What She Found (Tracy Crosswhite #9)(94)

When they had all taken their seats and the waiter had filled their glasses with an Italian Merlot, Tracy lifted her glass. “Here’s to the court of public opinion,” she said.

Antonio had prepared a feast. Plates of antipasto and calamari, carbonara, fettuccine Alfredo, ravioli, scampi, sea bass, veal cutlets, and chicken saltimbocca. Dan had quietly paid the entire bill. Antonio protested, but Dan had insisted.

They ate family style, sharing the dishes and enjoying their time together, as well as the temporary respite from the rest of the world in that curtained back room. Jorgensen told them the contents of the second article to run Sunday, including Anita’s interview with Dennis Hopper that would confirm what Del had stated in the morning article and name Moss Gunderson as his partner and the person Slocum had spoken with. The article also stated that the Egregious captain, Jack Flynt, had declined to talk, citing a confidentiality agreement he had signed in 2002. Jorgensen said that the Times’s lawyers, moving with an expedited motion, had prevailed at a preliminary hearing on Friday entitling them to the names of those officers who served on the Last Line. They had learned the task force was composed of seven men, including Tombs, each handpicked by the sergeant. Of the seven, three had passed away. Leaving four alive.

“Lawyers for the task force members said they intend to appeal the trial court’s ruling,” Jorgensen said. “But without some danger to the task force members, the appellate court probably won’t choose to hear argument. Our lawyers are telling us that we could have the names as early as next week.”

“That should rattle a few trees,” Faz said. He lifted his glass.

“Hey, I just want to raise a toast to my partner, Del Castigliano.”

“Don’t do that, Faz,” Del said, shaking his head.

“No. No. You’ve beaten yourself up long enough about this. You did the right thing. It’s like confession. You tell the priest your sins, and he forgives them, and from this day forward you walk with a guilt-free conscience. Salute.”

They toasted Del, who looked embarrassed by the attention.

Del raised a hand. “Faz is now absolving sins. Am I lucky to be his partner or what?” They all laughed. Del stood. “I also want to say to you, Ms. Childs, and to you, Anita—” He paused and fought his emotions. Celia stood and placed a hand on his back. Seeing the big man this vulnerable made Tracy’s eyes water. “I just want to say that I’m truly sorry that I didn’t come forward sooner. That I put you in this situation and that I caused so much pain.”

For a moment, no one spoke. Then Anita rose from her chair.

“What happened was not the fault of anything you did or didn’t do, but what they did to us. It took a lot of courage to do the right thing.

We’re both grateful. We’re grateful to all of you.”

Del stepped down the length of the table to hug Anita. When they separated, Melissa slowly stood. She paused, not for dramatic effect.

“Anyone who knows me . . .” She laughed and, after a beat, everyone in the room got the unintended joke and laughed with her, a release of emotions. When they finished wiping away tears, she tried again. “Let me start over. I’m not much for public speaking, but I can say this now, after spending time with my mother and my daughter. The person who disappeared doesn’t sound like she spent a lot of quality time with either of you. She sounds like somebody who put her job ahead of her family. Sometimes, people say, it takes a tragedy to make us realize what we have, to make us realize how blessed we really are and what we could lose. Sometimes we have to know loss to appreciate what we find. The three of us might have lost years of memories, but let’s not all delude ourselves by thinking those were all going to be happy memories.” She paused for a moment, and Anita reached out and took her mother’s hand. “I’m not a religious person,” Childs said. “At least I don’t think I am.” The comment brought additional laughter. “I can’t say God had a hand in this. But I will say I appreciate meeting and getting to know my daughter and my mother. How many of us can say such a thing at this stage of our lives? What I’ve learned is that life isn’t about memories. It isn’t about the past. It’s about living in the present and looking to the future, and what that future holds for each of us.” She looked at her mother and her daughter. “We can’t make up lost time, but we can make the most of what time we have left.”

As the evening came to an end, the plates clean and glasses empty, and the leftovers placed in take-home packaging, Tracy and Dan said their good-byes, then followed Anita, Melissa, and Beverly back to Laurelhurst before backtracking to the 520 bridge and heading home. The lights of the newly built bridge, as well as in the windows of the homes along Lake Washington’s shores, reflected off the calm surface. Dan turned down the radio.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Dan said.

“Boy, have you become cheap in your old age.”

“Ouch.”

Tracy smiled. “It was a good evening; wasn’t it?”

“It was,” he said. “So, what’s bothering you?”

“Nothing’s bothering me,” she said.

“Boy, have you become a poor liar in your old age.”

Tracy laughed. She kept her gaze out the windshield. “I was just thinking that it doesn’t seem right, does it, not being able to get the people responsible.”