Silence: The Faces of Evil Christmas Prequel Read Free Page A

months. Her personal life was littered with a history of bad luck with men. When it came to relationships, it seemed as though dear old Delia got the short end of the stick every time.
    “Ms. Potter?” Jess didn’t really have to ask. She recognized the woman from the photo in the case file. The blond hair surely came from a package and the inordinately pale skin suggested she preferred passing the time with indoor activities versus those done outdoors. She was tall and thin. Nothing at all like the dark, brooding man with whom she’d kept company before he was arrested for the murder of Valerie Prince and the abduction of four other young women less than half his age.
    “I told the others all I know.” Potter’s hands glided over the wet clay, molding what appeared to be a vase. Her white tee-shirt and plaid apron was splattered with specks of clay. The jeans and sneakers she wore had seen better days. “I have nothing else to say,” she added.
    Potter had said the same thing when Jess called before driving the forty-five miles over here. Hadn’t put Jess off in the least. People changed their minds all the time. She was counting on human nature. “I understand how you feel.”
    Potter glanced at her but only for a second or two. Jess walked closer, pretending to be mesmerized by her work.
    A half a minute or so of silence elapsed. If asked, most anyone would say that half a minute—thirty seconds—was nothing. But when the stakes were this high, it felt like an eternity. Ticked off like hours. During that time the images of the five young women Aniston had abducted sifted one after the other through Jess’s mind.
    Potter was the first to break. “I don’t know what you want from me.”
    Jess had spent the drive over here hashing out a scenario on how to approach the woman. “I want to protect you , Ms. Potter.”
    She eyed Jess warily. “You mean the way your friends at the FBI did? They promised me I wouldn’t have to worry and now I find out I have to be a witness for the prosecution.” She withdrew her foot from the pedal. The wheel stopped and she squashed the wet clay, jamming her fist into the long slender neck of the vase. “I don’t need any more of that kind of help.”
    “You know how men are,” Jess said with a little laugh. “No offense to my colleagues, but I do things a little different from them. When I say I want to protect you, I mean I actually have a plan that will do just that. There’s no need for you to fear the next phase of this case. You did your part already. You’re the hero in all this. They don’t see it but I do. I can help you, Ms. Potter. I want to make this right.”
    She grabbed a towel and scrubbed at her hands. “I’m listening.”
    “You help me find where he kept the women—”
    “If I knew where he kept them,” Potter interrupted, throwing the towel against the damp pile of clay she’d mangled, “I would have said so right from the beginning.” She planted her hands on her hips. “ If I had known where they were, I’d be in a cell right next to Melvin. The only thing I’m guilty of is picking the wrong guy just like every other time I’ve trusted a man.”
    “I realize how hard this must be,” Jess went on. “You trusted him and he took advantage of you. But I’ll bet if you really think about it, you’ll remember some place Melvin liked to go. Maybe some place he mentioned in the past few months. He may have had a workshop or a storage rental. He doesn’t own any property other than his residence here in Warrenton but there might be another house he rented. Could be in a neighboring town or just down the street.”
    When Potter continued to glare at her, Jess took a chance. “The truth is, Ms. Potter, we’re never going to stop looking. When we find them—and we will find them—that’s when the real trouble for you will start. What you may have known will come into question all over again.” The other woman’s gaze narrowed.