To Die For (44 page)

“Her life's all screwed up anyway,” Russell told Greco, sitting on the same couch he had when he used to visit Jeri during the investigation. “She threw her life away. I don't know what happened. I don't know where I went wrong and how she got so—bad.

“I wish there was something I could have done to help her.”

Greco didn't know what to say, so he just let Russell talk.

“I'm not angry with you,” Russell said. “You were just doing your job.

“I know she's not innocent. I just don't want her to die.”

Hate the sin, love the sinner. Greco knew that Russ loved his daughter unconditionally no matter what she'd done. Greco personally thought Dana deserved the death penalty. But he knew that if Dana had been sentenced to die, it would have killed Russell. Russell was happy because he could still see her and talk to her on the phone and tell her that he loved her, a gift Dana had stripped from the victims' relatives.

As he was getting ready to leave, Greco glanced up and saw the same clown drawing he'd seen hanging for years in their living room. It was a dark drawing and the clown seemed oddly ominous. Greco had heard that Dana was pretty good at drawing clowns while she was in jail and wondered if it was one that Dana had drawn or had given to them. Greco said his good-byes to Russ and Jeri as he headed out the door.

He knew there was a reason he always hated clowns.

EPILOGUE

Several years after the conclusion of this case, the City Council of Perris, facing a budget crisis, disbanded its police department. Detective Joseph Greco is now working for the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Detective Chris Antoniadas took a medical retirement, started his own private detective firm and quickly attracted a number of high-profile corporate clients.

Deputy District Attorney Rich Bentley is currently trying high-profile cases with the Riverside District Attorney's Office.

Detective James McElvain is working for the Riverside Sheriff's Department, and Officer Wyatt McElvain is employed as a community service officer.

*   *   *

In accordance with her plea agreement, Dana Sue Gray is currently serving a life sentence at the California Women's Prison in Chowchilla, California. She is not, and never will be, eligible for parole.

TO DIE FOR

Copyright © 2000 by Kathy Braidhill.

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ISBN: 0-312-97416-7

EAN: 80312-97416-9

St. Martin's Paperbacks edition / Septermber 2000

eISBN 9781466885387

First eBook edition: October 2014