Page 27 of Dead Rattled
“First of all we’re going to get out of here and let the crime scene unit do their work. I’ll call Cisco and see if he can meet with us this afternoon.” Fitz turned to Jace. “Can you send me the title information you have with the Savini’s name on it? I’ll need to show that to Cisco.”
“You got it.” Jace reached for his phone and started typing.
“Are you okay?” Ronan asked, wrapping an arm around Tennyson.
“I will be when we can get the word out to mothers like Natalie and see if we can reunite some of these stolen babies with their birth families. In the meantime, I need to get out of here. I’ll be in the SUV.” Ten gave Ronan’s hand a squeeze and walked out of the house. The bright May sunshine hurt his eyes. He managed to keep from crying until after he’d slid under the crime scene tape.
The enormity of what the Savini family had done to the young women entrusted to their care was overwhelming. Ten couldn’t help but wonder if the two younger members of the family practice had some kind of scheme of their own to hurt or defraud other women. If that was the case, Ten was coming for them.
For decades the Savini doctors had gotten away with their crimes, but that stopped today. Ten was going to be by Ronan’s side when he took the bastards down, once, and for all.
11
Ronan
Two hours after leaving the house on Pickman Road, Ronan sat in a conference room at the Salem Police Department along with Ten, Jude, and Fitzgibbon. Cisco wanted to have a meeting with the cold case team, but he was late in arriving.
While they waited, Ronan continued to look for information about Kitty Maxwell. After the slain nurse crossed over, Ten had told Ronan about her sisters, Lucy and Candy. Ronan hadn’t had any luck with finding Candy and was on to the next sister. He did a quick Google search and got several results for Lucy Maxwell. One article marked the twentieth anniversary of Kitty’s disappearance. Lucy kept her maiden name and bought her parents’ house so that Kitty would be able to contact her when she decided to come home. “I found her,” he muttered
“Found who?” Jude asked.
“Kitty Maxwell’s sister, Lucy.” He sent the story link to Ten, Fitz, and Jude. “I checked the obits and there’s no mention of her.”
“I’ll do a deeper dive to get her phone number. We’re gonna need a DNA test to prove who the bones belong to,” Jude said, as Cisco walked into the room, looking like he hadn’t slept in days.
“Can someone please explain to me how a fifty-year old set of bones found in a dilapidated frat house is related to the St. Agnes House?” Cisco shook his head. “I hadn’t thought of that place since high school, twenty-something years ago, and now, within the span of a week, we’ve got two major cases with direct ties to the House.” Cisco’s attention was on Fitzgibbon.
“It’s all thanks to Tennyson,” Fitz said, wincing as the words left his mouth.
“Tell us how you really feel, Fitz.” Ronan rolled his eyes.
“I didn’t mean that like it sounded.” Fitz cleared his throat and took a deep breath. “Natalie Fairchild made an appointment with Ten. She had a friend who’d worked with him in the past and had great results. Ten can’t find the spirit she’s hoping to connect with, which leads Ten to believe the spirit is alive. Everly tells us the graves at Act of Mercy are empty and we reunite Natalie with her long-lost daughter. What happened today with Jace was a crazy bit of happenstance.”
“Happenstance?” Cisco asked. “Kitty Maxwell has been missing for fifty plus years. Finding her bones isn’t a coincidence.”
“I agree,” Ten said, jumping into the conversation. “You’re right about it not being a coincidence, but not in the way that you’re thinking.”
“Run that past me like I’m a cranky five-year-old, please.” Cisco rifled a hand through his hair.
“Like you said, Kitty Maxwell has been missing for a long time. Jace said that he stumbled and crashed into the wall, which led to her remains being discovered. The stumblewasn’tan accident. Kitty tripped him. She wanted her remains to be found and knew she could trust Jace. According to what she told me, the house was empty for years after her murder. It was bought by Salem State and used as campus housing for undergrads. There was no way Kitty could trust her remains to a bunch of over-sexed teenage nitwits, so she bided her time. You’ve heard the saying about what’s done in the dark coming into the light? That’s exactly what’s happening here.”
Cisco blew out a harsh breath. “When news of this body’s identification breaks, reporters are going to be all over the St. Agnes House. Now that Natalie is reunited with her daughter,it wouldn’t surprise me if she sold her story to the media and/or wrote a book about her experience. I just got off the phone with the mayor before I walked into this meeting and we both agree that the SPD needs to get out ahead of this story. I’ve scheduled a press conference for two. I want Ronan and Jude there to answer questions and to deliver brief remarks to the media.Brief, Ronan. Think Gettysburg Address short. I would ordinarily choose Fitz to speak, but since his husband discovered the body, it’s best if you’re on the sidelines for this one.”
“Understood,” Fitzgibbon said. “I’ll take Ten with me to go inform Lucy Maxwell that we think we’ve found her sister and to see if she’ll give us a DNA sample. I’ll also ask if there’s anything she can tell us about Kitty’s time at St. Agnes House.”
“Good plan,” Cisco said, standing up when his phone buzzed. “Father Joseph Baker from St. Agnes Parish is here. I called and asked for a meeting. The church deserves to know what’s coming before the tidal wave hits.”
“Fitz, if you and Cisco don’t mind, I’d like to sit in on that meeting. I spoke with the Father the other day.”
“I was going to ask the two of you to come along.” Cisco turned his attention back to Ronan. “You grew up in the Catholic Church and have some understandable animosity toward their stance oncertainissues, but please remember how many people of faith are going to see and hear you speak today. Find a way to bring everyone together instead of leading a march with pitchforks and torches. Got it?”
Ronan nodded. He’d already started composing remarks in his head. He knew what Cisco was looking for. He only hoped he could provide it. He motioned Ten toward him. “I’ll see you at home later. Let’s order Greek Life. After today, no one’s gonna be in the mood to cook.”
“Agreed,” Ten said. “After Fitz and I are finished speaking with the priest and Lucy Maxwell, I want to go see Jace. It’s not every day you find a body bricked into a wall.”
“Give him my best.” After Ten and Fitz left, Ronan grabbed his phone and started typing out what he wanted to say at the press conference. “What do you think?” Ronan handed Jude his phone.
Jude nibbled his bottom lip as he read. “It’s good. I like the tone of it.”
