She was still alive!
Jess turned and screamed. “Get a paramedic. She is hurt.”
She leaned into the car to turn off the engine and then walked out of the garage with her hands over her head.
“She needs an ambulance!” Jess screamed again before she dropped to her knees from exhaustion and relief.
Thirty-Eight
Jeanie’s eyes fluttered open.
Jess stood up and walked closer to her hospital bed. “Hey,” she smiled. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. I was just about to leave a note and come back tomorrow. You must be exhausted. Get some sleep.”
Jeanie reached out her arm to touch Jess’s hand to make her stay.
Jess smiled. “You don’t know how glad I am to see you.”
It had been six days since Jeanie had been admitted to the hospital. The emergency room doctor that had first treated her said that she was lucky to be alive. A few more minutes and she would have died or been left with permanent brain damage.
Jeanie managed a weak smile.
“I hear they are releasing you today.”
“Yes,” Jeanie’s voice cracked.
“Here, let me get you some water.” Jess poured a glass from the plastic jug on the bedside table.
“Thank you.” Jeanie took a sip of water. “For this and for saving my life. I’m grateful for the risk you took for me.”
Jess shrugged, unsure of what to say. It wasn’t a risk to her. It was just what needed to be done. She would have done anything to try to save her.
“Has Paul told you that Sturgeon and Hagan have been arrested?”
She nodded. “He said according to the news, more arrests are imminent.”
“The district attorney’s office is still making their way through all the material from the USBs. There is a lot to get through. But the good news is that the Founding Father members are turning on each other. They’re all trying to cut a deal.”
“That is good.” She shook her head. “It’s true what they say, there really is no honor among thieves.”
“No, at least not when they are facing federal death penalty charges.”
Jeanie shifted to push herself up on the bed.
“Here. Let me help you,” Jess said.
Jeanie moved into position and then smoothed down a lock of her faded red hair. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” The vinyl chair creaked as Jess sat down again.
“Are you going to tell me what happened? I have stopped asking Paul because I don’t want him to have to lie again and tell me he doesn’t know anything else.”
Jess gave a slow nod. That was why she was here. She wanted to be the one to tell Jeanie. Not that she relished the idea of seeing her in pain, but because Jeanie deserved to hear it from her.
Paul and the medical staff had intentionally kept all news away from Jeanie while she was healing but she was being released today. They couldn’t keep it from her any longer.
“You know the camp Levi went to, Pine Ridge?”
“Yes.”
“You know that it’s a camp owned and operated by the Founding Fathers?”
Jeanie nodded.
“The week in August when Levi and his friends went up to the camp was the initiation ceremony for Ryan Hastings.” Jess took a deep breath. She didn’t want to have to tell Jeanie this but she deserved to know the truth, and if she didn’t hear it from her, she would see it on the news. The video had been played on a constant loop. “Part of the induction was hazing.”
Jeanie’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
“All week they made Ryan do things, just stupid kid stuff, but the last night it went too far.” Jess looked away because she couldn’t bear to see Jeanie’s face when she told her the truth. “They put a dog collar on Ryan, left him tied to the bed, and went to dinner. They didn’t realize it was too tight. When they got back he was dead. It was an accident.”
When Jeanie didn’t answer, Jess turned to look at her. Jeanie shook her head. The furrow between her brows deepened to a pronounced crease. “No,” she whispered.
“I’m sorry.”
“No.” Jeanie shook her head. “That’s not like Levi. He wouldn’t have done that. He was a good boy. He would never hurt anyone.”
“It was an accident.”
“No.” The monitor beeped as Jeanie’s pulse crept dangerously high. “He would have told me.”
“I’m sorry,” Jess said again. “He was scared. Things spun out of control and he didn’t know what to do. Greg Sturgeon came in and said he would handle things because it was his neck on the line. He would have been fired and faced possible charges because he sanctioned the initiation and the hazing. It was a school tradition. It’s been going on since the school began but this time things went wrong. It was just an accident but Sturgeon asked Hagan for help and the cover-up turned deadly. All the Founding Fathers have dirt on each other so when they started calling in favors, no one could say no. They didn’t know what they were covering up, they just knew they didn’t want their own secrets exposed.”
Jeanie held her head in her hands and wept. Her shoulders went up and down as she sobbed.
Jess wanted to look away. She wanted to run and get numb and pretend this wasn’t happening but she stayed frozen in place. She forced herself to be present for her friend, to face the emotion, every uncomfortable sensation, just sit with her as she cried so she knew she wasn’t alone. She wouldn’t run from this. Not this time.
