Two Parts Bloody Murder
Page 26
She laughed. “Okay, I would. And nearly did. But it all worked out. You can tell that Cabrera is trying to make a fresh beginning. Some areas of his life will be easier than others, but he’s trying. It’s a good start.” She caught Sofia’s eye and raised a hand in farewell, receiving a bright smile and a wave in response. “Let’s leave them to their reunion.”
They returned to Leigh’s car, the students piling into the back again.
“So Emerson’s been caught?” Matt asked.
“Riley should be picking him up right now. Mr. Emerson will be enjoying at least the next several years of his retirement as a guest of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”
“Hardly seems fair after the harm he caused.”
“I agree. And even though there will be a handful of charges—from perjury to accepting bribes, and maybe a few others the D.A. will throw in—it still won’t equal Cabrera’s thirty plus years inside.”
Matt looked through the windshield to where Cabrera stood with his son, daughter, and granddaughter. “At least he’s trying to make up for lost time right away. I wish him luck.”
“Me too. He’s had a hard life and deserves a break now. I think his granddaughter is going to give him the strength to start over again. New life, new beginnings.”
“Especially since he missed Sofia growing up. She’s given him the gift of experiencing that through her daughter.”
As she pulled out of the parking lot and onto State Road, Leigh found herself reviewing the case. So many years of death and revenge. From a callous poisoning, to decades of targeted killing meant more to wound the living than to punish the victims. One killer’s life was nearly at an end. Two others would pay for their crimes. And the man who had been sorely wronged finally tasted freedom again for the first time in decades.
Sometimes when you couldn’t change the past, changing the future had to be enough.
An image bloomed in Leigh’s mind of Cabrera gazing down into the identical eyes of his granddaughter, years of hard prison life falling away under the gentle touch of a baby. Her team was responsible for that.
Smiling, Leigh ignored Paul’s pleas from the back that she turn on the lights and siren so they could get the full “perp experience” from the back of a cop car as she turned toward home.
It was enough.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
* * *
A scientist specializing in infectious diseases, Jen J. Danna works as part of a dynamic research group at a cutting-edge Canadian university. However, her true passion lies in indulging her love of the mysterious through her writing. Together with her partner Ann Vanderlaan, a retired research scientist herself, she crafts suspenseful crime fiction with a realistic scientific edge. Their three previous Abbott and Lowell Forensic Mysteries include DEAD, WITHOUT A STONE TO TELL IT; NO ONE SEES ME ’TILL I FALL; and A FLAME IN THE WIND OF DEATH.
Ann lives near Austin, Texas, with three rescued pit bulls. Jen lives near Toronto, Ontario, with her husband and two daughters. You can reach her at jenjdanna@gmail.com or through her website at http://www.jenjdanna.com.