With a sigh he tucked his hands into his pockets. It seemed hard to believe he was gone and for forty-eight hours after, he expected Jack to show up or call but he didn’t. No names were released regarding the charred bodies found inside the crumpled warehouse but a local paper did mention that the Mafia were still operating and had been tied to the port. They didn’t want to taint the good name of New Jersey or scare away tourists. It was easy to cherry coat, brush it under the rug and spread false news, but he knew better.
He’d seen it with his own eyes, witnessed the brutality and now understood better the horrors of Jack’s past. It was one thing to hear it from him, another to see it up close and look into the eyes of evil. How could a man not be changed by that? He stood there thinking about how much of a struggle it must have been for Jack to try and walk away. Freedom came with a high price tag. Always looking over his shoulder. Unable to settle. Never allowed to form close connections out of fear of reprisal. It was no life for anyone.
How could anyone understand unless they were him?
At least now he could be at peace..
Kelly stood beside him, silent and lost in thought.
“I can’t get something out of my head,” she said.
“What?”
“I stood between him and Angelo. He could have shot straight through me but he didn’t. He didn’t,” she repeated.
Dalton’s brow rose. “That was just his way.”
“I know but he didn’t know me or owe me anything.”
“Yeah.” He nodded and sighed. “That’s how I knew there was good in him,” Dalton said.
Kelly shot him a sideways glance. “But why though? I don’t get it. He harmed so many but refused to harm women or children?”
Dalton gave a strained smile. “Strange, right? I asked him many times and his response was always the same. Jack would just brush it off, change the topic. But there was no denying, beneath that rough exterior, a life hardened by brutality and murder, there was gold, something good, something valuable, and Jack guarded it with his life. Like it was the only thing left and he knew if he let that go, he might disappear with it.” He squinted and pushed down his grief. “I think Dana knew. I think she saw it. Gold, buried beneath dross. I used to think that one day he would let me in but I think she was the only one who really knew him.”
Someone cleared their throat and both of them turned to see a well-dressed, dark-skinned man. Behind him a black Audi was parked on the road, near to their rental. “John Dalton?”
“Yes?”
“Daniel Cooper. I was Isabel’s partner in the FBI.”
“Oh, right.” He smiled, his eyes bounced between Kelly and him. “Yeah, Jack told me about you. Hey, thank you for coming. I tried to reach out to a few contacts Jack gave me — you know, just in case problems arose. He spoke very highly of you.”
Cooper frowned. “He did? Strange. I always thought I was one step away from a bullet.”
Dalton laughed. “Didn’t we all.”
They shook hands and all three of them looked down at the grave. “No one else came?” Cooper asked.
“Afraid not. I reached out to his family — his mother and brother no longer reside where they were before. No idea where they are now. And his daughter, well, he told me if anything ever happened he didn’t want her to know.”
Cooper nodded. “You know we chased that man all over the country. Isabel was besotted with him. She was like a dog on a bone, she wouldn’t let it go. It was only when I got to know him that I understood why. He was something else.” He glanced at Dalton.
“That he was. I’ll miss him.”
Over the next half an hour they swapped stories, reminisced and laughed at how Jack would say one thing and do another, how he rolled to the beat of his own drum, keeping many at a distance, and yet when it came to those in real need, complete strangers, he would risk everything.
“How’s the family?” Cooper asked.
“Good,” Dalton said. “Karen gave me heck but I think she’s just glad I’m alive. Deep down I kind of think she’s glad he’s gone. Though she wouldn’t say that.”
“Ah, that’s understandable,” Cooper said. “And what about you? Still moving ahead with plans to write a piece about him?”
Kelly frowned. “How did you know that?”
“You’re a reporter. Is there anything else you would do?”
Kelly smiled and shook her head. “Out of respect for him and Dana, I think it’s better to let it go. Besides, he gave me so much more.”
Brown leaves rolled across the grass like tumbleweed reminding them that one season had ended and another had begun. All three of them remained there for a few minutes longer. Cooper took a deep breath. “Well I should get going. It’s been a pleasure meeting you both.”
“Likewise,” Dalton said. “Thank you for coming.”
Cooper stabbed his finger at him. “Take care of that little one of yours.”
“I will.”
He wagged
