Breaking Steele (Sarah Steele Legal Thriller)

Chapter 27

“WHAT? KIDNAPPED?” I EXCHANGED a look with Joshua. This story was getting too fantastic, and a sliver of doubt went through my mind.

“I was taken when I was three. Hank Williams is not my real father, and my mother is not even my real mother! That bastard took me and killed my real parents and then raped me when I turned twelve!”

 “Slow down. What do you mean, he killed your parents?”

“After I got the letter, I started looking up everything I could find on the name Dade. I became obsessed. I found this old report of a missing girl, three years old, up in Washington. They never found her and the parents died a year later in a boating accident. I think Hank killed them.” Heather sucked in a heavy breath and blew her nose again.

“They died, and I have no other family. My grandparents are dead, they were both only children, and I’m the last. Once I discovered the truth, I was so sick that I lost it. A month later I was admitted to a mental ward in Boise and they got me hooked on drugs. The place just kept its patients under, medicated, and once I got out, I tried to tell the police. But it was my word against theirs. I don’t think I told the story well. They have money, power. And I have nothing but a broken mind.”

I put my hand on her shoulder. “You have more than that. Blood can’t lie. You could have a DNA test done to prove who you are.”

“Then what? I was under a different name, I looked different, and all he has to do is claim that he never knew who I was, that I was just a crazy person who wanted money for drugs.”

I shook my head and said, “But you have this picture. You aren’t gone.”

“Oh, but I am. I’ve been replaced. The Hannah Williams at Williams, Inc. is my stand-in. You think they want the press asking questions about where his daughter went, why I’m not involved in the family business? She works for him—she’s the one in charge whenever Hank is away. Who do you think is running things now?”

I blew out a low whistle, trying to digest it all. If it was true, everything Hannah told me earlier today was hot air. She was in on it all. She wasn’t even Hannah Williams, and the plot was much more sinister. “Wow. I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t say anything,” she said with a hiccup. “If you do, you’ll end up like me, or worse. He doesn’t fight fair. My advice? Forget about him and pretend you never knew who Hank Williams was!”

This was much deeper than I’d ever thought. Tracy Mulligan wasn’t the first. He’d had a life of crime, but had only been caught once. And now the psychopath was walking free.

“Heather,” I said, leaning forward. “Will you testify against Hank? With your testimony and our evidence, we would be able to put him away.”

She trembled and shook her head so hard that her hair whipped around her shoulders. “N—no,” she stuttered. “I can’t. I’d be dead before I ever reached the stand. You don't know how powerful he is, Sarah!” Terror choked her voice. “His hands are everywhere. It seems like he’s paid off someone on every level.”

Was she just paranoid, or was there some truth behind her words? My mind raced through the possibilities. There were some big players involved with Williams, Inc. If what she was saying was true, what would that mean for Boise, for everyone involved in the process—senators and politicians?

“That’s exactly why you need to tell your story,” I said, touching her arm. “He must be stopped.”

She set her lips and her face closed down, as if a mask had fallen over her features. Taking the handkerchief, she handed it to Joshua, who mumbled, “Keep it.”

“I think you should leave now,” she said.

“But, Heather—”

“Leave!” she shouted.

I stood and followed Joshua toward the door. Before I left, I looked back. “Pedophiles don’t rehabilitate,” I said. “This is going to happen again. If you testify, you may save another little girl from your fate.” I set my card on her table. “If you change your mind, give me a call. We’ll protect you.”

She looked up at me, eyes scared. “No one can be protected from Hank Williams. No one.”