Harlan Coben - Caught

As he did every morning, Charlie thudded down the stairs as if he were an overweight racing horse wearing anvil shoes. He collapsed more than sat at the kitchen table and inhaled the sandwich.

"When you going to work?" Charlie asked her.

"I lost my job yesterday."

"Right. Forgot."

The selfishness of teenagers. Sometimes, like right at that moment, it can be endearing.

"Can you give me a ride to school?" Charlie asked.

"Sure."

The morning drop-off traffic by Kasselton High was ridiculously congested. Some days it drove her mad, but other days, the morning commute was the one time she and her son might talk and maybe he'd share his thoughts, not in an open gush, but if you listened, you could pick up enough. Today, though, Charlie had his head down and texted. He didn't say a word the whole ride, his fingers a blur on the tiny handheld.

When she stopped, Charlie rolled out of the passenger door, still texting.

Wendy called out to him: "Thanks, Mom!"

"Yeah, sorry."

As Wendy pulled back into her own driveway, she spotted the car parked in front of her house. She slowed, pulled in to park, kept her cell phone nearby. She didn't expect trouble, but you never know. She punched in 9-1-1, kept her finger near the send button, and she slid out of the car.

He was now squatting by her back bumper.

"Tire's low," he said to her.

"Can I help you, Mr. Grayson?"

Ed Grayson, the father of one of the victims, stood, wiped his hands, squinted into the sunshine. "I went to your TV studio today. Someone told me you were fired."

She said nothing.

"I assume it's because of the judge's decision."

"Is there something I can do for you, Mr. Grayson?"

"I want to apologize for what I said to you after court yesterday."

"I appreciate that," she said.

"And if you have a minute," Ed Grayson continued, "I really think we need to talk."

AFTER THEY WERE BOTH INSIDE and Ed Grayson turned down her offer of a drink, Wendy sat at her kitchen table and waited. Grayson paced a few more moments, then suddenly pulled the kitchen chair right up to her, so that he was sitting less than a yard away.

"First," he said, "I want to apologize again."

"No need. I get how you feel."

"Do you?"

She said nothing.

"My son's name is E. J. Ed Junior, of course. He was a happy kid. Loved sports. His favorite was hockey. Me, I don't know the first thing about the game. I was a basketball guy growing up. But my wife, Maggie, was born in Quebec. Her whole family plays. It's in their blood. So I learned to love it too. For my boy. But now, well, now E. J. has no interest in the sport. If I bring him near a hockey rink, he freaks out. He just wants to stay home."

He stopped, looked off. Wendy said, "I'm sorry."

Silence.

Wendy tried to shift gears. "What were you talking to Flair Hickory about?"

"His client hasn't been seen in over two weeks," he said.

"So?"

"So I was trying to find out where he might be. But Mr. Hickory wouldn't tell me."

"That surprise you?"

"Not really, no."

More silence.

"So what can I do for you, Mr. Grayson?"

Grayson started playing with his watch, a Timex with one of those twist-a-flex bands. Wendy's father had one way back when. It always left a red mark on his wrist when he took it off. Funny, all these years after his death, what you remember.

"Your TV show," Grayson said. "You spent a year hunting down pedophiles. Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why pedophiles?"

"What's the difference?"

He tried to smile, but it didn't quite hold. "Humor me," he said.

"Good ratings, I guess."

"Sure, I can see that. But there's more, isn't there?"

"Mr. Grayson-"

"Ed," he said.

"Let's stay with Mr. Grayson. I would like you to get to the point."

"I know what happened to your husband."

Just like that. Wendy felt the slow burn, said nothing.

"She's out, you know. Ariana Nasbro."

Hearing the name said out loud made her wince. "I know."

"Think she's all cured now?"

Wendy thought about the letters, about how they turned her stomach.

"She could be," Grayson said. "I've known people who've kicked it at this stage. But that doesn't really matter much to you, does it, Wendy?"

"This is none of your business."

"That's true. But Dan Mercer is. You have a son, don't you?"

"Also none of your business."

"Guys like Dan," he went on. "One thing we know for certain. They don't get cured." He moved a little closer, tilted his head. "Isn't that part of it, Wendy?"

"Part of what?"

"Why you liked going after pedophiles. Alcoholics, well, they can quit. Pedophiles are simpler-there really is no chance for redemption and thus forgiveness."

"Do me a favor, Mr. Grayson. Don't psychoanalyze me. You don't know a damn thing about me."

He nodded. "Fair point."

"So get to yours."

"It's pretty simple. If Dan Mercer isn't stopped, he will hurt another child. That's a fact. We both know it."

"You should probably be telling this to the judge."

"She can't do me any good now."

"And I can?"

"You're a reporter. A good one."

"A fired one."

"More reason to do this."

"Do what?"

Ed Grayson leaned forward. "Help me find him, Wendy."

"So you can kill him?"

"He won't stop."

"So you said."

"But?"

"But I don't want to be part of your plans for revenge."

"You think that's what it's about?"

Wendy shrugged.

"It's not a question of vengeance," Grayson said, his voice low. "Just the opposite, in fact."

"I'm not following."

"This decision is calculated. It's practical. It's about taking no chances. I want to make sure that Dan Mercer never hurts anyone ever again."

"By killing him?"

"Do you know another way? This isn't about bloodlust or violence either. We are all human beings, but if you do something like this-if your own genetics or pathetic life are so messed up that you need to harm a child-well, the most humane thing you can do is put a man down."

"Must be nice to be judge and jury."

Ed Grayson looked almost amused by that. "Did Judge Howard make the right call?"

"No."

"So who better than us-the ones in the know?"

She thought about that. "Yesterday, after court. Why did you say I lied?"

"Because you did. You weren't worried about Mercer killing himself. You went inside because you were afraid he might destroy the evidence."

Silence.

Ed Grayson stood, crossed the kitchen, stopped at the sink. "Do you mind if I take some water?"

"Help yourself. The glasses are on the left."

He took one down from the cabinet and turned on the faucet. "I have a friend," Grayson began, watching the water fill the glass. "Nice guy, works as a lawyer, very successful. So a few years ago, he told me that he was a big supporter of the Iraq war. Gave me all the reasons and how the Iraqis deserve a chance at freedom. I said to him, 'You have a son, right?' He says, yes, he's going to Wake Forest. I say, 'Be honest, would you sacrifice his life for this war?' I asked him to really dig deep. Pretend God comes down and says, 'Okay, here's the deal. The USA wins the war in Iraq, whatever that means, but in return, your son gets shot in the head and dies. Just him. No one else. Everyone else goes home safe, but your son dies.' So I ask my friend: Do you make that trade?"

Ed Grayson turned and took a deep sip.

"What did he say?" she asked.

"What would you say, Wendy?"

"I'm not your lawyer friend who backed the war."

"What a cop-out answer." Grayson smiled. "In truth, in those honest moments in the dark, none of us would make that trade, would we? None of us would sacrifice our own child."