

Trinity shook her head. “They make witnesses disappear. Those bodies aren’t found.”

“Do they ever target prosecutors or police officers who work on the cases?”

“Sure, but it’s more effective to target witnesses, because cops and prosecutors need witnesses to prove their cases.”

“But they wouldn’t leave an ace of spades if they killed a police officer or made one disappear?”

“No. I don’t think so. Is this about Gretchen? You think the Aces did something to her? You didn’t find an ace of spades at the crime scene, did you?”

“No, and I don’t know. She worked a case a few years back where she put away a couple of Aces for killing some Devil’s Blade guys. I’m grasping at straws. Especially with our grad student murder victim, and the—”

Josie stopped short at telling Trinity about the photo of the mystery boy.

“It’s okay,” Trinity said. “I know you can’t tell me certain things. Not that I care now. I’m not covering the local news anymore.” She picked the remote back up and turned her show back on. “But you’re not grasping at straws if you can find a connection between Gretchen, your victim, and the Aces.”

Josie barked a laugh. “Easier said than done.”

“Don’t worry,” Trinity told her with a wink. “You’ve accomplished a lot more with a lot less.”

Josie stood and started walking out of the room.

Trinity said, “Just where do you think you’re going?”

Josie turned and stared at her. “Upstairs. I need to do some research.”

Trinity arched a perfectly plucked brow and motioned toward the couch again. “Laptops are made to be mobile, dear sister, so bring it down here and do your research while I binge-watch this show. I’ll make you coffee if you think it’s going to be a late night.”

Josie raised her own brow to match Trinity’s. “Are you buttering me up for something?”

Trinity laughed. “No. I’m still just trying this whole twin sister thing out.”