Chapter 101
Ten years after losing Quinn, the Delaney clan made their last trip from New Jersey to Rochester for Alec’s sentencing. The trial had started almost two years to the day after his arrest. The lag time between the guilty verdict, the appeal and this day took another two years. But this was the end of the road, it was finally over.
There had been many witnesses and lengthy testimony. Alison Moore, Cindy Kelleher and other women who had been in relationships with Alec testified, as did a number of his former ‘student girlfriends’. Even Denise Orr, the woman he asked out and lied to about how long his wife had been dead, told her story. At the sentencing, Colleen, Mike, Erin and Ed Delaney, each had their turn to speak publicly, before the judge passed out his ruling.
‘The loss of our daughter has been the most excruciating experience of our lives, Your Honor,’ said Ed Delaney gripping his wife’s hand, his voice catching with each word. ‘This evil snuffed out a beautiful light. She was someone who brought immeasurable joy to all of us and showed kindness to everyone. Our lives will never be the same. As her father, I have to live with the guilt. You see, Your Honor, it was my job to protect her, and I failed.’ Eileen Delaney put her arms around her husband as he broke down into tears.
It was Erin’s turn. At last, she would say out loud what had been bottled up inside her for so many years. She wanted Alec to hear every biting word.
‘You killed my sister, the mother of your children,’ Erin began, trembling, words pouring out, ‘for your love of money, your arrogance, and selfishness. I will pray every day that you live a long time so you can rot in jail as your evil devours you from the inside out. You will never have another moment of peace, and you will die old, alone and terrified. You took away my sister’s future, now this is yours.’
Alec didn’t look at any of them; he couldn’t, still a coward.
He was convicted of orchestrating a ‘murder for hire,’ and he received a sentence of life in prison with no parole. Instead of lining up his next girlfriend for the new semester, Dr. A was going to spend the rest of his life in prison.
Since the arrest, Quinn’s kids and the Delaneys had slowly rebuilt their relationship. Hannah, now thirty and Jack, thirty-one, were there in the courtroom that last day. Hannah stood to Erin’s left and Jack to her right, all three holding hands as Alec’s sentence was read. That was the moment they started to heal.
Quinn’s actual killer, Victor Malecki, was to be sentenced a few months later. The Delaneys had to wait their turn until after Malecki’s first trial for the manslaughter of the runner Chris Marshall before he would be sentenced for Quinn’s. The Delaneys went to the Marshall trial and got to know his family. They were nice people, still shattered from losing their husband and father. The Marshalls and the Delaneys would be forever connected by death, Alec and Victor Malecki. Both families promised to return to Rochester when Malecki was sentenced.
When the Delaneys finally arrived home to New Jersey, they were exhausted from the long physical and emotional trip. Eileen asked everyone to come in for coffee. Mike, worn out from driving, begged off, telling Erin he’d meet her at home. She stayed for half an hour and then it was time to leave.
‘We did it,’ Erin said, tearing up and hugging her parents and sister goodbye. ‘We did right by her. We got him.’
‘Don’t you start crying,’ Colleen said, her eyes filling, ‘or you’ll make me cry and I’m just too tired. But yeah, we got him.’
‘The Quinntessa would approve,’ Erin said, grinning and feeling lighter.
Driving home, she passed the park where she and Quinn had played when they were kids. Images of the two of them flashed in front of her. It was dusk. Something made her stop and get out of the car. She walked into the park through an opening in the fence. It was dinnertime, the air was chilly, and the playground was empty. The old swings and slides had been replaced with new, modern recreation equipment. Oddly, everything was in the exact same place it had been when two sisters, one tiny, with dark hair and blue eyes, and the other a tall strawberry blonde, soared on their swings up to the sky.
Erin wished the past would come to life for just one moment, but the park remained quiet. Six empty swings hung forlornly from thick plastic-coated chains. All were still, except one that was blowing in the breeze. She walked over and sat down on the swing next to the one that was swaying and closed her eyes.
After years of fighting for justice for her sister, it was time to let her go. Erin pumped her legs once to get her swing moving, and as she did, she felt the seat lift on its own, almost as if someone was pushing her. Something warm gently encircled her shoulders, and she thought she heard Quinn’s voice, ‘Go higher, Erin, higher.’
Erin smiled as she soared through the air. Her sister was with her. Quinn was still there, she could feel her presence. Best friends, always and forever.
Chapter 102
QUINN
I am a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend. I was a wife. I love to skate and ski and hike in the woods. I like to bake cookies and eat them while they’re still hot and gooey and sometimes even before they’re cooked. I play the ukulele badly while singing as loud as I can. I don’t care if I hit a sour note, it’s part of my charm. I love a good margarita with extra salt, and I think mustard tastes good on everything.
I am Quinn.
I may not be there, but I’m still here.
Acknowledgments
I’d like to thank my first readers who read Quinn at different stages and provided invaluable input, guidance and cheered me on. Leslie Arkin, Patricia and Heather Bellomo, Jill Chaifetz, Anne Fitzpatrick, Julie Garcia, Lisa Goodman, Jamie Holt, Madalyn Barbero Jordan, L.A. Justice, Charles “Chuck” Kanganis, Faye Kim, Marlene Pedersen, Tina Reine, Emily Shaw, Julie Saunders, Jessica Sitomer and Regina and Bob Turkington. An especially big thank you goes to my very smart and patient sister, Diane McGarvey, who sees everything before anyone else and has waded through really rough drafts. And finally, to my husband, Peter Black, who read it twice…a prince among men.
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