rest of his life hunting down Clark and his family, and that’s what he’s doing. It’s been three years, and he’s still got people on it. Now you show up, and he sees you as a lead back to Clark.” Great.
I said, “If Clark went into the program, how come you guys lost track of him?”
Jasper stared at me for a time, then wet his lips and looked away.
Scully made a little mouth move as if his lips had gone dry, too. “The night we brought Clark in things went bad. Middle of the night, raining, we were going to put him and his kids into a safe house, then begin the relocation. We told him not to worry. We told him it was safe.”
I was watching him. “Only it wasn’t safe.”
Jasper’s eyes narrowed and he looked back at me. “Somehow Markov’s people found out. We had everything in the truck, we were five minutes from driving away, and they surprised us.” He stopped and stared past me some more and I wondered if he wasn’t reliving that night. “My partner was a guy named Dan Peterson. He was killed.”
Scully said, “Go get some water, Reed.”
Jasper shook his head.
I said, “You couldn’t get Markov for the shooting.”
Jasper sucked a breath, then focused on me. “Peterson ordered me to get Clark and those kids out of the kill zone, and that’s what I did. He stayed. I didn’t see it, and I still don’t know for sure what happened. SPD moved on our call. They found Danny inside. He’d been shot in the backyard, then dragged himself in.” He shook his head again. “We never had a name or a face, but we know it was Markov.” He shook his head some more. “Everything went wrong that night. It shouldn’t have happened.”
Scully said, “We finished the relocation, but Clark never trusted us after that. He changed his name as soon as they got to the relocation city and the whole family disappeared.” He shrugged yet again. “That’s his choice, of course. You don’t have to stay in the program.”
Jasper made a little wave, then suddenly sat straighter, folding his feelings and putting them away. Every cop I’ve ever known could do that when he or she had to. “And now you show up, asking about Clark Hewitt.”
Scully nodded. “A guy from Los Angeles.”
I stared at Reed Jasper, and then at William P. Scully, and then I thought about Teri and Charles and Winona, waiting for Clark to come home. I wondered how much of this they knew, and I thought they must know some of it. Probably why they weren’t thrilled about my coming to Seattle. I thought how terribly afraid they must be of losing him to risk bringing me into their affairs. I thought about what it must’ve been like for them three years ago, and what it must be like to live a life defined by secrets and lies. Secrets never stay secret, do they? Not even when you want them to. Not even when lives are at stake.
I looked Scully squarely in the eyes and spread my hands. “I don’t know where Clark is, or his kids, or anything about him.”
Jasper stared at me, and you could see he didn’t believe me. Neither did Scully. “Look, Cole, it’s not our job to protect him anymore, but we feel what you might call a sense of obligation, you see?”
I smiled my best relaxed grin, and said, “Man, this has to be one of the world’s biggest screwups.” I told him the exact same story I’d told Andrei Markov. “I came here looking for a drug connection named Clark Hewitt. I was just following a name, and the name’s the same, but my guy doesn’t have anything to do with Russians or counterfeiting or any of this other stuff.” I let the grin widen, like I was enjoying the enormous coincidence of it all. “All of this is news to me.”
Scully nodded, but you could tell he didn’t believe me. “Who are you working for?”
“You know I’m not going to tell you. The card says confidential.”
“This is important, Cole. Clark is in grave danger. So are those kids.”
I shrugged. They had been in grave danger three
I said, “If Clark went into the program, how come you guys lost track of him?”
Jasper stared at me for a time, then wet his lips and looked away.
Scully made a little mouth move as if his lips had gone dry, too. “The night we brought Clark in things went bad. Middle of the night, raining, we were going to put him and his kids into a safe house, then begin the relocation. We told him not to worry. We told him it was safe.”
I was watching him. “Only it wasn’t safe.”
Jasper’s eyes narrowed and he looked back at me. “Somehow Markov’s people found out. We had everything in the truck, we were five minutes from driving away, and they surprised us.” He stopped and stared past me some more and I wondered if he wasn’t reliving that night. “My partner was a guy named Dan Peterson. He was killed.”
Scully said, “Go get some water, Reed.”
Jasper shook his head.
I said, “You couldn’t get Markov for the shooting.”
Jasper sucked a breath, then focused on me. “Peterson ordered me to get Clark and those kids out of the kill zone, and that’s what I did. He stayed. I didn’t see it, and I still don’t know for sure what happened. SPD moved on our call. They found Danny inside. He’d been shot in the backyard, then dragged himself in.” He shook his head again. “We never had a name or a face, but we know it was Markov.” He shook his head some more. “Everything went wrong that night. It shouldn’t have happened.”
Scully said, “We finished the relocation, but Clark never trusted us after that. He changed his name as soon as they got to the relocation city and the whole family disappeared.” He shrugged yet again. “That’s his choice, of course. You don’t have to stay in the program.”
Jasper made a little wave, then suddenly sat straighter, folding his feelings and putting them away. Every cop I’ve ever known could do that when he or she had to. “And now you show up, asking about Clark Hewitt.”
Scully nodded. “A guy from Los Angeles.”
I stared at Reed Jasper, and then at William P. Scully, and then I thought about Teri and Charles and Winona, waiting for Clark to come home. I wondered how much of this they knew, and I thought they must know some of it. Probably why they weren’t thrilled about my coming to Seattle. I thought how terribly afraid they must be of losing him to risk bringing me into their affairs. I thought about what it must’ve been like for them three years ago, and what it must be like to live a life defined by secrets and lies. Secrets never stay secret, do they? Not even when you want them to. Not even when lives are at stake.
I looked Scully squarely in the eyes and spread my hands. “I don’t know where Clark is, or his kids, or anything about him.”
Jasper stared at me, and you could see he didn’t believe me. Neither did Scully. “Look, Cole, it’s not our job to protect him anymore, but we feel what you might call a sense of obligation, you see?”
I smiled my best relaxed grin, and said, “Man, this has to be one of the world’s biggest screwups.” I told him the exact same story I’d told Andrei Markov. “I came here looking for a drug connection named Clark Hewitt. I was just following a name, and the name’s the same, but my guy doesn’t have anything to do with Russians or counterfeiting or any of this other stuff.” I let the grin widen, like I was enjoying the enormous coincidence of it all. “All of this is news to me.”
Scully nodded, but you could tell he didn’t believe me. “Who are you working for?”
“You know I’m not going to tell you. The card says confidential.”
“This is important, Cole. Clark is in grave danger. So are those kids.”
I shrugged. They had been in grave danger three
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