One Last Breath by Sarah Sutton (speld decodable readers txt) 📗

White went missing. Tara read his charge, and her heart rate picked up. He had been charged with assault on his teenage daughter after breaking up a party she was at near Dewey Beach. The cop’s name was Officer Terry Brennan, and the assault had occurred on the lawn outside of the party.

She looked over at Warren, making sure he was seeing what she was. His eyebrows knitted, and he sat leaned forward in his chair, glued to the screen.

“What do you think?” she asked when he finished reading.

He sighed. “I think we should find out who was there.”

Tara agreed. She would start with Sofia’s friend. She had given Tara her number after they interviewed her that morning. Within moments, Sofia’s friend was on the line.

Tara reminded her who they were.

“Did you find her?” the girl said abruptly, and Tara’s heart sank.

“I’m sorry, but we haven’t.”

She grew quiet and sighed.

“I wanted to ask you about a party that happened last spring.” The girl still didn’t speak. Her breathing was suddenly more controlled. “Do you know a cop by the name of Brennan? He broke up a party last spring that his daughter was at?”

She was quiet a moment. “Why?” she asked. “What does this have to do with Sofia?”

“Were you or Sofia there?”

The girl sighed again. “My parents don’t know we were there,” she said nervously. “But yeah. I remember that party very well. That poor girl was humiliated in front of everyone when her father flipped out.” She paused. “It was pretty awful. I just remember him grabbing her by the throat and hitting her hard in the face. He was calling her all these horrible things. I heard later on that he grabbed her arm so hard, he broke it.”

“Did you know her?” Tara asked.

“No, but I’ve heard of her. She was homeschooled. Her dad was really strict. But she’d sneak out sometimes. She had some friends that lived in the area, around Dewey Beach.” Tara’s mind immediately went to Reese, but then she remembered that earlier, Sofia’s friend told her that Sofia didn’t know Reese.

“You’re sure Sofia didn’t know Reese, right? Reese wasn’t at that party too?”

The girl hesitated, but then spoke. “I didn’t tell you before because I didn’t think it mattered,” she started. “Me and Sofia didn’t really know Reese, but I did recognize her when I saw her on the news and when you showed me her picture.” Tara and Warren shared a look as they anxiously waited for her to continue. “She was at that party. I remember her clearly because she tried to help Officer Brennan’s daughter after he hit her to the ground, but he just threatened her and she backed up.”

“What did he say?” Tara asked.

“Just that she’d be sorry if she got in between them. Something like it was bad enough that she influenced his daughter. And then he said something that I think everyone was shocked about. He said she was a slut, just like every other girl at the party. He said he wasn’t going to let his daughter turn into one.”

Tara let her words sink in. Could it be enough for motive? Could Officer Brennan have been taken over the edge when he was fired? And then sought out the girls he thought influenced his daughter? It was possible, Tara assumed, especially if he lost more than just his job that night.

“Do you know if Alyssa White was there too?” Tara asked.

The girl wasn’t sure. “I didn’t know her. Especially because she wasn’t local. But it’s possible. It seemed everyone was there, and it wasn’t just locals either.”

Tara thanked her and hung up. She turned to Warren. “I think we should pay Officer Brennan a visit,” she said.

Chapter Seventeen

A large multistory apartment building stood tall in front of them. Garbage littered the entrance, and shifty individuals eyed them as they walked past. Two of them were secretly exchanging something, before looking startled as they noticed Tara and Warren briskly walk to the entrance. It was on the more dangerous side of town, and it was where Terry now lived. They had learned, after looking up his information, that he was now divorced, which Tara had suspected. After the incident that night, CPS was called, an investigation ensued, and now Mrs. Brennan had full custody over her daughter.

Tara knew that if Terry Brennan was already a man with a temper before his divorce, it was probably tenfold now. Tara and Warren entered an elevator and were soon on the fifth floor, headed to apartment 525. Tara could feel her gun under shirt, and it gave her comfort as they stood in front of the door and Warren knocked.

It took a few moments, but the door opened, and a tired-looking man stood in front of them. His lip curled in disgust as he saw Tara and Warren. He looked as if he had barely slept in days. The skin under his eyes was red and the whites bloodshot, making him look sickly. His loose-fitting t-shirt was stained with whatever he had eaten that morning, and in one of his hands he held a half-drunk beer.

“Mr. Brennan?” Tara asked, making sure they had come to the right door.

“Yeah, what?” he spat back, confirming it as if it were obvious. He took a swig of his beer.

Tara held up her badge, and a flash of anger appeared in his eyes. “We were wondering if we could talk to you a moment.”

He placed the beer down on a side table as he leaned closer to the door. “About what, exactly?” he asked. “What could you possibly want from me?”

“Can we come in?”

“Absolutely not,” he spat back without hesitation. He had no care for who they were, and he showed a confidence that was concerning. Tara knew that overconfident suspects were more likely to do something rash, and she was watching all his movements carefully.

He grabbed his beer again and took a swig, his other hand still holding the door