Dark Shadows (Gia Santella Crime Thrillers Book 11) by Kristi Belcamino (best motivational novels txt) 📗

“It was an accident. He must have had too much to drink, hit his head, and fell in the pool and drowned.”

She said this without seeing the body or the blood.

In addition, it seemed odd that she had been pursued by someone on the island. It had likely been a story to deflect suspicion. Same with the story about her overhearing Owen threaten to kill Lucas.

She could easily have put the drug into Lucas’s drink and then had some of the drug put in her water later after she killed him. Too many things didn’t add up.

I could only come to one conclusion: Hannah had killed both Lucas and Amanda.

I planned to take Hannah aside, maybe on a drive today, and get her to confess.

But she had made that a little tougher by disappearing.

I had a good idea where she might be. And it was not ideal.

It was a place that she’d only go if she wanted to end it in a different way.

Two hours later, I pulled into Cassis, just south of Marseille.

I was less interested in its quaint village setting and more interested in the limestone cliffs. La Ciotat as they were called, were the highest seaside cliffs in Europe. They had been a landmark to sailors for centuries. The area, according to Hannah, was also the setting for the world’s first motion picture shown in public: L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat, a fifty-second film that premiered in Paris in 1895.

Hannah had spoken so passionately about this area the first night we met.

The significance of this location to her could not be understated.

She’d also mentioned another reason for wanting to visit here: It was where the movie A Deadly Union had been filmed.

When I asked her about the movie, she’d given me a brief synopsis. I’d forgotten most of it except that in one of the most dramatic scenes, a new bride is found dead at the base of the cliffs.

If my hunch was right, the cliffs were where I’d find Hannah.

I only hoped I’d find her in time and she’d still be on top of the cliffs—not at the bottom.

After I drove through town, I found the road leading to the cliffs. As I came up on them, I saw the Chevy Tahoe parked on the shoulder of the road.

I found Hannah standing on the edge of the cliff, facing the sun. I snuck a glance over the side as I walked over to her. The water was hundreds of feet below. As I glanced down, I saw there was no chance she could land in the turquoise water below and survive. Not at that height. And it was much more likely she’d end up on the rocky outcropping at the bottom where the surf was breaking. Or, if she didn’t fall out far enough, she would strike the jagged cliffside all the long way down.

The odds weren’t good any way you looked at it. It wasn’t a chance I would take.

She was wearing a loose maxi dress billowing in the wind. My first thought was that if she tried to move, she would probably trip on its hem, and she would fall. She was also wearing high-heeled wedge sandals with the toes overhanging the edge of the rock. If she shifted slightly, she would also tumble over the edge.

I tried not to show alarm.

As if she sensed me coming, she turned. I braced for her to lose her balance and fall but only her head swiveled. The rest of her continued to face the sea.

“It’s you.”

I gave a small shrug.

“Where are the police?”

“Why would they be here?”

“Because I killed people!”

“Oh,” I said. “Want to talk about it?”

I was trying to keep her talking while I figured out a way to get her away from the edge of the cliff. The rocks she was standing on did not look very sturdy or secure. I took a few steps closer.

“Back up. If you don’t, I swear I’ll jump right now.” Spittle flew out of her mouth. Her eyes were wild.

“Listen, I just want to talk.”

She shook her head. “You think I’m a freak, a monster.”

“You think you’re the only one who has killed someone?” I gave a small laugh. “I’ve killed quite a few times, in fact. I’ve actually lost track of how many people I’ve killed. Definitely more than two, though.”

Her eyes narrowed now.

“Why are you telling me this?” she asked.

She shifted, and a pebble under her foot loosened and plunged to the rocks below.

“Just so you know that anything can be fixed. Even when it seems like it’s all over, it can get better. I promise.”

Now she glared at me. “What game are you playing?”

“I’m not playing a game, Hannah,” I said, now meeting her eyes straight on. “I just think that you need some help.”

“Fuck you,” she said.

“I don’t think you’re a killer.”

Her lower lip began to tremble and then a flood of tears rolled down her face.

“Well, I’ve killed more than two people, too.” She had a smug look on her face.

“Do you mean your family?” I said in a soft voice.

Her face crumpled. “Yes. But they deserved to die. They didn’t like me. They hated me.”

“Okay,” I said in a matter-of-fact voice.

“But there was someone else.”

“Really?” I said, genuine interest in my voice.

“Amanda is the only one who knew. That’s why she had to die.”

I remembered the conversation I’d overheard between Lucas and Amanda.

“I’m not going to wait much longer,” she said.

This time I heard him answer. “Be patient.”

“If it doesn’t happen tonight, it’s over. I’ll do it myself.”

“She’ll know it was you. You’ll ruin everything.”

“Don’t you push me. Don’t you tempt me. You have no idea what I’m capable of.”

“I’m not afraid of you,” he said.

“You should be.”

It sounded like they were going to go to the police.

“Who was that?” I asked.

“This girl who liked Lucas. They had sex when Amanda and Lucas were dating. That’s why they broke up. Amanda found out about it because of