Trust No One (Devlin & Falco), page 37
The past didn’t matter.
Within an hour four other cops and the crime scene investigators were on the scene. Kerri stayed out of the way. Falco drifted between the goings-on and her. He was worried about her.
She was worried about her.
The work was wrapping up when Lieutenant Brooks showed up. Kerri was actually surprised he didn’t have the chief with him.
Falco moved close to her as Brooks approached them. He shook his head. “This is stunning. You two have brought down some damn big names. You’re going to be in the spotlight for a while.”
“We were just doing our job,” Kerri said. She wished she sounded more enthusiastic, but she just couldn’t summon the energy.
“I was very sorry to hear about your niece, Devlin. I don’t know how you’re even still here.”
He had no idea.
“I should probably take her home,” Falco said.
“That’s a good idea,” the LT confirmed. “As soon as your final reports are wrapped up, you two need to take some time off. You’ve earned it. The department is very proud of you both. You make a damned good team.”
At least she could agree with that last part.
“Thank you, sir,” she offered, somehow managing to almost make it sound sincere.
“Thanks,” Falco mumbled.
Kerri got the feeling he was not accustomed to praise.
Brooks nodded. “Carry on.” When he would have turned away, he hesitated. “Just so you know, Thompson is cooperating fully. He’s spilling his guts on his cronies. I have a feeling he’s going to take a deal.”
As her boss walked away, Kerri wanted to kick something. Thompson didn’t deserve a deal.
“I guess we’re big news now, Devlin. Heroes.”
She let out a dry laugh. “I don’t know if I’d go that far, Falco.”
His face turned serious, and he looked around before saying, “What’re you thinking about our vanishing wife who suddenly reappeared?” He glanced around again. “You think she made all those murders happen last night? She is pregnant.”
Kerri thought of what Sela Abbott’s professor had said. She was his best student. He predicted she would either become a great detective or a clever criminal.
“I don’t know how much of what happened was her personal doing,” Kerri allowed, “but I know she made it all happen.” She thought about what she wanted to say next for a moment. “I’m a cop. I’ve dedicated my entire adult life to taking down the bad guys.”
“You see her as the bad guy, then?”
Kerri shook her head. “No. I see her as someone who did what she had to do. Sometimes we just have to do that.”
“And what you did? Can you live with that?”
She thought about the question for a moment. “Yes. Someone once told me I should open my eyes. That I would be surprised at what I could see. My eyes are wide open, Falco.”
“Come on.” He tugged her by the arm. “I should get you home. I’ll wrap up things here.”
At his car she hesitated before getting in. “Do me a favor, would you?”
“What’s that, Devlin?”
“Don’t change. Not one thing. I want you to stay exactly the way you are.”
He grinned. “I can do that.”
64
It is done.
They have all paid for their evil, selfish deeds. The one who survived was only guilty of loving my sister . . . and being a coward.
He will pay a high price for both.
A celebration is in order. I am understandably proud of myself. I successfully lined up all the players in a neat little row, like ducks in a shooting gallery.
I studied and analyzed each of them long before I came here. I schooled myself in where they lived, what they ate, when they slept . . . what they did with their time and money. By the time I arrived in Birmingham, I knew everything. But they didn’t see the real me until the time was right.
Fifteen years of preparation culminated quite nicely.
Surprisingly, despite the elaborateness of my plan, there really was only one true glitch beyond the unexpected pregnancy. No one was more startled than I.
You see, all this time I felt certain no one could touch me . . . hurt me.
I was wrong. Perhaps I am not as dead inside as I thought.
When they took my one remaining friend, I realized simple revenge would never be enough. I wanted more.
I wanted to be the last thought on each of their minds before they took their final breaths.
My hands rest on my protruding belly as the nurse fusses over me. She’s going to help me with a shower soon. She thinks I’ll feel much better then. She’s placed a printout of the ultrasound on the bedside table so I can look at my little girl as I lie here resting.
I feel sad for the man who loved me and gave me this baby. He shouldn’t have had to pay for the sins of his father. For that, I feel a great deal of regret—far more than I expected.
I will make sure our daughter knows what a good man her father was. I will also make sure she is strong and learns to protect herself from the ugliness of this world. Knowledge is so very powerful, and I have armed myself with every bit of knowledge I could glean from the many, many sources I have encountered in my life.
I suspect Detective Devlin has learned a good deal during this investigation. I respect her. She is one of the good ones, which is why I felt compelled in the end to see that she was protected from what she was forced to do. Actually, she saved me the trouble. Cleaning up her little problem was nothing. It was the least I could do after her family sacrificed so much.
My heart aches for the loss of Amelia. She only wanted to help. She searched relentlessly until she found and took the key I needed from York’s office. That key, a simple brass object, allowed me access to the place in that damned cabin where York kept his laptop locked away. The laptop that held all the details of all the dirty little deeds.
For that key, Amelia gave her life.
I walked her through the steps necessary for shutting down the cameras in the building. Just long enough to do what she had to do. It was simple. I am somewhat of an expert when it comes to security systems. If only York’s nephew hadn’t seen her coming out of his office . . . perhaps the bastard would never have known about my sweet little spy.
Dear Finn won’t get away without a little payback. I’ve heard fraternity hazing at Harvard can be hell. I’m counting on him suffering, just a little.
I have changed my mind about my baby’s name. She will be named Amelia. I will send a photo and a note to Detective Devlin. She really did do me a great favor, putting that bullet through a very black heart. She needn’t worry about her future where that part of all this is concerned.
Her secret will always be safe with me.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Birmingham, Alabama, holds a very special place in my heart. When my older daughter was born with multiple and life-threatening issues, she was rushed to Birmingham’s Children’s Hospital. After major surgery, months of hospitalization as an infant, and multiple additional surgeries over the years, my girl is happy and healthy and the mother of two daughters of her own. Most recently my younger daughter, who has two sweet boys, was faced with her youngest needing surgery. He was taken to this same hospital and is doing fantastically well. I am so incredibly thankful for this amazing place. For me and my family, Birmingham truly is the Magic City.
I have immense respect for Birmingham and its prestigious police department. Any negativity about either portrayed in this novel is strictly a product of my vivid imagination and is in no way based on real people or events.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2019 Jenni M Photography
Debra Webb is the USA Today bestselling author of more than 150 novels. She is the recipient of the prestigious Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Romantic Suspense as well as numerous Reviewers’ Choice Awards. In 2012 Webb was honored as the first recipient of the esteemed L. A. Banks Warrior Woman Award for courage, strength, and grace in the face of adversity. Webb was also recently awarded the distinguished Centennial Award for having published her hundredth novel. She has more than four million books in print in many languages and countries.
Webb’s love of storytelling goes back to her childhood, when her mother bought her an old typewriter at a tag sale. Born in Alabama, Webb grew up on a farm. She spent every available hour exploring the world around her and creating her stories. Visit her at www.debrawebb.com.
Debra Webb, Trust No One (Devlin & Falco)
