'Oh no, Donna, I couldn't ask you to do that,'
'How much money do you need?'
'I'd have to talk to my partners,' Mancini answered excitedly. 'If we could buy some of the property instead of having it on option, we might get Whitaker Savings to rethink the loan.'
Mancini stood up and sat next to Donna on the bed.
They fell into each other's arms and Steve hugged her to his chest.
'I don't deserve you, Donna. What I did can't be excused. I must have been out of my mind.'
'Just hold me,' Donna said,.not wanting to think about the horror of the past evening.
'I Will. III I hold you forever. And I swear to you that I will never, ever hurt you again.'
'I don't think this is important,' Eric Polk told Dennis Downes, 'but I figured,-better safe than sorry, so I had Wilma come down.'
Eric was also on the Whitaker police force, but he was several years older than Downes and was not working on the Harmon case, 'How you doin', Wilma,' Downes said, smiling at Eric's wife.
'Just fine. How are Till and Todd?'
'Damn kid of mine runs me ragged. He's only ten and he's almost as big as me.'
'I heard he's tearing up Little League,' Eric said.
'Don't get me started on Todd or I'll chew off your ear. So, what do you have for me, Wilma?'
Wilma Polk was a heavyset woman in her mid-fiffies with curly gray hair and a round, pleasant face, who was not used to being the center of attention.
'It's probably nothing. I'd even forgotten about it until Eric said something about Donna Harmon's wedit just popped into my head.'
ding and, well, 'Go ahead, Wilma,' her husband said.
'Mabel Dawes and I were over by the food table at Donna Harmon's wedding reception. We were talking about the murder because Eric had been at the scene that morning. Gary was nearby and he must have overheard us. He came over and started talking about the murder, too.'
'What did he say?' Downes asked.
'I've tried to remember exactly, but it's been a while, and I wasn't really interested at the time.'
'Just give me the gist . , if you can't remember the exact words.'
'He didn't get to say much, because Eric came up and interrupted us.'
'We were due at Mary's at two and it was one-thirty, so we had to get moving,' Eric explained. 'It was Kenny s third birthday.' , :'SO, go ahead,' Downes prodded as he jotted down some notes about the time of the conversation.
'As I remember, I was saying something about Eric being at the crime scene.
I believe I had 'just explained J about the horrible wounds when Gary walked over. He said he had seen the girl at the Stallion, the night before.
I was about to ask him some more about the girl when Eric reminded me of the time.'
'How did Gary seem Was he nervous, excited?'.
'He didn't seem nervous. Maybe a little excited, but we all were. The murder is very frightening.'
'Okay,' Downes said, smiling at Wilma as he scribbled some more notes. Thanks for dropping by. I'll write a report about the conversation for the D.A.'
Eric Polk escorted his wife out of Downes's office.
Downes looked at his watch. It was time for a coffee break. He decided to dictate his report on his interview with Wilma Polk, then see if anyone wanted to go over to Mels Car& for a piece of pie and a cup of coffee. He was finishing the dictation when the phone rang.
'Dennis, are you busy?' Becky O'Shay asked.
'I wa& going out for a cup of coffee. Why?'
'Put the coffee on hold. I just received a call from the jail. One of the prisoners, claims Gary Harmon confessed to him. I want you to come along with me. If this pans out, I'll buy the coffee and treat you to lunch.'
'The last time you escaped justice by a nose, Mr. Booth,' Becky O'Shay said with a smirk, 'but your luck seems to have run out.'
Booth flushed with anger and looked at the floor, afraid to let O'Shay see the hatred in his eyes. He could not stand being humiliated by a woman, but he was in no position to do anything about it.
'I understand you have something for us.'
'Yeah, I got something. What I want to know is what I get in return.'
'What do you want?'
Booth licked his lips. His right foot could not stop tapping and Booth could not sit still. Withdrawal, O'Shay thought immediately. She bet every nerve in Booth's body felt like a live wire. When he looked u O'Shay read stark terror on Booth's face.
'I want witness protection. I want to go somewhere Rafael Vargas and Chris Mammon can't get me.'
'That's asking a lot. Your beef's federal. I don't know if they'll go along, even if I wanted to.'
'Hey,' Booth pleaded, 'I'm small potatoes. I'm nothing. The feds don't want me. I'm an undersize catch. But I can deliver Mammon or Vargas and I can ice Gary Harmon.'
'Tell me about Harmon.'
Booth shook his head vigorously from side to side.
'Uh uh. What do you take me for? I'm not giving up anything until I know I'm going to be protected.'
O'Shay turned to Dennis Downes. 'Can we transfer Mr. Booth to the jail in Stark?'
'We've done that before. Sheriff Tyler will keep you warm and comfy, Kevin. They got a nice security wing.
Real modern.'
'I don't care where I go, as long as it's away from anyone connected with Rafael Vargas.'
'I'll check to see if any of his people are incarcerated in Stark. If there's a problem, I've got another couple ideas.'
'So, Mr. Booth?' O'Shay asked.
'What about my deal? If I talk, what do I get?'
'Let me explain something to you. If we make a deal before you testify it will affect the value of your evidence. The first thing Peter Hale will ask you on cross examination is what reward you're getting for your testimony. If you can say that you, are testifying as a service to humanity, it will make you much more believable.'
'You want me to testify for nothing?'
'I didn't say that, did I?'
'No, but..
'Do you think I'll let you down if you come through for me?'
Booth licked his lips. O'Shay made him very nervous and she was so sexy it was distracting.
'How do I know you won't screw me? What if I testify and you lose anyway?
I need a guarantee.'
'You need help, Mr. Booth, and the only person in the galaxy who can help you is sitting in front of you in this room. Do you want my help?'
'Yeah. That's why I'm here.'
'Good. Then we'll do things my way or not at all. If you ask for anything in return for your testimony, I'll walk out of here. If you want to be a good citizen and help me out, I'll be very receptive to any pleas for assistance you might make after Harmon's trial.'
'Man, I don't know. I don't like this.'
'You don't have to like it, Mr. Booth. You only have to accept the fact that you have no choice but to do as I say. Right now, I would appreciate hearing a summary of what you can tell me about Harmon.'
Booth didn't trust O'Shay, but he realized he had no choice.
'Gary confessed to me. He told me he done it.'
'Why would he do that?'
'I've known Gary since high school. He thinks I'm his friend. He's so fuckin' dumb, it was easy. At first, he
