Страница 154 из 179
Alice had sat back in her chair again. She’d closed her mouth stubbornly when Kate had joined the conversation and now stared straight ahead.
Kate checked her phone, then gave a quick hand signal to Marcus to stay put. The interview room became quiet as they waited. For what, Scarlett was unsure.
‘Why are you here, Dad?’
He squeezed her upper arm. ‘I wanted to see you. We don’t get to see you enough.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘Don’t be sorry. Just don’t be a stranger.’ He hesitated nervously, this big man she’d always thought knew no fear. ‘Your uncle said you called him for help.’
‘I did. I needed a priest. Trace was an amazing help.’
Another silence as the two of them stood there looking into the interview room. ‘So that’s him, huh? The man you’ve chosen.’
There was something in his voice that got her hackles up. ‘Yes,’ she said, hearing the defensiveness in her own voice. ‘Marcus is a damn good man.’
‘I wouldn’t know,’ he said lightly. ‘I haven’t met him yet.’
‘I was going bring him over.’ Eventually, she thought. ‘We’ve been a little busy.’
‘So I hear. I never thought you’d go for a reporter again.’
‘Marcus isn’t a reporter. He isn’t like any media person I’ve ever met.’
‘You mother always thought you’d bring home Bryan someday. Gets herself into a dither worrying about it.’
Scarlett blinked, surprised. ‘I thought she liked Bryan.’
‘She feels sorry for him because he’s essentially motherless. But she never wanted him for you. I kept telling her not to worry about Bryan. That you have more sense than that.’
Scarlett’s throat grew tight. ‘Thank you.’
‘But . . .’
Her back stiffened. ‘But?’ There was always a but.
‘Your LT thinks you’re risking your career getting too involved with this guy before the case is closed. You know the rules, Scarlett A
In the past he’d used her full name when he was angry or disappointed in her. This time, there was gentleness and concern.
‘I know the rules, Dad.’
‘You didn’t say you’d follow them.’
‘No, I didn’t.’
‘This . . . thing you have . . . It could destroy your career.’
It wasn’t a scolding. It was reality, and Scarlett appreciated the way he said it. ‘I know. I hope it doesn’t come to that, but if I have to make a choice, I’ll choose him. I’ve waited too long to walk away from him.’
Her father blew out a breath. ‘You’ve known him two days, baby.’
She smiled. ‘Longer than that.’ Her smile faded when she looked at Alice Newman, sitting with her eyes stubbornly forward. ‘Besides, it might be a relief to get off this merry-go-round.’ Her voice wobbled, but it felt good to get the words out. ‘I’m tired, Dad.’
‘How long have you been tired?’ he asked, his voice so gentle that her eyes stung.
‘When was my first day?’ she asked with a teary laugh. ‘I take one off the street and two more take his place. Or her place.’ She blinked to clear her vision, bringing Alice’s face into focus. ‘She bought and sold people. Children. Families. Like they were animals. She and her group of cohorts tried to kill Marcus, I don’t know how many times. Because he’s kind and decent and couldn’t stand to see a girl suffer. And all I can do is arrest her when what I really want to do is—’ She cut herself off abruptly.
‘Slice her into pieces?’ her father murmured. ‘Shove explosives where the sun don’t shine? Tie her to a bed, give all her victims a sharp knife, then let them file by her one by one until she looks like a cutlery block?’
Stu
He hooked his forefinger under her chin, lifting it to close her mouth. ‘You think you’re the only one, Scarlett? Well, you’re not.’
‘But you’ve never said anything like that.’
‘Not to you. You were a child. That wouldn’t have been appropriate. But your mother’s heard it all and more. She learned a long time ago that I wouldn’t do it. I just needed to say it, to vent off some of the pressure. Your mother understands.’
Scarlett bit her lip, not knowing what he’d do with what she was about to say. ‘I think mine is more than a need to vent.’
‘How so?’
She looked back at the glass. At Marcus waiting patiently while Kate checked her phone. ‘I’ve wanted to kill Trent Bracken so many times,’ she whispered.
‘Understandable. He killed your best friend and walked away a free man.’
‘No, you don’t understand. I haven’t just wanted to. I’ve fantasized. I’ve pla
A long, long silence. ‘What stopped you?’ he asked gruffly.
‘I don’t know. I think it was pride on some level. When I killed him, I wanted him to know who was taking him out. I wanted to feel the bastard’s blood on my hands. Maybe then I wouldn’t remember having Michelle’s there.’
His hand clenched on her shoulder, an involuntary reflex. ‘But you didn’t kill him.’
‘I just couldn’t.’ She shrugged. ‘I guess you did something right when you raised me.’
‘I did a lot of things right, Scarlett A
‘Well.’ She filled her lungs. Swallowed hard. ‘Regardless, it’s not a very good way for a cop to operate. I’ve caught myself close to the edge too many times to remember. So when Isenberg tells me I’m risking my career, I’m not so upset. I’d rather lose it for Marcus than because I beat a suspect to a pulp because he beat his child to death. Because you were right. I’m not cut out to be a cop. I’m not tough enough.’
He stiffened. ‘What the hell, girl? What do you mean, I was right? You’re a damn fine cop, Scarlett. I have never said otherwise.’
She pulled back to stare at him. ‘Yes you did, the day I got into the Academy. I was so excited, but you said my heart was too soft, that the force would chew me up and spit me out.’
He blinked at her in disbelief, but she held his gaze steadily, waiting for him to remember. She saw the moment that he did, because he paled. ‘You weren’t supposed to hear that,’ he said quietly. ‘I said that to you mother. In our bedroom.’
‘I got up to go to the bathroom and I heard you arguing.’
‘No, you heard me venting.’ He closed his eyes. ‘Dammit, Scarlett. You were still hurting from Michelle. You were like a walking ghost. I was shocked you even passed the psychological. Anyone with eyes could see you were broken.’
‘I wasn’t broken, Dad.’
‘No? What do you call stalking a perp and waiting to shoot him when he takes out the trash?’
She flushed. ‘Okay, I guess I deserved that.’
He huffed in frustration. ‘Look, you only heard part of that conversation. Your mother told me that you were a lot stronger than I was giving you credit for. That the two of us had raised you to know your own mind. That I needed to trust you. So I did. I didn’t say anything to you. I kept my fear to myself. Because I was afraid. You did have a soft heart. You still do. But you know what else your mother said that night?’
She shook her head. ‘No. What?’
‘That you came by that soft heart honestly. That you got it from me. That of all seven of our kids, you were the most like me. She was right. And it’s your heart that makes you a damn good cop.’ His voice trembled and he cleared his throat. ‘And I’ll punch the lights out of anyone who says otherwise.’
Scarlett pursed her lips, her eyes filling. ‘Don’t go punching people,’ she whispered hoarsely. ‘You’ll lose your pension.’ She quickly swiped her knuckles under her eyes, wiping away the tears before they could leave streaks on her cheeks.