One Last Breath Sarah Sutton (free e books to read online .TXT) 📖

The girl sighed. “My dad thought I was home, but Reese snuck out of her house for a party and invited me. I went. I didn’t think my parents would know. But he was a cop and ended up getting called to break up the party.” Her eyes began to well up, and Tara knew very well why. It was the same story that Sofia’s friend had told them. “He hit me, in front of everyone. Over and over again. He broke my arm.” She now couldn’t control her emotion as she began to cry. Her mother leaned in closer, wrapping her arm around her. It steadied her. “Reese tried to stop him. I think he kind of made the connection then. He knew I went to the coffee shop a lot. He used to go in there before work, so he clearly recognized her.”

Mrs. Brennan spoke. “I got a call that night when I was in bed. I thought Julie was home, but it was the hospital. She squeezed her daughter’s hand. “That was my last straw with him,” she added. “I filed for divorce and a restraining order the next morning, and we moved in with my sister.”

“Has he tried contacting you at all?” Tara asked.

“Just once,” Mrs. Brennan admitted. “He showed up at my sister’s house with a box of our stuff a few months ago. He claimed he didn’t know we’d be there, but he knew.” She rolled her eyes. “He just wanted an excuse to check on us. I told my lawyer that he defied the restraining order, and he never did it again.”

Tara looked between Julie and her mother. “Do you think he would’ve hurt Reese?”

They shared a glance, as if to see what the other thought. They both questioned it; Tara could see it in their eyes. “I would hope not,” Mrs. Brennan replied. “I never would suspect him of murder, but I honestly don’t even know how he’s been this past year.”

It was an answer that made him seem even more suspect. His own family couldn’t even deny that he was capable of murder. But Tara still had one more question . Did Julie know Alyssa? She was the only victim that somehow hadn’t fit into the theory. She looked at Warren, who was already holding her picture in his hand, waiting for the right moment to ask. At Tara’s glance, he placed the picture in front of Julie.

“Do you know her?” he asked.

She looked down at it, and Tara could see familiarity flicker in her eyes. But Alyssa’s pictures had been everywhere, on every news station, on every telephone pole for a year. Anyone in this town would recognize her.

Julie shook her head, and Tara’s heart sank. “Only from the news. I don’t think I’ve ever met her, though.”

Tara and Warren thanked them both, and they soon stood in the parking lot. Mr. Brennan seemed like an obvious suspect to Tara now, but the only piece that gave her doubt was Alyssa. Where did she fit in, if at all? Once they got into the car, Tara posed the question to Warren. She could see that it was on his mind as well. He was being quiet, as he always was when in deep thought.

“I’m not sure,” he admitted as he placed the key in the ignition. He scrunched his face as he stared in front of him. His hand still held the key, even though the car was now on.

“What?” Tara asked. She could tell he had more to say.

He sighed. “I don’t know,” he said as he turned to her. “Reese and Alyssa do look a bit alike. Could he have confused the two?”

It was a question that hadn’t occurred to Tara, but he was right. They were a similar average height. They were both thin with long brown hair. Although Reese’s was slightly straighter, it was possible that they could’ve been mistaken from behind. If that was true, then he had wanted to kill Reese much earlier than he actually did. But Tara also knew that once he captured Alyssa, he would’ve known. But maybe it was too late? She mentioned it to Warren.

He nodded. “I agree. Maybe he knew he couldn’t turn back or he’d be caught.”

It was possible, Tara assumed, but the only way to know for sure was to get it out of Mr. Brennan directly. “Let’s just hope he’s sober enough now to talk,” she replied as they made their way to the station.

Warren pulled out of the parking lot, and Tara stared at the road ahead of them in silence as she wondered if they had finally caught the killer.

Chapter Nineteen

Tara and Warren entered the interrogation room. They were told that Brennan would now be sober enough to speak. The cops at the station had given him coffee and water until the weight of where he was hit him full-force. He stared at them as they entered. He squinted skeptically, and he sat up straighter, as if ready to take a beating. He had the same arrogance in his stance that he had at the entrance of his apartment, and now it was clear it wasn’t just the alcohol that made him that way. It was his core.

His mouth curled into a devious smile as Tara took a seat across from him. She knew what he was thinking. She was a woman. He could intimidate her. It was what he had done to every female in his life, and it amazed her that he still couldn’t see it was his ultimate downfall. She gave him the same smile back, with fire behind it, and his smile subsided angrily.

She slid a picture of Alyssa across the table. “Do you know her?”

“Isn’t this the picture you showed me at my apartment? I told you, I don’t know her. Only saw her on the news.” Tara wasn’t sure if he was too drunk the first time she showed him, but he had