Free Deadly Echoes by Nancy Mehl Page A

useless.”
    Sykes pulled out a piece of paper from his file. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got her employer’s name right here. Kennedy, Worthington, Klemm, and Sparlin. We’ll check with them. See if they can give us any useful information.” He slid the paper back into the file. “From reading your sister’s letter, I assume you have no idea who Cicely’s father is?”
    I shook my head. “The first time I knew she had a child was when we reconnected. I asked her about Cicely’s father, but she told me it was a closed subject. I never asked again.”
    â€œDoes her daughter know who her father is?”
    â€œNo. Hannah told Cicely that her father was someone who didn’t want either one of them in his life, and they were better off without him.”
    He nodded and wrote something down in his small note pad. I wanted to yell at him. To tell him that Hannah was a wonderful woman. That she loved God and wasn’t the kind of person who would sleep around with random men. But that was the Hannah I knew when we were younger. To be honest, I had no idea what kind of a life she’d lived during the time we were separated. It hurt that I didn’t know more.
    â€œLook,” he said, “I want you to do something for me. I need you to make a list of people your parents knew.” He raised an eyebrow. “You do remember some of them, don’t you?”
    â€œNot very many. I was only six.”
    The detective pushed a pad of paper and a pen toward me that were on the table.
    I quickly wrote down the names I could recall and slid it back to him. “I’m sorry. That’s it. If I remember anyone else, I’ll call you.”
    He looked over the names I’d written down. “The Fergusons. The Bittners. And someone named Ray? That’s it?”
    â€œThat’s it. And the Bittners are probably dead. I think they were in their seventies when we knew them. I only remember them because Mrs. Bittner used to bring us taffy when she came over to visit.”
    â€œThis isn’t much to go on.”
    I sighed. “I know that. My sister would be able to give you more information. Again, I’m sorry.”
    â€œIt’s okay.” He tore the piece of paper off the pad and put it in his pocket. “I’m still not convinced these two murders are connected, but I’ll do some poking around. Just in case.” Hestared at me with his eyes narrowed. “But if we find proof that the guy we’re holding was involved in your sister’s death, all bets are off. You understand that, right?”
    â€œOf course. If he did it, he did it.” I waved my hand toward the file. “Then none of this will matter. Except my parents’ case will stay unsolved. I guess I’m used to that.” It wasn’t true, but I knew there was no way to get an old case opened again unless I could give the detective a valid reason to do it. And I didn’t have that. “I want you to know that I appreciate your help.”
    â€œWell, I haven’t done anything yet. Let’s see what happens.”
    He straightened up, slid the copy of Hannah’s letter into the green folder, and closed it. “Is there anything else you can think of that I need to know?”
    I hesitated a moment while Sykes frowned at me. “There’s one thing, although I can’t see how this would help you. Hannah and I heard two men at the house the night our parents were killed. One of them found Hannah and me hiding under the stairs. But instead of telling his partner, he closed the door and walked away. It’s possible he saved our lives.”
    Sykes shook his head. “A killer with a conscience. It sounds strange, but I’ve run across it before. Some people don’t mind killing adults, but they won’t touch children. It’s a twisted kind of moral compass.” He frowned at me. “But doesn’t that