The Hated: A Detective Jericho Single
Page 9
He went into the CCTV observation area, sat down, and tried to gather his thoughts about the murder. He could see Eric and Seth on the monitor, talking in hushed tones. He turned off the sound volume so he could focus his mind.
He knew the boys’ recorded confession would stand up in court — it was given voluntarily, and prior to arrest, when they’d signed the forms that included their Miranda rights.
As a police officer, he had always lived by one unwavering credo: No one is above the law.
But can I really arrest these two kids? — teenagers with their whole lives in front of them? Their futures would be utterly destroyed if I adhered to the letter of the law. And what would that do to their family? — their mother devastated by shame, little Caroline further shattered by a tragedy that had already damaged her life, possibly beyond repair.
But if I let them go I’m not only violating my basic principles, but I’m putting myself at risk. I can imagine what would happen to me if word ever got out that I’d let two confessed murderers go scot-free.
Again he thought about his own daughter. What if this had happened to Katie? What if... what if I found out Katie’s stepfather was doing that to her. Absolute fury gripped him. And yes, in that moment, he felt exactly the rage Eric and Seth had felt.
Was killing someone ever justified? Of course. In self- defense. And in defending another person whose life was threatened. And in war. Yes, in war it was a soldier’s duty to kill the enemy. Was this not a war? Were the boys not doing battle with a mortal enemy? A man whose heartless actions were destroying the life of a child they loved and cherished?
But... did they have any other choice? That was the key question. Was there an alternative to the action they took?
He went over their options: Could they stop their father? No. Could they tell their mother? No. Could they make Caroline speak out? Of course not. Could they go to the authorities? Not without wreaking further havoc on their whole family.
He thought about the damage Carlos Lopez had done to his daughter. And for one brief moment Jericho was not a law enforcement officer — he was a father crying out with rage at this abusive monster. GODDAMNIT, YOU DESERVED TO DIE!
What possible good would it do to arrest Eric and Seth? It would only lead to more tragedy. Yes, they broke the law, and no one is above the law.
But in this case, it’s not a matter of Law.
It’s a matter of Justice.
Jericho went back into the interrogation room.
“You won’t be needing a lawyer,” he said.
The boys looked at him, puzzled.
“I’m not gonna press charges,” Jericho said. “Providing you make me a solemn promise. You must never, ever, under any circumstances, discuss this. Not with anyone, not with Caroline, not between yourselves, not even in a church confessional. If this ever comes to light, you’ll both go down. And I’ll go down with you. So I’m trusting you. Do you understand?”
They nodded.
“It’s a secret you must carry to your graves. Swear that you’ll do so.”
They both did.
“Now — you’ve taken a human life,” Jericho said. “That’s a crime, and a mortal sin, and it’s something you’ll have to live with — always. It’s not morally correct. But what’s done is done. All you can do now is live out your lives in a good, fair, and just manner. Do we have a deal?”
They both said yes.
“Okay,” Jericho said. “You’re free to go.”
“Detective,” Seth said. “We... we just wanna thank you for...”
“Don’t thank me,” Jericho said. “There’s nothing to thank me for, because nothing happened here.”
They left without saying another word.
Jericho went back into the CCTV room. He opened the audio/video control panel and pressed STOP. Then, after a moment’s hesitation, he pressed another button:
DELETE ALL.
EPILOGUE
Jericho was sitting at the jetBlue terminal at JFK, awaiting the arrival of his daughter’s flight from Tacoma.
He thought back to the three issues he had to resolve before Katie’s visit.
Issue One: how to withdraw from The Hated and get that UPS driver off his back. Actually, it was the UPS delivery man’s memory that solved the problem. Siegheil made it clear in his
e-mail:
Hass — WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE. Your membership in our organization has been denied. Do not attempt to attend any of our meetings. Fair warning. — SigHeil
Issue Two: extricating himself from the Lopez murder case. He went to Chief Krauss and showed him the e-mail. He explained a member of The Hated had recognized him. Since his cover was now blown, Jericho would have to withdraw from the case.
“I’m sorry Chief,” he said. “What can I tell ya?”
Krauss looked unhappy.
“Well, at least the community pressure is easing up,” Jericho said. “This morning, on my way in, I noticed there’s only a few demonstrators left outside.”
“Yeah.”
“Sadly, that’s the way it goes,” Jericho said. “People eventually just get on with their lives.”
“But I’ve still got an unsolved murder on my hands.”
“McCoy can take over,” Jericho said. “His suspension should be done pretty soon. I know you’ve got great faith in McCoy, so I’m certain he’ll do a bang-up job.”
Jericho smiled and looked sincere.
Krauss could only nod in acceptance.
Issue Three was...
“Daddy, Daddy!”
Jericho saw Katie, breaking away from a flight attendant and running towards him. He adjusted his baseball cap as he stood up to greet her.
He bent down, scooped her up in his arms, and inhaled the scent of lavender shampoo in her hair — the same shampoo her mother always used. For a brief moment he wished they were all a family again.
Katie wound her arms around her father’s neck, saying, ”I missed you so much. I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too, Sweetie.” He pulled down his shirt collar. “Look.”
She looked at his neck. “What’s that, Daddy?”
“It’s a tattoo. A tattoo of a rose!”
“Oh, wow!”
“And underneath the rose, can you read it?’
“Katie,” she said excitedly. “It says my name, Katie.”
“Yep. And it’s permanent. It’ll be there forever.”
“Yay!”
Hand in hand they walked to the baggage claim area. Well, Jericho walked, Katie was skipping.
Jericho was content. He’d resolved the Lopez case the best way he could.
Caroline would be getting the therapy she surely needed.
He had his beloved daughter with him for a whole week.
And after Katie left, he had a date (which required a lot of explaining on his part), a date with his tattoo artist — Rainbow.