Paradox (FBI Thriller 22)

Sherlock said, “So how’s Lucky doing?”

Sala said, “This morning Ty gave her slivers of baked chicken breast. After that offering, she settled under her hand for a good petting. That’s progress.”

Ty said, “Give me three days, and she’ll spend more time with me than with señor here. By the way, we saw Leigh Saks, her mother, father, and her father’s wife today at Lulie’s bakery, her first day out of the hospital. Congressman Mellon’s wife was very pleasant. She was eating Lulie’s éclairs at a fine clip, along with the rest of us.”

“And Leigh?” Sherlock asked. “How is she doing?”

“She was smiling a lot,” Sala said. “Needless to say, everyone was eager to see her, to talk with her. Lulie told me Leigh’s thinking about politics and working for her dad in Washington. It was his idea. It would be a whole new life for her. She seemed excited about it.”

Ty said, “Leigh was amazing. I think she was amused everyone suddenly wanted to speak to her, well understood their interest, but she didn’t really show it. She was gracious and kind.”

“That’s great to hear.” Sherlock added, her hand hovering. “Okay, guys, there’s one last slice of pepperoni pizza.” But she didn’t wait, she snagged it up and took a big bite.

Savich leaned forward. “So you were in Haggersville today. How are Albie Pierson’s husband and brother-in-law dealing?”

Ty said, “Landry and Eric were in denial at first, but after reading the letters she wrote to them, they’ve had to accept it. They’re devastated. What’s amazing to me is she managed to lead a normal life for five years after she killed LaRoque.”

Sala shrugged. “And why not? It was the life she had before LaRoque became a threat to her again. And it was over. She avenged her family. It ended for her when she strapped her father’s belt to LaRoque’s body and threw him off the dock at Gatewood.”

Ty nodded. “Just as he did her family. Still, for five years she had to live with the world praising Mr. Henry when she knew the truth.”

Sala said, “She had to pay that price to stay safe, to keep who she was secret. Chief Masters hasn’t released the facts of the case yet, said he wasn’t going to until he’d gone over all the evidence with the district attorney.”

“Have they contacted all the families of the victims from LaRoque’s journal?” Savich asked.

“They’ve been going over his journal and his box of souvenirs, and yes, they’ve started to contact the family members before they release the names. The chief said drama was running high in town, with rumors about why Mrs. Sparrow was missing without warning, but that will be nothing compared to the uproar when he announces the truth about Mr. Henry being a serial killer. And he’s already told Leigh Saks, in confidence, that it was Susan Sparrow who struck her down.”

Sherlock asked, “What did Leigh say?”

Ty said, “When she got the whole story out of Chief Masters, Leigh said no way would she press charges. She said she couldn’t imagine what Susan had lived through. She wished her the best since Susan hadn’t killed her—and look what she’d given her, a rebooted brain. She said she hoped Landry, once he got over his shock, would be proud of her, and maybe in the future, who knew, Susan would contact him and maybe they’d get together again.”

Sala looked directly at Savich and Sherlock. “Chief Masters told Ty and me he isn’t going to commit any resources to finding her. Are you both on board with that?”

Savich and Sherlock didn’t hesitate. They nodded and raised their glasses in a toast. “To justice. Long overdue.”