Eventually the tears stopped. “That’s not the boy I knew. I always thought he was a good boy.”
Jess reached for her hand. “He was good. He did something stupid but he was a good person. He made a mistake. Remember what you told me? That my mistakes are part of me but they aren’t me. If that’s true for me, then it’s true for Levi. He was a good person. Don’t let yourself ever doubt that.”
“Thank you.” Jeanie’s lip trembled. “He was good and I loved him.”
Epilogue
Jess straightened the collar of her shirt and then buttoned and unbuttoned her suit jacket, trying to decide which looked the most professional. She was nervous, terrified actually. She wanted to run but she couldn’t. She had made her choices and now she needed to accept the consequences.
She knocked on Director Taylor’s door to let him know she had arrived for the appointment and then opened the door. She stopped when she saw four men in suits seated at the table with Taylor. She didn’t recognize any of them.
“Sorry. I thought my appointment was at one. I’ll come back later.”
Taylor stood up. “No, come on in.”
“Um, okay.” Jess went in.
“Please have a seat.” Taylor indicated to the chair opposite him.
Jess sat down. She glanced around at the other people at the table, wondering why they were there for what should have been a private meeting. She would rather not have an audience when she was told what disciplinary action was going to be taken. Unease rose in her. Maybe Taylor was going to fire her then and there, and he wanted witnesses to ensure it was done by the book. None of them were smiling, which was never a good sign.
“Thank you for joining us.” Taylor turned to the men at the table. “This is Special Agent Jessica Bishop.” He turned back to her and introduced the other people at the table but Jess was too agitated to take any of it in. She didn’t care who they were, she just wanted to know the extent of legal and disciplinary action she would be facing. She couldn’t live with the uncertainty hanging over her. She’d committed arson, destroyed police property, and hospitalized two police officers during an unauthorized investigation. She wouldn’t walk away from this unscathed.
“Hagan accepted a plea agreement this morning. He’ll serve twenty-five years,” Taylor said.
“Did he turn on Sturgeon?” Jess asked.
“Among others.” Taylor nodded. “He also signed a sworn affidavit stating that he started the fire at police headquarters to frame you.”
/>
“What? Why would he do that?”
“He also has admitted to Photoshopping the pictures of you in a compromising position.”
Jess stared down at the scar on her hand as she took in the new information.
One of the men looked up. Light reflected off the gold band of his Rolex as he shut his laptop. “Tomorrow there will be an expert on Good Morning explaining how easy it is to manipulate pictures. He will do a live demo with pictures of the anchors. The audience will love it. We’ve also booked Dr. Abrams from the University of Toronto on The Today Show to discuss the cultural and psychological implications of shaming women for their sexuality and why Hagan chose that as the route to try to discredit you. That will play really well given the current climate. We’re still in talks with 60 Minutes. A sit-down interview would be ideal so we can really get ahead of this, lean into your backstory, paint it as more phoenix rising from the ashes and less chip off the psychotic block.”
Jess’s back stiffened. There was so much wrong with what he had said. She didn’t know where to start. “Sorry, who are you?”
“Duncan, Shapiro, and Schwartz are the lawyers working on this, and Larry Knox—” Taylor pointed to the guy with the Rolex “—is in charge of public relations. He’s our go-to clean-up man. He knows his stuff. By the time he gets done, you will be the most admired woman in America.”
Jess gave him a hard look. “Clean-up? You mean cover-up.”
“I’d prefer not to call it that. This is damage control. You handed me a pile of lemons, and I’m going to present the world with the best damn lemon meringue pie they’ve ever tasted. Seriously, they will be begging for more. The bureau has had a bit of a PR beating recently but we can turn it all around with this. People will eat it up. That reminds me, I still need to speak to the warden and see if he will allow us to film an interview with your father. That would make amazing television.” He picked up his phone.
“No!” Jess didn’t mean to shout but the idea of seeing her father again after all these years sent a bolt of terror straight through her chest. He was dead to her. That was the only way she could cope with the shitstorm he’d left behind. “Giving air-time to serial killers is never the answer.”
His thin lips pulled into a condescending smile. “With all due respect, this is my job. I know what I’m doing.”
“I’m sure you do. But what are you doing? Covering things up? With all due respect to you, I just worked a case where thirteen innocent people died because of a cover-up. I just don’t see…” Her voice trailed off. He was trying to help her. He was giving her an out, a way to walk away from this, but the irony of the situation wasn’t lost on her. They were conspiring to cover up the fallout from unearthing a conspiracy.
