“That’s where you’re wrong,” she said. “I have to look at myself, every day, and know I did a passable copy of the right thing. This time, I want to be able to live with what I’ve done. I have to do this, Al. I’ve lived with the shame of the wrong thing for almost half my life. I want to live the rest of my life able to hold my head up to anyone I meet. If I have to sacrifice my career to do that, then I will. I can’t believe you, of all people, are trying to talk me out of this. You’re an officer of the court, for God’s sake.”
“I took off my DA hat the moment I walked in this door. I’m here as your friend.”
Her throat closed and she resolutely cleared it. “There are lots of other prosecutors out there with pasts like mine. They make it work.”
Again his smile was grim. “Their last name wasn’t Vartanian.”
She winced. “Point made. But my decision is the same. The SA and I have an appointment tomorrow morning at nine. She’ll come here. I’ll give her my statement.”
“Do you want me to be here?”
“No.” Uttering the word was reflex. But it wasn’t true. “Yes,” she said.
He nodded steadily. “All right.”
She hesitated. “Then I’m going to a funeral. In Dutton.”
“Whose funeral?”
“Sheila Cunningham. She was one of Simon’s gang’s fifteen rape victims. This past Tuesday night she was going to give my brother Daniel some information about the assaults thirteen years ago, but she was killed before she could talk to him. One of the gang members was our hometown deputy. He arranged for Sheila to be killed, then killed the hit man to keep him quiet. Today the deputy shot my brother.”
Al’s eyes widened. “You didn’t tell me your brother had been shot when you called.”
“No, I didn’t.” And she was too mixed up in her mind about Daniel to understand why she had not. “Daniel will be all right, thanks to his girlfriend, Alex.”
“Is the deputy in custody?”
“Of a fashion. After he shot Daniel, he turned his gun on Alex. She shot him dead.”
Al blinked. “I need another drink.” Susannah pulled another little bottle of scotch from the minibar, along with a bottle of water for herself.
Al tapped his glass to her bottle. “To the right thing.”
She nodded. “Even when it’s the hard thing.”
“I’d like to meet your brother Daniel. I’ve read a lot about him.”
Even when it’s the hard thing. Like it or not, ready or not, Daniel would be part of her life for the foreseeable future. “He can have visitors starting tomorrow.”
“Do you want me to go to this woman’s funeral with you?”
“You don’t have to,” she said and he gave her a look, as if he were counting to ten.
“You don’t have to do this alone, Susannah. You never did. Let me help you.”
Relief had her shoulders slumping. “It’s at eleven. We need to leave right after I talk with Ms. Hathaway.”
“Then I’ll let you sleep. Try not to worry.”
“I’ll try. You…” Her throat tightened. “You made me believe in the law, Al. I know it works. It didn’t work for me before, because I never gave it the chance.”
“Tomorrow at nine. We’ll give it a chance this time.”
She saw him to the door. “I’ll be here. Thank you.”
Atlanta , Friday, February 2, 11:30 p.m.
Luke stepped into the elevator in Susannah’s hotel, the aroma of food smacking him hard. A white-coated waiter stood behind a room service tray set for two. Luke glanced down at the room service tray longingly. It had been a long time since he’d eaten and all he’d get tonight was a burger from whatever drive-thru was still open.
You could be eating that burger right now. You could have just called her to ask about the cabin. Of course he could have, and should have. Yet here he was.
The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. “After you, sir,” the waiter said.
Luke nodded and headed for Susannah’s room. She’s probably asleep. You should just have called. But if he’d called, he definitely would have woken her. Now, he could listen at the door. If he didn’t hear anything, he’d leave. You go right on thinking that, Papa. You just want to see her again, make sure she’s all right.
Just to make sure she was all right. Yeah, that was it. Uh-huh.
A door opened at the end of the hall and an older man emerged, someone in the room closing the door behind him. The man was about fifty-five, dressed impeccably in a suit and tie. He scrutinized Luke, directly meeting his eyes as they passed.
Frowning, Luke turned to watch the man and almost collided with the waiter pushing the room service cart-who stopped at the door from which the man had emerged.
Luke frowned again when Susannah answered the waiter’s knock. She’d started to sign the bill when she realized Luke was there. “Agent Papadopoulos,” she said.
Luke nudged the waiter out of the way. “I’ll get this for you. Good night.”
Susannah watched as he pushed the cart into the room and closed the door. “What are you doing here?” she asked, though not unkindly.
“I needed to ask you something.” But then he got a look at her clothes and a sudden pulse of heat burned his skin. A tight skirt hit her legs midthigh and a clingy sweater dipped low. She looked utterly young and almost carefree. And I want her. Now.
“Looks like my niece Stacie bought what she wanted for herself,” he said, forcing his voice to be amused. “My sister Demi won’t let her dress like that.”
Her smile was rueful. “I thought as much, but I had to get rid of those scrubs.” She gestured at the cart. “Would you like to join me?”
“I’m starving,” he confessed. “But I don’t want to take your dinner.”
“I’ll never eat all this,” she said and pointed at the small table in the corner. “Sit.”
He maneuvered around the cart, hitting the desk with his hip. Her laptop cleared of its screensaver and he stopped when he saw what filled the screen. “Your statement.”
She put the tray on the table. “I’m meeting ASA Hathaway tomorrow morning.”
“She said you’d called.” He narrowed his eyes at the two sets of silverware on the tray, thinking of the man who’d come from her room. “You ordered dinner for two.”
“I always do. I don’t want anyone to think I’m here alone.” She shrugged, slightly embarrassed. “It’s the irrational fears that get you at three a.m. Eat before it gets cold.”
Three a.m. fears he understood. Three a.m. rarely found him asleep. They ate in silence, until Luke’s need to know overwhelmed. “Who was the man who left here?”
She blinked. “My boss. Al Landers, from New York. I’d called him earlier, told him about the box, and my statement. He came to make sure I was okay.” Her eyes widened. “You thought-? Oh, no. Al’s married.” Her jaw set. “He’s a good man.”
Luke’s gut settled. “That was nice of him to come all this way,” he said quietly.
She seemed to settle as well. “And it was nice of your niece to go shopping for me.” She got up and got her purse. “Here’s a check. Will you give it to her?”
He slid the check into his shirt pocket. “That’s not what you would have bought.”
“No, but that doesn’t make it any less kind. When I go back to New York, she can have this outfit if her mom will let her. I’m sure it would look better on her. I’m too old to dress like this.” She sat down and met his eyes. “What did you want to ask me?”
For a moment he couldn’t remember, then his good sense kicked in. “Did you ever visit a cabin up in the mountains?”