suffer was an added bonus. Monk had already taken the contract to kill Anne Trapp, and he'd also taken money from Dennis Parnell to blow up the mountain house. Parnell was convinced the judge would award the estate to his ex-wife,' she explained. 'And I can only
imagine what he must have felt when he found out the judge had awarded the house to him.'
'Monk was a busy boy.'
'Oh, yes,' she said.
'Did you see it on the news?' he asked. 'Eric Trapp finally broke down and confessed. He's going to go away for a very
long time. If your aunt hadn't given us that letter from Anne, we wouldn't have had the evidence we needed. Trapp told the
interrogator his wife was taking too long to die.'
'Just like the Politicians,' Avery said, 'greed motivated all of them.'
'Amazing,' he said then, 'the way Jilly manipulated Salvetti and Monk and Skarrett. She was the piper and they were dancing
to her tune, none of them knowing what she was up to. I talked to Agent Kelly a little while ago,' he said. 'Skarrett still isn't
admitting much, but Salvetti's talking. The odd thing is…'
'Yes?'
'Neither one of them will say a bad word about Jilly. They're still singing her praises.'
That didn't surprise her. 'I'll bet she's not talking, though.'
'No, she's still stonewalling. You're going to make a great field agent, Delaney.'
'Perhaps, with the proper training, I could be good, but sir, I don't want to, not anymore. If I've learned anything during the
past weeks, it's that life is too short, and I don't want to waste another minute going after men and women who are beyond hope.
I want to.make a difference before it's too late.'
She stood and waited until he walked around the desk. She shook his hand. 'Thank you, sir.'
'You're really going to resign? I can't talk you into staying?'
'I've made up my mind, sir. I need to leave.'
'Have you decided what you're going to do?'
'Now that the trial and the parole hearing are over and Skarrett is back where he belongs, I'm going to spend a couple of weeks with my aunt, and then I'm moving to Louisiana and going back to school to get my teacher's certificate.'
'I'm going to miss you,' he said. 'Good luck.'
'Thank you, sir.'
He opened the door for her, and as she walked past, he said, 'One more thing, Delaney.'
'Yes?'
'Good work.'
Chapter 41
The detective led Avery and John Paul down a long hallway to what he called their screening room.
'You'll be able to see her through the glass, but she won't be able to see you,' he explained before he opened the door
and stepped back.
Avery didn't move.
'She's in the interrogation room now with two detectives,' he explained.
And still she didn't budge.
The detective glanced at John Paul. 'I'll just let you take your time,' he said before he turned and walked away.
'You don't have to do this,' John Paul said.
'Yes, I do.'
She stood on the threshold another long minute, and then she straightened her shoulders and walked in. The room was the
size of a closet. She turned to the mirrored window, her hands fisted at her sides, and looked at the woman who had given
her life and then had so desperately tried to take it away.
John Paul slipped his hand in hers and asked, 'Do you remember her?'
'No. I was only five when she came to the house,' she whispered. 'So long ago.'
Jilly sat on one side of the square metal table facing two detectives. Her back was straight, one leg crossed over the other,
her hands folded on the table. The top three buttons of her eyelet blouse were undone, and the neckline opened a little wider
each time she moved ever so slightly. She suddenly turned and looked directly at the mirror. Avery inhaled sharply and drew
back as she felt the bile rising in her throat.
'Look,' Avery whispered.
'I see her,' John Paul said.
Avery shook her head. 'Not her. Look at the detectives. Look how they're reacting to her.'
Both detectives were leaning forward, as though they were unconsciously trying to get closer to her. One said something and
then reached out and touched her hand.
'She's working them,' Avery said.
A policeman opened the door to the interrogation room. Jilly looked up at him, then, like a languorous Persian cat, she stretched her lithe body and stood. As she followed him out the door, she paused to glance back over her shoulder and smile at the two men. Both detectives eagerly returned the smile. They watched her every movement until the door closed behind her.
Avery looked into John Paul's eyes. 'I'm ready to move on now.'
She led the way out of the police station. She didn't look back.
Epilogue
Sunset was Avery's favorite time of day. She'd go outside and sit on the porch swing John Paul had built for her. She could
hear the water lapping against the dock behind the house, and if she closed her eyes, she could almost smell the lilacs John
Paul had planted.
The screen door opened and closed, and her husband sat down next to her. He put his arm around her; leaned back, and gave
the swing a push.
'You ready for school tomorrow, sugar?'
'Yes.'
'What were you thinking about?' he asked. 'Were you going to your happy place?'
She put her head on his shoulder and smiled. 'I'm already there.'
