Дэвид Балдаччи - The Fallen

“So how did he end up dead?” asked Decker.

“I was afraid he would tell you it had been me out that night. So I phoned Fred and told him about it.”

“From the number on your phone wall,” said Decker.

Martin locked gazes with him. “Yes.”

“And what did Fred say he was going to do?” asked Lassiter.

“He said he would take care of it.” She started to tremble. “I never thought he was going to kill him! I never, ever wanted Dan to die. He was a good man. A good friend all these years.”

“What the hell did you think he was going to do?” said Decker. “A guy who’d stored the bodies of two federal agents in your freezer ?”

Martin shook her head. “I... ” She fell silent.

“And you called Fred again, after I met with you that night, didn’t you?”

She glanced at him but said nothing.

“And he or someone else called Brian Collins and told him to kill me. Did you know that was going to happen when you lied to me about seeing Beatty and Smith going into that house?”

“I... I just did as I was told if you showed up at my door. That was all.”

A long silence followed, during which all that could be heard was Martin’s rapid breathing.

“You know, you should thank us for bringing you in,” said Decker.

She looked up at him. “Why is that?”

“How long do you think they were going to let you live? I’m surprised they haven’t already killed you.”

“Maybe they took mercy on me.”

“I highly doubt these guys have any mercy inside them.”

“I have to look for the good in people,” she said.

“And I have to look for the bad. It’s not hard to find.”

Martin’s eyes fluttered. “It didn’t use to be this way here.”

“Back in the good old days?” said Decker.

“They were the good old days,” she snapped.

“To some people. To others, they were as bad as today is for you.”

“What will happen to me?” asked Martin, regaining her composure.

“Well, for starters, you won’t have to worry about housing for the rest of your life,” said Decker. “Or food. The government will be providing both.”

She held her chin high and stared pointedly at him. “I just wanted to live in peace and dignity. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Doesn’t that matter?”

Decker eyed her back. “I’ve heard a lot of people say that over the years. Even the ones who put a gun against a guy’s head and pulled the trigger. So, no, it doesn’t matter at all.”

Lassiter said, “But if you testify against the others and help us build a case against them, that will help you. You might get some leniency.”

Martin looked at her. “Throwing a bone to your old Sunday school teacher, Donna?”

Lassiter shook her head. “You helped a drug ring pretty much slaughter this town, in exchange for money. So I just want to nail every one of these bastards. And if you can help us do that, great. If you can’t you can rot in prison for all I care.”

“I’ve really screwed everything up, haven’t I?”

Decker glanced at Jamison and then looked back at Martin.

“Well, maybe you can teach Bible classes in prison to redeem yourself.”

“Now you’re mocking me,” said Martin bitterly.

“No, I’m actually serious. And if you can help turn one life around?”

“Do you think that’s really possible?”

“After what I’ve seen in life, anything is possible.”

“Decker, we have a big problem.”

Decker was in the truck driving away from the police building with Jamison when Kemper had called.

“What?”

“I just got a call. We lost track of Ted Ross.”

Decker swore under his breath. “How the hell did that happen?”

“I honestly don’t know. He must have found out we arrested Green and Martin and now he’s disappeared down a rabbit hole.”

“How about his old man?”

“Now that’s one card we might be able to play.”

“How so?”

“Fred Ross is sitting in a holding cell at the Baronville jail. I had him arrested based on the phone call from Alice Martin after Bond had phoned her. Now we have Martin’s evidence of the guy’s involvement in the murders of my two agents and the drug ring. We’ll arrange to have him transferred to a federal lockup shortly. But in the meantime, we’re going to grill him until he screams he wants a lawyer.”

“Then I suggest you wear earplugs.” He clicked off and threw his phone down on the front seat of their truck.

“Bad news?” Jamison asked.

He told her.

“Okay, really bad news. What do you think Ted Ross is going to do?”

“For starters, he’s going to try to avoid the death penalty.”

“What do we do?”

“We go home and get Zoe and Amber and get them the hell out of Baronville.”

“Right.” Jamison stomped on the gas so hard, Decker’s head snapped back.

When they pulled into the driveway of the house, Decker noted that the cop was still stationed out front in his cruiser.

“Tell your sister to pack up and we’ll drive them someplace safe. I’m going to call Bogart and have him put some agents around them both.”

Jamison jumped out of the truck and ran into the house while Decker phoned Bogart and filled him in. They made arrangements to meet a team of FBI agents in Pittsburgh. It was dark now and would be darker still by the time they got there.

Decker put his phone away and studied the house. It was almost impossible to believe that just a short time ago he and Jamison had traveled here for some rest and relaxation.

If I survive this, I’m never taking another vacation in my life.

He checked his watch. They needed to get going, and he hoped that Jamison had told her sister and niece to just grab the essentials. They could get whatever else they needed in Pittsburgh.

“Decker!”

He looked at the front porch and saw Jamison waving her hands at him.

He jumped out of the truck and raced up to the house.

“What is it?”

“They’re gone. There’s no one here.”

Decker looked at the two cars parked in the driveway.

“Could they have gone somewhere on foot?”

Jamison looked over his shoulder and said slowly, “Why didn’t the cop get out when I yelled for you?”

They hustled over to the car.

Decker knocked on the window. And when he didn’t receive a response, he pulled his gun and slowly opened the car door.

The dead officer slumped sideways, held in only by his seat belt.

Jamison said, “Oh my God! Decker!”

Decker looked up at the house. “You sure it’s empty?”

“I called out to them. Nothing. I looked around the first floor.”

“Were there signs of a struggle?”

“No, nothing that I could see.”

“We have to search the rest of the house. But hang on.”

He called Lassiter for backup but got no answer.

He next called Kemper.

Again, nothing.

They both went to voicemail.

He put his phone away. “Okay, it’s just us. Get your gun out and follow me.”

They entered the house and searched the first floor thoroughly, including the closets.

The place looked normal. There was an empty bowl and glass in the sink. No overturned furniture.

They headed upstairs and went bedroom by bedroom until they got to Decker’s.

He opened the door and looked around. His gaze fell on the folded piece of paper lying in the center of the bed. Next to it was a cell phone.

He picked up the paper and slowly unfolded it.

You will wait to hear from us on this phone. Any mistakes, they are dead.

Jamison held out her hand for the note and he passed it across. She read it and plopped down on the bed and buried her face in her hands.