'So you decided to protect each other.'
'You think I'm proud of this? You think I don't see that poor guy? Jesus God, I don't know what to do.' He was shaking his head. Jennifer Sheridan looked like she wanted to hold him and take care of him and make it all better even though she knew it was wrong. Maybe that's what love is.
I said, 'How many copies of the tape are there?'
'We got one. I don't know how many D'Muere has. Maybe a million.'
'Who has the copy you saw?'
'Eric.' Jennifer Sheridan put out her hand and Mark Thurman took it. Jennifer smiled, and Mark Thurman smiled back at her. They looked relieved, as if by finally sharing this the weight was becoming bearable. Mark said, 'I know where he hides it.'
I took a deep breath and then I let it out. I felt tired and my back hurt where the muscles lace over the shoulder blades. Tension, I guess. Stress.
Jennifer Sheridan said, 'Will you help him?'
I looked at Jennifer Sheridan looking at me and I nodded. 'Okay,' I said. 'I want to see the tape.'
Jennifer Sheridan helped Mark Thurman to the couch and sat next to him. He could've made it on his own this time, but he let her help.
I said, 'Has everyone on the REACT team seen the tape?'
'Yeah.'
'Has anyone else?'
He shook his head. 'Not on our side. Who would we show it to?'
Pike went to the window and looked out the curtain. He said, 'Eric would have a plan. Akeem pops up with the tape, says do what I want or I burn you, Eric isn't going to just roll over.'
Thurman nodded. 'Eric said we should play along until we could find something to make Akeem back off.'
'Like what?'
'We started running intelligence on him and doing twenty-four-hour surveillance. We even went out and bought these video cameras. We figured if we got him doing a capital offense on tape, we could trade him. You burn us, we burn you, like that.'
Pike moved to the other side of the window and looked out the curtain from that side. 'Dorks.'
Thurman gave him hard. 'Hey, what would you do?'
Pike didn't bother to look at him, 'I wouldn't be where you are. I wouldn've killed Charles Lewis Washington, and then lied about it. I would've done the right thing.'
Jennifer Sheridan frowned. 'You don't need to be so harsh.'
I said, 'A man died, Jennifer. It doesn't get much harsher than that.'
She put her hand on Mark Thurman's thigh.
I said, 'Okay. So you were looking for something to press Akeem. Did you get anything?'
'Not yet.'
'So the five of you went along with him, committing crimes.'
'That's right.' Thurman made a tiny nod, the kind where your head barely moves, and he wouldn't look at me.
'And Eric figured you guys would keep on like that until you found something to use against Akeem?'
'Yeah.'
'Committing crimes.'
'Yeah.' He stared at the floor and looked even more ashamed. He was a guy with a lot to be ashamed of.
Jennifer said, 'Why do you have to keep asking him about these things? He feels bad enough.'
I said, 'I have to ask him because I don't know the answers. I have to know what he's done so that I'll know how to help him or even if I can help him. Do you see?'
She saw, but she didn't like it. 'I thought you said that you'd help.'
'I'm deciding. Maybe I'll help him, but maybe I won't. Maybe I can't.'
She liked that even less. I looked back at Thurman, and then I stood up. 'Where does Dees keep the tape?'
'He's got it hidden in his garage.'
'You know where?'
'Yeah. If he hasn't moved it.'
'Let's go see.'
