As they walked out of the building, she said, “Thanks to your friend’s hearing, I missed lunch. I’m famished. Come on. You’re going to buy me some oysters. I’ll answer all your questions, but let’s get a beer first.”
They took a cab to Mother’s, found a table and ordered. She said, “I’m sure you’re surprised. I’m sorry I didn’t get to the courthouse in time to talk beforehand, but things happened quickly.”
“I’m in shock,” Landry said. “I never expected to see you there, and who posted Jack’s bail? What’s going on?”
“First things first. Get your phone. Call Dr. Adams in Galveston. I need to give him these wire instructions.”
“Doc? He’s the one posting the bail money? And paying your fee?”
She nodded. “And if you want Jack out of jail today, we need to get on this now. Let’s get the money wired, and then we can chat.”
He got Doc on the line, Pamela read off the bondsman’s bank information, and then she handed the phone back.
“I guess I should say thank you,” he said to Cate’s father.
“My pleasure. You have two things to do now. Make sure Jack doesn’t skip the country, because I’ve got half a million riding on his showing up in court. And prove him innocent. You’re the only one, Landry. I hired Pamela because I have faith you can make this work. You give her the tools and she’ll get him off.” Doc had amassed a fortune over the years, but the man’s generosity toward a person he hardly knew surprised Landry. Now the burden was on his shoulders. He knew that keeping Jack close wouldn’t be a problem. Proving the supernatural was behind Tiffany’s death was the issue.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Cate brushed off Landry's attempts to thank her and her father. "He has enormous faith in you, and he believes you'll find a solution to all this. I'm glad he was there when Dr. Little regressed Tiffany to see it for himself. We can't explain what happened, but you have to prove it did."
Jack was like a rescued animal. He became emotional when Landry picked him up from the jail. Weeping, he mourned the death of a person he considered just like him — lost and desperately seeking to reclaim her life. The unfairness of the tragedy overwhelmed him.
He lamented, "She couldn't escape the siren's call of the building, and she lost her life over something that happened two hundred years ago."
Cate and Landry also wept for their friends. She'd made a sacrifice, but Jack was facing one too.
More tears flowed when he learned who was behind his release. "Your father would do that for me? He hardly knows me. No one's ever done something like that, not even my parents. How can I ever repay him?"
"You may be mowing his yard for the next hundred years," Landry quipped, trying to lighten the mood. "For now, there's no time to wallow in misery. You're free; you still have your job at the station and your room at the motel. I need you to be strong. You know your problem, so if you have the slightest inkling of doubt about drinking, you must call me. It's critical now, because there's no room for mistakes. No matter what time, day or night, I'll answer your call and I'll come wherever you are. Now let's look forward. We have a mountain to climb, and I don't even know where to start."
He dropped Jack off to shower and change clothes. They'd meet back at the station. Pamela Sacriste touched base with Landry, telling him she'd be ready whenever he had something to report. This case was his to win, and there was little she could do to prepare for it. If he had good news, she'd represent Jack with everything in her arsenal. If not, she'd do whatever she could to shorten his sentence.
Landry went to see Shawn Leary and ask approval for another session in the courtyard. He expected the attorney to ask about Tiffany's death, but instead Leary wondered if Landry had learned anything more about the man who had called himself Empyrion Richard.
Because he was here for permission, he sidestepped the truth. "After speaking with you, I realized I was mistaken. It couldn't have been him."
"Did you ask anyone else where he lived?"
Landry was puzzled. What is this line of questioning about?
Does this guy know we went to the LaPiere plantation?
Once again telling the truth but not the whole truth, Landry answered, "You told me he died in the eighteen hundreds. In that case, there'd be no reason to keep trying to find him."
"Have you learned anything else at all about him?"
What the hell is he getting at?
"My mission of late has been to help Jack Blair, and I'm here to ask for permission to have one more hypnosis session in the building."
A flash of understanding crossed Leary's face. "Mr. Blair is the man accused of murdering your other hypnosis subject in our building. Is that right?"
"Yes. He's out on bond, and —"
"And nothing, Mr. Drake. You can't be serious. Did you think I'd allow another session after your first subject was murdered — allegedly murdered, I should say — by the person who will be your next subject? It was audacious of you to ask. And by the way, I'm taking the building off the market for now. Thanks to you and your friends, there's been too much negative publicity." He stood and asked Landry to leave.
Back at the station, Landry told Jack about his visit.
