Earthbound : A gripping crime thriller full of twists and supernatural suspense by Fynn Perry (popular romance novels TXT) 📗

in poor taste, and the detective seemed to regret it, and cleared his throat before continuing. “But this is where it gets even weirder, and it’s the reason for his insanity plea. Hardwell has been in some kind of extreme shock since the stabbing. He told the psychiatrist that he knew he had committed the attack but couldn’t come to terms with why he’d done it or how it happened.”

“Neither can I!” John interjected, but it was only for Jennifer’s benefit.

The detective continued. “However, he did tell the psychiatrist that he had surprised himself when he realized just how jealous of Jessica’s boyfriend he had become and that he wanted him ‘out of the picture.’ He scoffed awkwardly at the repeat of the same unintentional joke and added, “His words, apparently. She—the psychiatrist—couldn’t get him to focus on the actual stabbing event because he had blocked it out. So, we don’t know what was going through his mind at that time. She said his head is a real mess.”

“He’s locked up now where there’s no chance of him getting out, right?” Jennifer was worried. She had seen the spirit come out of Hardwell, but now she was unsure that the possession was the only reason for his terrifying actions.

“Yes, he’s secure.” The detective assured her. “One other thing. He was asked how he knew to be outside the Irish pub at that time.”

“Exactly! How the hell did he know? Was he following John’s car?”

“No, he doesn’t have a car. He was told to be there.”

Jennifer was silent for a moment. “By who?”

“He wouldn’t say.”

“He can’t remember, or he’s too scared to remember?”

“We don’t know which, but the result is the same—he’s not talking. It’s somehow locked away in his mind along with the actual stabbing.”

“Only my dad, Jim Donovan, and the band knew we would be there…and your father, right?” John said, looking at Jennifer.

Jennifer nodded. She turned to Williams. “Have you spoken to the people who knew we would be there? You know, like members of the band and Jim Donovan, the pub owner?”

“Why would they know anything?” the detective asked.

“Because when we were in the pub, John got up to play a few numbers with the band on stage. Later, I found out it was his band; it had all been arranged to surprise me.” She directed the subtlest of smiles in John’s direction.

“So, Jim Donovan knew what time John would get on stage?” He paused before adding, “Don’t hold back with any details. I really don’t care, in this case, about any underage drinking.”

“John told me that Jim let the band practice there a couple of nights a week.” For a moment, she looked distant as John grabbed her attention by telling her something that she was quick to pass on. “Wait, I remember now,” she continued. “Just before the stabbing, Jim came over to us and said we should leave the pub. He acted a little nervous and said he had noticed an undercover cop in the bar checking IDs. He didn’t want to get a fine.”

“Well, if there was a cop there that night, we can check it out but even if there wasn’t, he could have just been mistaken. It doesn’t mean Donovan was involved,” Williams pronounced.

“There was also the strange behavior of Donovan’s employee, Brian McGinty. You had him down at the precinct when he came in to view Hardwell’s mug shots.” Jennifer’s father added.

“Yeah, that kid’s guilty of something, alright,” the detective answered. “But you know better than I do, Counselor, that we can’t just lock people up because they act suspiciously. Hell, we’d have to lock up half of the city and then some. Until we can get more out of Hardwell, we have no cause to question Donovan or anyone else about the incident, but it is starting to look like Hardwell wasn’t acting alone,” Detective Williams replied. “Now, I just need to take your statement and I’ll go,” he said, turning to look at Jennifer.

The detective took down Jennifer’s statement. After they had all read it through, including John looking over Jennifer’s shoulder, and corrections had been made, Jennifer signed it.

“There’s one more thing,” the detective said. “Hardwell’s jacket had blood on it. Naturally, we believe it to be John Logan’s, but a DNA test would prove it. What we have on Hardwell already is so strong that we probably won’t need to take a blood sample from Mr. Logan. Obviously, we would like to spare his family further distress by avoiding doing so.”

“Thanks, Geoff, I appreciate it. I’ll see you at Hardwell’s arraignment tomorrow,” David said.

The detective took his cue and shook David’s hand, then Jennifer’s. David walked him to the door.

“I’ve got to get back to the office,” David said after the door had closed behind the detective.

“Dad, there’s something…” Jennifer’s words stopped short as she saw John standing behind him, shaking his head, seeming to have anticipated what she wanted to say.

“He won’t believe you about the possession,” John said, the words only audible to her ears.

“Nothing—it can wait,” she said and immediately saw her father’s expression of concern fade to be replaced by one of relief. She hugged him and they kissed good-bye before he exited the house.

Minutes later, Jennifer received a text message from her mother. She had canceled their dinner because a client had arranged a last-minute meeting with her in the city. She showed the text to John. “This is typical, and why I chose to stay with my dad. He would never cancel on me like this.”

John gave her a sympathetic smile.

They spent the rest of the evening talking before David returned a few minutes after eight. Jennifer’s father tried not to react at the news of his ex-wife’s cancellation of her plans with Jennifer––just furrowed his brow and got busy as he tried to piece together some form of stir-fry for the two of them. It was a little burnt but still edible.

They caught the local news after the