She should just be grateful that she wasn’t going to face charges, and she was, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were doing the same thing as the Founding Fathers. What made it right for them to lie? Because they were the good guys? Didn’t everyone think they were the good guy? She took a deep breath. She couldn’t pretend she had any of the answers anymore.
She wasn’t facing jail time and no one on her team had died. That was the good news, she would focus on that. Later she would deal with the shitty feeling that had settled in the pit of her stomach.
She listened silently as the five men outlined how they were going to cover up the fallout from the case.
When they were done, Taylor looked at her and said, “You happy with all of this?”
She nodded. The answer was she didn’t know how she felt but that was nothing new for her.
“Okay great. Then I think we’re done here.” Taylor stood up and thanked the men for their help.
Jess stood up to leave too.
“Do you have a second?” he asked.
“Yeah, sure.”
He waited for everyone to leave before he turned back to her. “I just spoke to Jeanie.”
Jess nodded, waiting for him to continue.
“She has had a good career. She’s a great agent.”
“Yes, she is.”
“But she’s tired. She said so herself. She’s ready to retire and move on to the next stage of her life. She and her husband are going to move back to Utah. They have like eighty-five nieces and nephews there.”
“Oh,” was all she could manage to say. She knew this day was coming, that Jeanie would retire at some point, but it still felt too soon. Selfishly, Jess wanted her to stay forever; she depended on her for guidance and knowledge. She didn’t want to work under anyone else. She was a great leader, and no one could fill that position.
“We had a long talk. She is adamant that you are the person that should take over the team.”
Jess’s mouth dropped open, stunned.
“As you know I was never a fan of your appointment. I’ve made no secret of that, but saying that, your dedication to your team and to uncovering the truth is admirable. That is exactly the quality we want.”
“I-uh-I don’t know what to say.”
“I’m not done yet. What you did was stupid and irresponsible, and if you ever disobey orders again, you will be fired immediately.”
Jess nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“All right, then. I think we’re done here unless you have any questions. Your team has not made any progress on their current case without you. Fix that.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ve told them to meet you in the conference room this afternoon so you can get started.”
Jess managed a smile. This was real. She was officially coming back to work as team leader. It was never a job she wanted but it felt right. She felt excited and scared in equal measure. She had no doubt that she would mistakes but she also knew she would never stop fighting for victims.
“One more thing. Jeanie asked me to give you this.” He handed her a package wrapped in brown paper. “There is no card. She said you would know what it meant.”
“Thank you.” She took the package and walked back to her office.
She sat down at her desk and unwrapped the package. Her heart caught in her throat when she saw the contents. It was the framed Pablo Neruda poem Paul had given Jeanie, the one she’d told her about. She’d seen it countless times on the wall behind Jeanie’s desk and now it was hers.
Jess closed her eyes and let an unfamiliar feeling wash over her. She didn’t know what it was but she wasn’t going to fight it because it felt good.
“Jessie,” Jamison called from her doorway.
She looked up at him and smiled.
His eye was swollen shut and his lip was busted from his time with Hagan.
“Taylor called and said there is a team meeting at two.”
Jess glanced up at the clock. She was already five minutes late for her first official team meeting as leader.
“Yeah, here I come.” She pushed herself back from her desk and stood up.
She walked side by side with Jamison to the conference room. She turned to him just before they got to the door. “Hey, when Hagan was holding you and I got to speak to you on the phone, I was cut off before I could finish saying what I needed to say.” She took a deep breath. “Thank you, Jamison.” There was so much more to say but there were no words. Maybe there never would be but that was okay.
Jamison’s full lips hitched in a lazy smile. He opened his mouth to speak but before he could say anything she opened the door to the conference room.
Tina, Chan, and Milligan were all seated. Milligan, like always, had a stain of undetermined origin on his suit. Tina looked tan and beautiful from her time in Hawaii and Chan was busy trying to impress her in the hope of getting her into bed. These were her people, her team.
Jess went in and put her stuff on the table. “All right, guys, let’s get started. We still have a strangler to catch.”
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Books by Kierney Scott
Detective Jess Bishop Series:
Forget Me Not
Cross Your Heart
Catch Your Death
AVAILABLE IN AUDIO
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Cross Your Heart (UK listeners | US listeners)
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‘WOW! WOW! WOW! I LOVED this FABULOUS thriller … I was hooked from the start! There were twists and turns and moments when my stomach churned and if I could have and read it in one go I certainly would have done.’ Goodreads Reviewer
Murky water sloshed through the gaps in the jetty’s algae-covered planks. Electricity ran down her spine. The victim’s torso was missing circles of flesh. Jess had seen marks like this before a long time ago. But that killer was already dead, wasn’t he?
Catch Your Death Page 23