The Coldest Fear
Page 28
Troy joined her in the small lobby designated for the families of surgical patients. He’d been in and out since she, Nick, Amelia and Weller were brought here. Kessler’s body had been claimed by the coroner. Troy looked as tired as she felt. According to Agent Ellis, Supervisory Special Agent Rodney Pitts was already in custody at Quantico.
“We found that other FBI agent,” Troy said, “Anthony LeDoux.”
Bobbie’s breath caught. No matter that she and LeDoux had their differences, he hadn’t let her down when it counted. “Is he injured?” Please don’t let him be dead.
“He’s fine. Kessler drugged him and put him in her trunk. LeDoux claims she intended to use him as the scapegoat for what Pitts had been doing. But first she had to see that you, Potter and Weller were taken out of the picture.”
Frankly, the crazy woman had come far too close to making that happen in Bobbie’s opinion. “Is LeDoux here?”
Troy shook his head. “Paramedics checked him out and a couple of agents I haven’t seen before whisked him away.”
The FBI had some serious explaining to do. Most likely they were scrambling to do damage control. The idea of how many people had died because of Weller’s free rein from prison shook Bobbie to the core. No amount of damage control would bring those people back.
The children were all accounted for, except the Bonner boy. Weller had insisted he was alive, but, at this point, they had no way of confirming his assertion. They might never find him. Other questions remained but the answers had died with the adults who’d long ago set this shocking tragedy in motion. How sad for the survivors.
“Deidre Wilson and Shelia Cotton came forward and admitted they’d killed Edward Cortland and their husbands.”
Bobbie wasn’t really surprised at that news. They’d basically run out of suspects beyond those two. “Nothing on Treat Bonner yet?”
“Not yet. We’ll keep searching until we find him or his remains.”
“His father is still here?” Sadly there was no one left to take care of the father. As soon as the nursing home was able to take him, he would spend the rest of his life there. So sad. No one should be that alone.
“One floor down.” Troy gave Bobbie the room number. “Delores spoke to the nursing home director again. They should have a place for him by the first of the week.”
“Maybe I’ll check on him.” Since Nick was with Amelia now, Bobbie could take a few minutes away.
“I’ll go with you.” Troy gestured for her to lead the way. “Have you spoken to your chief?”
“I have.” Bobbie smiled. Her Uncle Teddy was out of the hospital and ready to go back to work long enough to get his affairs there in order so he could retire. She couldn’t believe he was actually going to do it. As surprising as his decision was, she was happy for him and for Lieutenant Owens. The two were already planning their wedding. She had definitely missed a lot this week.
Including Bauer’s funeral. Bobbie was pretty sure Sergeant Lynette Holt would never forgive her. Another mountain to climb...another day.
“So you’ll be going back home soon.” Troy opened the door to the stairwell. “I’m sure your unit is looking forward to having you back.”
“I told the chief I’d be back in time for roll call Monday morning. We have a lot of work to do rebuilding our unit.”
As they descended the final step down to the next floor, Troy hesitated. “If you ever want a change of scenery, I could use you on my team.”
Bobbie smiled. “I take that as a tremendous compliment, Troy. Thank you.”
He pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. “Thank you for coming, Bobbie.” He drew back and smiled down at her. “I’m pretty sure I would have had a tough time getting through this without you.”
“You had my back as much as I had yours.”
“We make a good team.”
Bobbie smiled.
“Okay, so I guess I’m not going to be able to talk you into staying.”
“Afraid not.”
He gave her a nod. “I had to try.”
As they walked down the long white corridor toward Bonner’s room, Bobbie knew she couldn’t leave without asking about his family. “What about your father?”
They paused at the door. “He offered to make a full confession. His decision to not pursue what he suspected makes him guilty of a number of crimes.”
“Your father couldn’t have known Weller took Noah Potter. Nothing he could have done would have changed the course of that particular event.”
“I’m leaving that between him and the district attorney. As for our personal relationship, I told him we’re not looking back. We’re moving forward.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Bobbie pushed open the door to Mr. Bonner’s room. She stalled.
The man huddled in the chair next to Bonner’s bed was dirty, his face was scratched. His clothes, jeans and sweatshirt were torn and bloody. His sneakers were muddy.
Treat Bonner wasn’t the sixteen-year-old boy who’d disappeared thirty-two years ago. He was a scared, gray-haired man who had been chained in a cellar like an animal for most of his life.
“Treat.” Troy put himself between Bobbie and any potential threat the man might represent and approached him cautiously. “I’m Lieutenant Troy Durham from the Savannah-Chatham Metro Police. We need to talk.”
