“Whatever happens, Sam, I’m here. I’m right here.”
She’d managed to contain the tears until he said that.
He kissed her forehead. “It’ll be okay, babe.”
While she’d never be ready to lose her dad, knowing Nick would be by her side somehow made this awful situation a little more bearable.
Jeannie went through the Tyler Fitzgerald file page by page. Skip Holland’s notes were thorough and detailed. He’d interviewed people who’d known the seven-year-old and his family, who’d frequented the school playground where he’d vanished on a Saturday night in June of 1986 and children who’d attended second grade with the boy. Jeannie read every word on every report. The family’s heartbreak was palpable, and her own heart ached imagining what they’d been through in the ten days from when he went missing until his body was found in a Maryland landfill. There were photos of the adorable child from before and after his death and a medical examiner’s report that detailed death by asphyxiation.
Skip had included articles from Washington newspapers and from papers around the country that had picked up the story that summer. Immersing herself in the file helped to keep her mind off her own troubles. For that she had to give her lieutenant credit. Coming back to work had been a good move.
“I heard you were here,” a familiar voice said.
Jeannie looked up at the smiling face of her partner, Detective Will Tyrone. Tall with close-cropped blond hair, a muscular physique and a sweet baby face, Will too had been a pillar of strength in the dark days after the attack.
“Hey there,” Jeannie said. “What’re you doing here?” They normally worked third shift, 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
“The LT has had me on days lately.”
“Who’ve you been partnering up with?”
“Cruz while she was on vacation, but now I’m not sure. Are you back to stay?”
“I don’t know yet. I’m taking it an hour at a time.”
Will grabbed a stray chair from another cubicle and straddled it. “What’re you doing?”
Jeannie explained about the Fitzgerald case and how Sam had asked her to take a fresh look at it.
“Can I help?”
“Actually, I was thinking I’d like to talk to the parents, but I don’t have my car.”
“I can take you.”
“That’d be great. Thanks.” She reached for a notebook in her bottom drawer and ran a hand over her hair to make sure it was under control. “Just let me tell Gonzo. Sam left him in charge of me.”
“Before we go…”
Jeannie took a closer look at his tormented expression. “What is it?”
“I want you to know I can’t stop thinking about that day, about whether there was something I could’ve done to change what happened.”
Seeing him so distraught saddened her. “It wasn’t your fault, Will. We’d gone our separate ways. There was nothing you could’ve done.” She put a hand on his forearm. “I’ve come to the conclusion that this happened to me for a reason. I don’t know why yet, but I hope down the road at some point it’ll become clear to me.”
“No one deserves what happened to you.”
“No, but sadly it happens far too often. Perhaps I’ll be a better cop because I understand the victim’s point of view now.”
“I’m glad you’re able to see some positives coming out of it. I’ve been hard-pressed to think about anything other than how I’d like to kill the son of a bitch who did this to you.”
“As tempting as that might be, it won’t change what happened. It wouldn’t do much for your career, either.”
At that, he finally cracked a small grin.
“I really appreciate your friendship and all the support. It’s meant a lot to me.” She smiled when the compliment made him blush. “How about I give the Fitzgeralds a call to let them know we’d like to talk to them?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Chapter 10
During four hours in the ICU, Sam got a total of fifteen minutes with her dad. Listening to a
She’d managed to contain the tears until he said that.
He kissed her forehead. “It’ll be okay, babe.”
While she’d never be ready to lose her dad, knowing Nick would be by her side somehow made this awful situation a little more bearable.
Jeannie went through the Tyler Fitzgerald file page by page. Skip Holland’s notes were thorough and detailed. He’d interviewed people who’d known the seven-year-old and his family, who’d frequented the school playground where he’d vanished on a Saturday night in June of 1986 and children who’d attended second grade with the boy. Jeannie read every word on every report. The family’s heartbreak was palpable, and her own heart ached imagining what they’d been through in the ten days from when he went missing until his body was found in a Maryland landfill. There were photos of the adorable child from before and after his death and a medical examiner’s report that detailed death by asphyxiation.
Skip had included articles from Washington newspapers and from papers around the country that had picked up the story that summer. Immersing herself in the file helped to keep her mind off her own troubles. For that she had to give her lieutenant credit. Coming back to work had been a good move.
“I heard you were here,” a familiar voice said.
Jeannie looked up at the smiling face of her partner, Detective Will Tyrone. Tall with close-cropped blond hair, a muscular physique and a sweet baby face, Will too had been a pillar of strength in the dark days after the attack.
“Hey there,” Jeannie said. “What’re you doing here?” They normally worked third shift, 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
“The LT has had me on days lately.”
“Who’ve you been partnering up with?”
“Cruz while she was on vacation, but now I’m not sure. Are you back to stay?”
“I don’t know yet. I’m taking it an hour at a time.”
Will grabbed a stray chair from another cubicle and straddled it. “What’re you doing?”
Jeannie explained about the Fitzgerald case and how Sam had asked her to take a fresh look at it.
“Can I help?”
“Actually, I was thinking I’d like to talk to the parents, but I don’t have my car.”
“I can take you.”
“That’d be great. Thanks.” She reached for a notebook in her bottom drawer and ran a hand over her hair to make sure it was under control. “Just let me tell Gonzo. Sam left him in charge of me.”
“Before we go…”
Jeannie took a closer look at his tormented expression. “What is it?”
“I want you to know I can’t stop thinking about that day, about whether there was something I could’ve done to change what happened.”
Seeing him so distraught saddened her. “It wasn’t your fault, Will. We’d gone our separate ways. There was nothing you could’ve done.” She put a hand on his forearm. “I’ve come to the conclusion that this happened to me for a reason. I don’t know why yet, but I hope down the road at some point it’ll become clear to me.”
“No one deserves what happened to you.”
“No, but sadly it happens far too often. Perhaps I’ll be a better cop because I understand the victim’s point of view now.”
“I’m glad you’re able to see some positives coming out of it. I’ve been hard-pressed to think about anything other than how I’d like to kill the son of a bitch who did this to you.”
“As tempting as that might be, it won’t change what happened. It wouldn’t do much for your career, either.”
At that, he finally cracked a small grin.
“I really appreciate your friendship and all the support. It’s meant a lot to me.” She smiled when the compliment made him blush. “How about I give the Fitzgeralds a call to let them know we’d like to talk to them?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Chapter 10
During four hours in the ICU, Sam got a total of fifteen minutes with her dad. Listening to a
Similar Books
