The comment was as subtle as a hammer, but she willed herself not to flinch, verbally at least. Instead, she replied, “I still need to file my report, sir.”
“The report can wait, SA Mandalay.”
“But-”
“Trust me,” he said, cutting her off, “your report can wait. I insist you take a few days for yourself. I’ll be calling your supervisor with the authorization. After what you’ve seen, you deserve it.”
Obviously she was being left no other choice. She just wasn’t entirely sure why. Therefore, she said the only thing she could: “Thank you…”
“You’re very welcome,” he replied. “Besides, I’m sure you could use a little time to think about what you plan to include in your report.”
“Sir?”
“You came into possession of somewhat sensitive information during this case…” he said, allowing a verbal sword to dangle above her head.
“Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! I never should have dragged Ben into this” she thought to herself. “God, what if they come down on him for this too…”
Apparently her pause was long enough to evoke another quiet chuckle from AD Graham. “Relax. Who do you think sent you that file and text message, SA Mandalay?”
She realized that she had been holding her breath and now allowed herself to exhale slowly then take in a fresh lungful of air.
“May I ask why, sir?”
“To help you understand,” he replied.
“I’m still not certain that I do.”
“Hence your need for some time to think.”
Constance waited a heartbeat then asked, “What are you wanting me to put in my report, sir?”
“What do you think you should put into the report?” he asked.
“No disrepect intended, sir, but it seems to me the bureau has been hiding something for thirty-five years.”
“What do you think that might be, SA Mandalay?”
“I’m not entirely sure, sir. However, I can’t help but wonder if everyone in that town is involved.”
“They are, Special Agent, but not in the way you imagine.”
“Sir?”
“There is no conspiracy among the people of Hulis. You can trust me on that.”
“Then that only leaves…”
He filled in her pause. “As I said, you need to think about it.”
“If that is the case, why didn’t you send Rowan Gant with me? The paranormal is his forte.”
“I have my reasons, SA Mandalay.”
The tone of his voice told Constance that any further questions were unwelcome at this time. She hedged her bet and replied, “Yes, sir.”
“By the way…” Graham added, “it might help you to understand if I tell you that Joseph Wayne Garrity was missing from his cell early yesterday morning. Vanished without a trace.”
“Joseph Wayne Garrity, sir?”
“Check the file, SA Mandalay,” he replied. “I look forward to seeing your report once you’ve had a little time to recuperate.”
“Yes, sir,” she replied.
Without further comment or even a farewell, the call ended. Constance pulled the cell phone away from her ear and stared at it for a moment. Finally, she snapped it shut, stuffed it into her pocket, then hit the trunk release and climbed out into the chilly wind. Her laptop case was nestled in between her suitcase and gear bag, so it didn’t take much to dig it out.
Back inside the car she pulled the notebook computer out and flipped open the clamshell, simultaneously slipping a thumb in between to press the power button. Once it had booted, she sent her finger dancing across the touchpad and brought the mysterious emailed file up on the screen.
Constance began paging through the rap sheets she had already studied for hours, but then with far less sleep under her belt. Still, even then it hadn’t escaped her notice that Detective Sergeant Addison Carmichael was listed as the arresting officer on each of the reports. What she hadn’t noticed before was that some of the sheets had been tagged as “missing.” A gut feeling told Constance that she didn’t even need to count. The tagged predators in the file would add up to seven. That same feeling also told her she knew exactly where they each had gone.
After sifting through the pages, she eventually found Joseph Wayne Garrity. He was supposed to be serving seven to twenty-five for repeatedly molesting a nine-year-old girl in a Kansas City suburb.
Until yesterday morning, that is.
Apparently Merrie Frances Callahan had amended his sentence.
EPILOGUE
On the remainder of the drive home, Greg Lake’s voice filled the interior of Constance’s sedan as he lamented the broken promises of Christmas and a man in a red suit who was not what he seemed. Whenever the song would reach its end, she focused on the last line, which so eloquently claimed that the Christmas we get is the one that we deserve. The rap sheets of the eight dead predators would flash through her mind, and in that moment she would believe the words to be true.
Then she would thumb the controls on the steering column and skip the CD backwards to start the tune again from the beginning. Now and again, as the song echoed in her ears, she would splay out her hand atop the steering wheel and look at the fresh lacquer of pearlescent pink polish on her nails, then smile.
Unfortunately, her smile would soon fade. She would flash on the dozens of rap sheets in the file for child molesters who were still alive, and realize that for Merrie-and Rebecca-Christmas would forever be Hell.
Then her vision would begin to blur as tears welled in her eyes.
AD Graham was correct. She was definitely going to need a few days…
