Chapter 14 - THE VOICE OF A DEAD MAN
Victor moved in front of Sadie.
“If you shoot her, every officer here becomes a witness.”
Commissioner Warren laughed.
“They work for me.”
Not every officer lowered his eyes.
Sadie noticed hesitation in the younger ones.
She pulled out her phone.
“You may own these officers,” she said, “but you don’t own everyone watching.”
Warren’s smile disappeared.
Sadie had started a live broadcast the moment the elevator opened.
More than twelve thousand people were watching.
Comments raced across the screen.
Warren raised his gun toward the phone.
Victor said, “Shoot her on camera. Let’s see how loyal your people feel afterward.”
An officer beside Warren slowly lowered his weapon.
Then another did the same.
Warren grabbed Sadie, pressing his gun against her neck.
“End the broadcast.”
A shot rang out.
Warren screamed and dropped the gun.
Mick O’Shea stood near the tree line holding a pistol.
He still had the server drive.
“I just saved your life,” he called to Sadie. “We’re even.”
Victor aimed at him.
“We will never be even.”
Mick ran toward a waiting car.
Before he reached it, Gabriel’s wife stepped from behind the vehicle and struck him with a tire iron.
Mick collapsed.
She picked up the drive.
“This belongs to my husband,” she said.
Federal agents arrived twenty minutes later.
Rachel had contacted them from St. Jude’s and given them copies of Thomas Hayes’s first recording. With the server drive, they had enough evidence to arrest Bell, Warren, Mick, and dozens of people tied to Hopewell.
Sam was taken to a different hospital under federal protection.
Victor remained beside him until surgeons stabilized his condition.
Three days later, Sadie sat at Sam’s bedside.
His skin was pale, but his smile was real.
“You look terrible,” he told her.
“You almost died, and you’re criticizing me?”
“I’m your little brother. It’s my job.”
She took his hand.
“You’re not a burden, Sam.”
“I know.”
“No, I need you to really know.”
His eyes filled.
“All those bills—”
“Were created by people who wanted us desperate. None of it was your fault.”
Sam looked past her.
Victor stood in the doorway, his shoulder bandaged.
“I’ll give you two a minute,” Sadie said.
Victor entered slowly.
Sam studied him.
“So you’re the terrifying criminal who saved my life?”
Victor pulled up a chair.
“I’ve been called worse.”
“Are you dating my sister?”
Sadie nearly dropped her coffee.
Victor looked at her, then back at Sam.
“Your sister threatens me too often for that.”
“That means yes.”
Despite everything, Sadie laughed.
A federal prosecutor arrived with a repaired cassette player.
“We recovered the final section of your father’s recording,” she said.
Sadie pressed play.
Thomas Hayes’s voice filled the room.
“Sadie, if you ever hear this, I’m sorry I left you with so much responsibility. You were thirteen, but I treated you like you were already grown because I was afraid.”
Sadie closed her eyes.
“Take care of Sam,” her father continued, “but don’t forget to live your own life. Love should never become a debt.”
The recording clicked.
Then came another voice.
Anthony Costello’s voice.
“Where are the original files, Thomas?”
Sadie opened her eyes.
Her father answered:
“Somewhere your son will find them.”
Victor frowned.
The prosecutor stopped the tape.
“What original files?” Sadie asked.
Before anyone could answer, Sam reached beneath his hospital gown and removed the St. Christopher medal from the bank box.
“The back feels loose,” he said.
Victor twisted it open.
Inside was a tiny rolled strip of film.
The prosecutor held it to the light.
Names, account numbers, and transaction dates covered the surface.
At the bottom was one final payment record.
Victor read it twice.
His face changed.
“What?” Sadie asked.
He handed it to her.
May you like
The payment ordering her father’s murder hadn’t come from Anthony Costello.
It had come from Sadie’s mother.
