The Thirteenth Sacrifice by Debbie Viguié Read Free Book Online

were only inches apart. Jane didn’t flinch, but Samantha could feel multiple hands pulling at her.
    “Jane. You are absolutely right. Witches attacked you and they will pay for what they did.”
    Relief flooded Jane’s face and Samantha could tellthat even through the haze of medication and self-doubt, she had gotten through to the girl. “Thank you,” Jane whispered.
    “The truth shall set you free,” Samantha whispered back.
    “They branded me,” Jane said, as though suddenly remembering it.
    “Branded you? Where?”
    Jane turned her head around as far as she could. There, on the back of her head, just at the hairline, was a white scar in the shape of an octagon. One side was jagged, in marked contrast to the almost surgical precision of the rest of it. It was as though whoever did the carving lost concentration.
Or stopped suddenly.
    “You want to tell me what the hell that was all about?” Ed asked once they were back in the car.
    “The truth,” Samantha said.
    “I doubt Dr. Matheson will let us back in for a follow-up without some sort of court order.”
    “He can bite me,” Samantha said. “I don’t give a rat’s ass about him. What I care about is that girl knows exactly what happened to her. She’s never going to find any peace or get out of that damn place until she can come to terms with it.”
    “Nice theory, but as long as she’s claiming she was attacked by witches, there’s no way they’re ever going to let her go. I think you just did her more harm than good.”
    “That’s a matter of opinion, but the truth is always better, no matter how ugly or unexplainable it is.”
    “Fine, but if we get blowback for this, you’re explaining that to the captain, not me.”
    “Any time.”
    A couple of minutes passed while Ed calmed down.“You were right,” he admitted finally as they turned into the parking lot for their precinct.
    “I know I was.”
    “Well, don’t expect a medal anytime soon. Let’s focus on cracking Katie and getting this thing solved before it gets any stranger.”
    “We’re on the same page there.”
    They got out of the car and walked up the station steps just as a news van pulled up. They ducked inside the building before the reporter could climb out. “I wonder why the press is here,” Ed mused.
    “I don’t care as long as it has nothing to do with our case,” Samantha said. She doubted they would be so lucky as to escape the press entirely, though. Word would soon be spreading about some of the day’s events.
    When they walked in, Joe was standing on the far side of the room. He held up three fingers and pointed toward the hall. He had put Katie in the third interrogation room. Samantha gave him a nod and then cleared her mind as she and Ed headed there. Once inside the room, she sat down across from Katie. The girl looked frightened but still defiant.
    “I told you, I don’t know who killed Camille,” she said before they could ask her anything.
    “Then maybe you can tell us a little about Sister Mary Ellen,” Ed said.
    “Who’s that?” Katie asked.
    “A nun at St. Vincent’s,” Samantha replied.
    “I don’t know any nuns. I’m not Catholic.”
    “Just because you aren’t Catholic doesn’t mean you don’t know any nuns,” Ed said. “She could be a relative, friend of the family, next-door neighbor.”
    Katie shook her head. “I told you, I don’t know any nuns. Why do you think I would?”
    “Because this particular nun ended up dead, just like Camille.”
    Katie flinched. “What?”
    “That’s right.” Ed pressed on. “Whoever killed your roommate did the same thing to a nun, right down to the pentagram on the forehead.”
    “I—I wouldn’t know anything about that,” Katie said.
    “Then why are your hands shaking?” Samantha asked.
    “I’m exhausted and I haven’t eaten anything,” Katie said, her eyes on the table.
    “Talk to us, Katie, and this will be over faster and we can all get something to eat,” Ed