Bobbie had already reached behind her back, her fingers stretching toward...nothing. She grimaced. Her weapon was lost in that damned river.
“Why don’t you say good-night to your daddy,” Troy suggested, “and we’ll get you taken care of and the rest of this mess straightened out.”
Troy talked Bonner out of the room. He assured the man that everything would be fine.
So it was over.
The cold, cold fear of becoming like his father that had haunted Nick was gone. Amelia Potter had her son back. Troy Durham was a part of his family once more.
Weller was going back to prison.
What about you, Bobbie?
She took a deep breath. Whatever happened next, she was pretty sure she would be okay.
Forty-Four
11:40 p.m.
Nick stared at the woman sleeping. She was his mother. Not the woman he’d thought of as his mother for his entire life—at least for all that he could remember. How had he forgotten her? It wasn’t until he picked up that photograph in her apartment that he experienced a true memory. Had Weller somehow erased any memories that should have been imprinted?
Fury burned through Nick. As grateful as he was not to share DNA with the son of a bitch, he was still shaken by the revelation.
Amelia Potter’s eyes opened and she stared at him for several seconds. Finally she blinked. “Bobbie told me who you are. I want you to know that I never stopped praying you’d come back.”
She reached a pale hand from beneath the sheet. He accepted the gesture, allowing his much larger fingers to wrap around hers.
“For years I searched for you. I didn’t care what anyone else said. Whenever I saw a dark-haired boy about your age I’d hurry to see his face just to make sure it wasn’t you. Eventually I stopped, but I never stopped hoping.”
Her chapped lips spread into a remarkably beautiful smile. “You’re so handsome. And so strong.”
“There is much I need to tell you. I’ve done things,” he said, his heart heavy, “I’m certain you wouldn’t be proud of.”
“We all do what we have to do.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m so glad you found me.”
“Me, too.”
They talked for more than an hour. The sound of her voice grew as familiar as his own, it flowed around him, making him feel something he had not felt even once for as far back as he could recall: safe. She told him about his father. A good man
who had died before Nick was born. She promised to show him pictures.
When Amelia drifted back to sleep, Nick stood and stretched his legs. He wanted to find Bobbie. They needed to talk.
Outside the room LeDoux waited for him.
“I thought you were on your way back to Virginia.”
LeDoux shrugged. “I told them I wasn’t leaving until Weller was on his way back to Atlanta.”
Nick would have preferred never to have to hear that name again. “When are they transporting him?”
The sooner the better.
“They’re leaving in half an hour.” LeDoux stared at the floor as if he wasn’t looking forward to what he had to say next. “He wants to see you before he goes. Are you interested?”
No shot to the tip of his tongue. Nick bit it back. Instead he nodded. It would be the last time the bastard ever laid eyes on Nick.
LeDoux led the way to the room where Weller was shackled to a bed. Four guards waited outside the room. There were two more inside.
A jerk of the head from LeDoux and the two inside followed him back into the corridor.
Weller stared at Nick as if trying to memorize every detail. “One day you’ll appreciate what I did for you.”
Nick stared at the defeated old man who had destroyed so many lives. “You’re right. I will truly appreciate the day you take your last breath.”
He turned his back and walked away.
Weller called after him but Nick never looked back.
Forty-Five
Thursday, November 3, 2:00 a.m.
The night air was cold but Bobbie had needed to be away from the medicinal smells of the hospital for a minute. She’d spent way too much time in hospitals and rehabs this year.
She felt at peace for the first time in a very long time.
Her life was different now, but she was alive and she had an obligation to appreciate what others had sacrificed so much for. James, Jamie, Newt and Bauer, just to name those closest to her.
She smiled. “We got him, Asher.”
Her cell vibrated and she grabbed it, hoping it might be Nick. Holt. Bobbie took a breath and answered. “Hey.”
“Owens told me what you did.”
Bobbie held back the tears that burned in her eyes. “I did what I had to do.”
The long pause that followed pressed hard against Bobbie’s sternum. She didn’t want to lose her relationship with Holt. The two of them were all that was left of their unit. They needed each other.
“Thank you.” Holt’s voice trembled on the words. “Now get your ass back up here. We have work to do.”
Bobbie laughed and assured her she would see her on Monday.
She put her phone away, a tremendous weight off her shoulders. Whatever happened from this moment forward, she was comfortable with her place in the scheme of things. Her world might never be the way it used to be, but it was hers.
She turned to head back to the hospital. Nick exited the front entrance and walked toward her.
Had something happened? Had Amelia taken a turn for the worse? She hurried to meet him. “Is everything okay?”
