City Dark(96)

“I don’t know how Craig’s mind works,” she said, her eyes strangely suspicious. They seemed to clear and she shrugged. “He thought we belonged together, fighting this thing. I don’t know what else.”

“Halle,” he said. “Her parents. I hope they’ll see me. I think about her more than anyone. I mean, the letter from Lois . . . it’s a good thing. I’ll treasure it, and I’m glad she found peace. She was right, though. It would have been a stretch to turn her intentions into anything real. But Halle? Jesus, Aideen, she was so innocent. She was just a kind and decent . . .” He couldn’t hold it back anymore. Across the table from his attorney, he bawled. Aideen sat quietly as it worked through him. He was embarrassed at first, then it occurred to him how silly that was. Some things, men just never got past.

“Knowing what they know, I think Halle’s family will see you,” she said. “But one day at a time, Joe. There’s a lot to go through before this is over and you can get on with your life.”

“My life?”

“Yes. You have it back, whether you want it or not.”

“Nothing I do will bring Halle back. Or even Lois, for that matter. Hathorne made sure of that.”

“Lois kind of made her peace,” she said. “She did what she set out to do. That’s what the pastor says, and that’s what Lois was able to tell us too. She got straight, and she came back, looking for you. She died hopeful. That’s better than nothing.”

“Yeah, like Robbie. He died with less than nothing.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

“I lost Robbie the night of the blackout. In a different way, but he was still gone.” He looked up at her. “He got hurt that night. It was a sexual attack of some kind, down in a stairwell. Nate asked him to go down there and check, to see if there was a way out of where we were. We heard him scream. We got to him. We stopped it. But . . . wow, I’ve never said this out loud.”

“I’m sorry that happened.”

“Robbie blamed Nate, or maybe both of us. Or maybe he just couldn’t stand the thought of us around anymore? I don’t know. Hathorne fed on it, whatever it was. That much I know. He’s got claws. That’s why I didn’t want you near him, Aideen.”

“I understand. I always did. For now, let Craig worry about Hathorne. Robbie? Well, I think you have to bury your thoughts about Robbie with him. I know that’s cold, but . . .”

“No, it’s smart. Anyway, I’ve got another brother to meet.” He sighed. “That’s the future.”

“I think it’ll be good for you to meet him. It sounds like things are in place in terms of his care, but now you can make sure. You can be there for him, finally.”

He shrugged, suddenly exhausted. “I’ll try.”

“I’m going over to see Mimi now. I’ll be in touch, and I’ll pick you up when you’re sprung.”

“I can cab it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s a defense attorney’s dream—driving her client away from Rikers after the case has been dropped.” She grinned and snapped her briefcase shut.

“Aideen?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank Máiréad for me, okay?”

“I will. Your fee might send her to law school. Well, a public one.”

He smiled, then searched for her eyes. “And thanks for living this with me.”

She smiled toothlessly, her eyes sad. “Thanks for choosing to live, Joe.”





CHAPTER 74


Tuesday, September 19, 2017

St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center

Ogdensburg, New York

3:14 p.m.

Craig Flynn thrummed his fingers on an empty desk as wind-driven rain slashed against the windows. Here on New York’s sloping Canadian frontier, summer was over. He was set up for the day in an unoccupied office at the psych center, taking meetings with a couple of doctors and some admin staff. He was looking forward to the last meeting, though, one he hoped would be a surprise.

“There he is,” he said cheerfully as Aaron Hathorne appeared in the doorway. Behind him was a hospital attendant who took a quick look around the office, then told Craig he’d be outside the door and that they had about ten minutes. Hathorne did look surprised, but the look shifted to contempt.

“I can’t possibly imagine what would keep me here for ten minutes,” he said. Craig hooked his hands behind his head and flashed an exaggerated, rubbery smile.

“Have a seat, Doc.”

“I’ll stand if I can choose.”

“That’s not your only choice,” Craig said. The smile disappeared. “You could do some good for yourself and talk to my investigator about your relationship with Evan Bolds.”

“That name barely rings a bell. Where is this investigator, anyway?”

“No need to waste his time if you’re gonna act that way.”

Hathorne flared his nostrils. “What way?”

“Ignorant, which is the one thing I know you aren’t.”

“If you are here about a man named Evan Bolds, I can assure you I’m quite ignorant. As I said, I can barely remember the name.”

“Then you might be slipping a little,” Craig said, pulling on a confused face. “My friends over at the corrections department created a fairly intricate trail between you and Bolds—the facilities you were in together, the sex offender sessions you both attended. You talked. You knew each other.”