Ghost looked away.
“That’s a yes. Do you actually have the worst possible thing?”
Ghost still didn’t speak.
Also a yes, Sullivan decided. “You can’t give the USB to Mama.”
“The fuck I can’t.”
“She’ll kill you.”
“If it saves me from this conversation, it’ll be worthwhile.”
“She’s already planning it. It’s been part of the plan all along.”
“Wow, Tobias didn’t tell me you were psychic!”
Sullivan was sort of tempted to smile at that one, but he managed to corral it. “In 1992, a woman named Margaret Trudeau was killed. She was a live-in housekeeper for a man who was involved in local crime.”
“Lovely, it’s story time.” Ghost rolled his eyes.
Sullivan ignored that. “Spratt and his boys worked that case. Knowing what I do about them, I’m thinking they weren’t there to bring peace to the neighborhood. Hell, for all I know, they killed him themselves to get control of some aspect of his business, then used their subsequent investigation to cover it up. That part’s conjecture, but what I am certain about is that Mama wasn’t happy about those deaths.”
“Whoop-de-fucking-do.”
“The local crime guy? Mama’s husband. The dead housekeeper? Mama’s very good friend.”
Ghost’s gaze flickered. Bingo.
“You following where I’m going with this?” Sullivan sat back in his chair. “More than two decades after Spratt works that case, Mama’s still got an eye on him? She plays a long game, huh? Plenty of time to figure out how to get back at the corrupt cop who took someone you loved. I figure she found out that Spratt had a weakness for you—not sure how on that one, but judging from the way he was talking to you at his place, it’s not a reach to call it a fatal flaw. She offered you a spot on her team, which you probably turned down...”
He trailed off, waiting for confirmation, and after a beat Ghost gave a tiny nod.
“And maybe that seemed like the end of it. But...long game. And when everything went down with your buddy and the Krayevs eight months ago, suddenly she had one over on you. All she wanted was a favor, right? That’s machinations, Ghost. That’s not a woman who leaves loose ends. Say you give her the USB. What does she do next? You think she’s going to promote you?”
“She keeps her word,” Ghost said, flat and final, and Sullivan realized that Ghost believed it. It might be the first entirely honest thing he’d said.
“Did she say she would let you live?”
Ghost didn’t say anything.
“Did she say she’d protect you when Spratt realizes what you’ve done? Did she promise to let you walk away? And even if she did, you’re not idiot enough to believe that the matriarch of a crime family has never told a lie. You don’t believe that any more than I do.”
“Don’t tell me what I know.”
“Fine. I’ll tell you what I know. Giving the USB to Mama won’t keep you safe. All it’ll do is move your death up.”
“So I’ll mail it to her and run.”
“You can’t run anywhere in the States—you get picked up for speeding in bum-fuck Alaska and they’ll find out about any outstanding warrants. And there will be warrants. Spratt’s got more connections than he’d need. You’ll have every cop in the country looking for you.”
“Canada’s nice this time of year.”
“For now. But again, all it takes is one Mountie to pull you over and realize you’re in the country illegally, and you’re fucked. Canada extradites.”
“Mexico doesn’t.”
“Not in practice, usually, no, except for in cases of murder,” Sullivan agreed. “Nothing to stop Spratt from arranging one in your name. But that’s a more complicated route than he’ll need. After all, you don’t have any skills or education. You don’t have friends or family there, I’m guessing, to help you get set up right so you can live clean. That puts you back on a street corner. If you think any number of guys wouldn’t take some US dollars to hit a hooker with no family or contacts to do something about it, you’re fooling yourself.”
Sullivan leaned forward. He could see the wild flutter of Ghost’s pulse in his wrist from where he was sitting. “You’re fucked,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry, but he’s the rock and she’s the hard place.”
For a long minute, neither of them said anything. Finally, Ghost cleared his throat. “I assume you have a counteroffer in mind?”
“There’s nothing you can do that’ll take down both of them. You don’t have the clout. But you can at least take down Spratt. Make his crimes public and he’ll be fired pretty quickly. Prison time will hopefully follow, but even if it doesn’t, he’s not going to be able to rumble law enforcement after you anymore. That makes running an option again. It’s not a good option, but it’s there.”
“So I mail the USB to the Denver Post and take off? Is that what you’re advocating?”
“I have a friend who knows a very reliable retired cop who can get things going on the legal side, make sure it stays with the right people. The press is always an option too. As long as he gets fired, you’re in the clear on that side. The wider the truth spreads, the safer you’ll be, but there’s nothing we can do about Mama. At this point it’s just minimizing the fallout. She was always going to kill you, Ghost.”
The real question wasn’t what to do with the USB; Tobias had it. They didn’t need Ghost to stick around to turn the drive over to someone who could really use it. But the whole thing would be easier—especially for Ghost—if he stuck around. Sullivan considered the irony at the idea that Ghost’s paperwork might come across his desk as a subpoena he’d have to serve.
“I need to think about this. I’m tired.” Ghost pushed to his feet.
“Wait. Do you recognize the name Nathalie Trudeau?”
Ghost shook his head. “No. Who is she?”
“Margaret’s daughter. Mama might’ve taken her in when she was a girl.” Sullivan went
