“He’s got five counts of second-degree murder. All that was lost in the deal was the premeditation, but it will still put him away for life.”
Faber kept giving her the eye. “I also heard you did a little bit of fancy footwork in there.”
She started walking, not caring if he kept up or not, which he did.
“Word travels fast,” Faber said. “So you see what I’m saying now — a cop’s got to do what a cop’s got to do. You’re learning. That’s good.”
She didn’t reply.
“So what do you do now, right? You take it with you? You let it grind you down? No. You put the guy away, where he belongs — in a cage. That’s the result, that’s what matters. Someday you’ll know it,” Faber said as she opened her car door.
She looked across the car roof at him. “Take care of yourself, Detective.”
He laughed, and the smoke rolled over his shoulders as he walked away.
EPILOGUE
Thursday, December 6
“I don’t understand,” Rick said.
“I’d like to spend the night with you and Uschi and the kids. What’s to understand?” Kelly asked.
Rick got a big grin and took a drink of his beer. “That’s not what I mean. I mean this guy told you he was coming after us. There were twenty cops in Dieter’s house. But they ended up picking him up at his job, you said.”
She nodded, took a drink of her beer. First beer she’d had in — God, she didn’t know. It was good. “Swing and a miss. He didn’t know you had left town.”
Rick looked away. “Jesus.”
“Don’t tell Uschi.”
“I won’t — are you kidding? No way.”
“Haig wanted to come out of this without a scratch. He thought he could — I don’t know. I guess he thought he had it figured out.”
Rick contemplated this a moment as the dog ran back and forth in the yard, tongue lolling. “This guy was married, though. Had a kid on the way. They’re saying stuff — I’ve been looking online — he had this emotionally abusive upbringing. Neglected, things like that. The reporter, same one who had you on there, Sarah Oxley, she did a piece last night on the professor? Gromet or something?”
“Grumett.”
“I guess he got fired. He was sleeping with the first victim, the guy’s wife. Fuckin’ A man. I mean, what causes someone to do that? Okay, I get it, you know — the shitty childhood. But a lot of us have shitty childhoods. Then his wife cheats . . .” Rick shook his head. “This guy put on the works, sounds like, even acted like he was trying to find her killer.”
“Yeah.”
It loomed unspoken, the idea of someone missing the most vital part of their humanity. It was what she’d feared because it was something you couldn’t see coming, couldn’t defend against.
The door opened behind them, making her jump. Uschi stuck her head out. “You guys ready to eat?”
Rick looked at Kelly and lifted his eyebrows. The sheer joy on his face pushed everything else aside, and she quickly turned toward Uschi as she knuckled away an escaped tear. “You bet.”
* * *
It was a little lonely back in Nokesville. Her apartment had been a haven and a hideout and now it didn’t feel the same. She dropped her keys on the counter between the kitchen and eating area, rolled her bag to a stop beside the bed in the main room and looked around.
Her little apartment, which had been enough for her before, felt empty.
She took off her thick winter parka and tossed it onto the couch. Maybe she would get a cat. That was a good place to start.
The End
T. J. Brearton
December 29, 2017 — September 7, 2018
Elizabethtown, NY
ALSO BY T.J. BREARTON
HABIT
SURVIVORS
DAYBREAK
BLACK SOUL
DEAD GONE
TRUTH OR DEAD
DARK WEB
DARK KILLS
GONE
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Acknowledgements
I’d like to thank my father-in-law, Oak Clement, for key Syracuse-area details and helping me to shoot straight on gun basics. Abigail Fenton, for her guidance in shaping a strong central character. Early readers, Wanda Downs, Charlotte Mack, and Michelle Stottlemyer McLagan— thank you for your willingness, your boldness, your insight. While I have taken minor liberties, criminal law accuracies should be credited to Steve and Mary Buzzell and Jennifer Bulkley. To my publisher and editor Jasper Joffe, thank you for agreeing once again to take me on and make me appear to be a better writer than I am. And to my wife, Dava, and to my three children, thank you for everything.
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