He nodded. “Almost.”
She wasn’t sure how long it had been since she’d had any sleep, maybe twenty-four hours. There was a good possibility that she was getting a little giddy.
“We could grab a cup of coffee or find a quiet place to get some sleep if you want to stay close to Amelia.”
“She told me to get some sleep. I think maybe she needed some time to process the idea that her little boy isn’t a little boy anymore.”
Bobbie’s heart squeezed. “Guess so.”
He nodded. “If you don’t have some other place to be, can you come with me?”
That extra beat that bumped against her sternum had her holding her breath. “I’d love to.”
They walked side by side across the parking lot. She was surprised to find her Challenger.
“Durham had an officer bring it over for you. Your purse is still inside.” He produced the fob and tossed it to her.
“Do you want me to drop you off at your room?” Again she held her breath.
He didn’t answer. Instead he closed the small distance between them, trapping her between his body and the car. “No. I’m going with you.”
She moistened her lips. She had to know what that meant. “I should leave in a couple of days and head back to Montgomery.”
“You have room for a passenger?”
Surprised, she shrugged. “Sure. You know someone who needs a ride?” She needed him to spell out his intentions.
“Wherever you go, I go.”
Bobbie nodded slowly. “If you’re sure that’s what you want.”
“That’s what I want. You?”
She nodded again. “It is.”
“Good. You want me to drive?”
She tossed the fob back to him. “I would love for you to drive.”
When they were settled in the car and he’d started the engine, she asked, “What about Amelia?”
“I told her I had to get you back home as soon as she’s released—day after tomorrow according to her doctor—and that we’d both be back to visit for the holidays.”
“I like that plan.”
He reached across the console and took her hand in his. “Good.”
Nick drove away from the hospital parking lot. Bobbie relaxed into the cool leather and closed her eyes.
She was definitely ready for whatever came next.
* * * * *
Eighteen years ago, a killer stole Joanna Guthrie’s voice—and now, aided by FBI special agent Tony LeDoux, she’s ready to take it back.
Read on for a sneak preview of
THE LONGEST SILENCE from USA TODAY bestselling author Debra Webb’s series SHADES OF DEATH.
“Debra Webb is a master storyteller.”
—Allison Brennan, New York Times bestselling author
Looking for more suspenseful reads from award-winning author Debra Webb? Don’t miss out on a single electrifying tale in the Shades of Death series:
The Blackest Crimson
No Darker Place
A Deeper Grave
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“Webb keeps the suspense teasingly taut, dropping clues and red herrings one after another on her way to a chilling conclusion.”
—Publishers Weekly on TRACELESS
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The Longest Silence
by Debra Webb
Jo reached for her coffee but curled her shaking hand into a fist rather than risk picking up the mug.
She wasn’t supposed to come back here. Ever. In fact, she hadn’t set foot in the state of Georgia since she left eighteen years ago. Never coming back. Never, never coming back. She shouldn’t be here now. Deep breath. No choice.
Keep your head on straight, Jo.
From what she could see last night not that much had changed other than the old asylum had closed down. She’d read about the closure a few years ago.
Not soon enough.
Images flickered through her brain. She pushed them away. Don’t look. Don’t look. Have to look.
A complete contrast to the old asylum, Milledgeville was a quaint place that exuded small town charm and promised parents of potential students that it was a safe and wholesome setting. In truth, it was, for the most part, despite the college campus and endless assortment of official and unofficial sorority and frat houses. Bars, clubs, restaurants, boutiques. All the things every college student needed handy for the launch into adulthood.
Jo went for her coffee again. This time she managed to lift the mug without the risk of spilling the hot brew. She downed a couple of swallows as she stared out the window toward Hancock Street. The first day of her freshman year she’d been so excited. No one in her family had ever gone to college. She was the first. Her parents had been so proud. Even her brother—a man who was far more contented with his head under a hood than in a book—seemed genuinely happy for her.
She’d arrived with big dreams and fully determined to prove she deserved the opportunity. She hadn’t bothered with friends the first semester. Her academic work had been her singular focus. Christmas had arrived and she’d stayed on campus to volunteer with local Christmas charities and to earn some extra cash. She’d gotten a job through the holiday season so she could afford a couple of new outfits and presents to send back home.
Every day had been a new adventure. She was so happy. Then winter started to fade and the promise of spring in the air had her hoping for more.
Her first mistake.
Don’t miss
THE LONGEST SILENCE,
available March 2018 wherever
MIRA Books and ebooks are sold.
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Copyright © 2018 by Debra Webb