We both knew Culver deserved to go away for good. The Derringers may
have pretended that the violence was staged, but it took people like
Culver and O'Donnell to choose to believe it. The reality was that
Griffith had come up with a deal that was the most we could hope for
under the circumstances. Sometimes that's as close to fair as we get
around here.
'I'll call Henry Lee with it. He'll be happy to hear he doesn't have
to try an actual case.'
'Then why don't you take the rest of the day off? I'd say you've
earned it.'
I turned back before leaving the office. 'Tim said he didn't give
anything to Landry, that he assumed Forbes did,' I said.
'She gets out either way, Sam. Unless you think Forbes is a long-term
problem, it's cleaner this way.'
'I can't make that call right now.'
'I know. That's why I made it.'
I started to leave again but stopped at the door.
'Now what?' he said.
'Thanks, Duncan.'
'Anytime, Deputy Kincaid.'
I ignored the stares again on the way back out of the courthouse. Let
'em think I was in trouble. Tomorrow, I'd be a hero.
I wanted to go home and sleep for the next twenty hours, but there was
someone I needed to see.
Like most prisons, the Oregon Women's Correctional Institute had been
dumped in the middle of nowhere to avoid public outrage and plummeting
property values. The only other buildings within a three-mile radius
were two similarly ostracized yet essential enterprises, a casino and
an outlet mall. Needless to say, the combination made for an
interesting mix of soccer moms, prison families, and senior citizens in
RVs.
The guard brought Margaret Landry to meet me in one of the sterile
rooms used for attorney-client conferences. As I had requested, he
moved her in leg shackles and handcuffs.
When he brought her into the room, I said, 'I don't really think those
are necessary, Deputy. Would you mind removing them and leaving us
alone? I'm sure Ms. Landry and I will be just fine here without all
of this.'
If the guard ever got tired of corrections, he should try Hollywood.
His best attempt to look worried about my request was pretty realistic.
He removed the cuffs and shackles and left us alone.
I'd seen pictures of Margaret Landry, of course, but she'd aged
considerably during her two years in prison. Assisted by too many
cigarettes and too little sleep, she'd gone from looking well fed and
nurturing to haggard and crotchety.
After I introduced myself, she said, 'I been dealing with someone in
your office named O'Donnell.'
I dropped the bomb on her and announced that O'Donnell was dead. To
simplify things, I told her that Jamie Zimmerman's murderers had been
identified and killed, but not before they had shot Tim O'Donnell. I
figured it might be hard to earn her trust if I revealed that a member
of my office was a homicidal rapist. She'd get the details from
someone else down the road, anyway.
'Because of everything that's happened, you'll be getting out of here
tomorrow,' I said.
'Where are they moving me to?'
'You can stay wherever you want. Maybe with your daughters until you
adjust to things. You're being pardoned, Margaret. You'll be free,
with no criminal record.'
Her lower lip began to shake, and pretty soon she was crying.
When she'd finally stopped trembling, she lifted her head to the
ceiling. I couldn't tell if she was looking for answers or trying to
thank someone, but I could tell she hadn't felt however she was feeling
for a long, long time.
'I never meant this to happen,' she said. 'I kept calling the police
on Jesse, but wouldn't no one help me. When Jamie's body turned up and
I saw her in the paper, I thought I'd finally get that son of a bitch
out from under my roof, but they didn't believe me. They told me I
didn't have no corroboration.' I kept digging myself in deeper and
deeper, and next thing I know I'm under arrest myself and can't take
any of it back.'
'I feel bad for you, Margaret, but you put an innocent man in prison
and kept the police from looking for the men who actually killed Jamie
