may not have done would’ve been performed only as a last resort. What Alan Andrews did is far worse than what Eddie Trisco did because of his intent. Had Andrews been on top of things when Trisco was first arrested, not one woman would’ve been murdered. The idea of watching society reward the man by making him mayor of the city- well, thank goodness neither one of us has to sit on the sidelines and watch that. You should know all this better than most. You’ve had a firsthand view. Your experience with your father. His arrest and untimely death.”
It was the way he said it that shook Teddy to the bone. Mentioning his father so easily and the way he spoke about Andrews’s demise as if he suffered no guilt or regret. Nash had acted as judge and jury, sentencing Andrews to death as if it was a calling from a higher order. And while much of what Nash was saying seemed familiar to Teddy, even true in the cosmic sense, the implications of his behavior were impossible to deal with.
Teddy’s eyes rose from the floor. Nash was looking him over carefully.
“What’s happened since we met was never about catching a serial killer like Eddie Trisco,” Nash said after a long moment. “Or even about hunting down a district attorney who lost his way and put innocent people to their deaths. It was about us, Teddy. I came back for you. I came back to help you get past your father, shed your demons, and show you the way out.”
Teddy steadied himself against the wall, riding on the train through the tunnel into the black.
“What way is that?” he asked.
“When you walked into my office with the Holmes case, I knew who you were. And it was obvious that you were still running. Your father was falsely accused of murdering his business partner. Your father was murdered in his cell as he awaited trial. Your father’s murder changed a lot of people’s lives in this city. Not just yours.”
Teddy wiped his eyes, no longer trying to hide the fact that his hands were shaking. “What do you know about my father? Who are you talking about? Whose life was changed?”
“Mine,” Nash said. He stubbed out the cigarette, then leaned back in the chair and gave Teddy a hard look. “You see, I was responsible for his death.”
Teddy’s mind blurred and almost faded. “The prosecutor’s name was Stephen Faulk,” he said. “The man’s dead. He committed suicide.”
“I was an ADA at the time,” Nash said, gazing into the past. “It was Faulk’s case, but he was young and didn’t make the decision on his own. He came to me with what he had. I reviewed the case with the district attorney, but still had a lot to learn. I didn’t see it and made a mistake. When the county jail was faced with overcrowding, I made arrangements with the city and had your father transferred to Holmesburg Prison. Don’t you see, I’m the one who put him in that cell.”
It hit like napalm, the flames stretching out in a fiery wash that clung to Teddy’s flesh and burned his soul.
“That mistake changed everything for me,” Nash whispered. “Words can’t describe how sorry I am. I’ve spent my entire life trying to right that wrong. And now we’re together, and I’m hoping you won’t burn down. You won’t be a victim of your past. Instead, I’m hoping you’ll learn from it, Teddy, fight back and join the cause. We’ve got work to do. Enough to keep us going for a long time.”
Nash eased Teddy’s wine glass across the table as an offering to their partnership. Teddy spotted his cigarettes beside the glass. They seemed so far away. He wasn’t sure he could move, really. He wasn’t sure he could reach them….
