She sat on the edge of the bed, linking their hands. ‘You’ve got a whole contingent of visitors in the waiting room. Jamie and I have made it clear that we reserve the right to tell them to come back later if you start to get tired.’
‘Bring ’em on,’ he said, even though he could already feel a yawn starting. Stupid surgery. Stupid injury. Fucking stupid Tavilla. Thorne hated feeling so weak. But it could have been so much worse.
Joseph and Hyatt were first. ‘You look better,’ Joseph said.
‘Which isn’t exactly hard to do,’ Hyatt added.
‘I’d flip you both the bird, but it would take too much energy,’ Thorne said. ‘Is this my debriefing?’
‘Kind of,’ Hyatt said. ‘We got most of what happened on Tavilla’s yacht from the phone calls you and the Segal kid had ongoing.’
Thorne recalled sliding Brickman’s cell phone into his pocket, still connected to Joseph.
Joseph pulled up a chair and sat down. ‘The audio from your phone was muffled, but we got the general gist. Gwyn and Blake Segal filled in the blanks.’
‘And Brickman,’ Hyatt said gruffly. ‘He’s singing like a damn bird. I’m . . . I apologize on behalf of the department. Brickman’s been arrested and relieved of duty, of course.’
‘Of course,’ Gwyn murmured. ‘Was he able to fill you in on Tavilla’s operations?’
Hyatt nodded. ‘Yes. He’d been working for Tavilla for a few years. He’s already rolled on a half-dozen others in BPD who had ties to the organization or who were selling Tavilla information. He also gave us the woman who was Tavilla’s admin assistant for twenty years. Her name is Jeanne Bruno. Her husband owns the restaurant where Tavilla would hang out. Jeanne was a close friend of Madeline, Tavilla’s wife, who is now deceased.’
‘Her death came at the end of a long battle with heart disease,’ Joseph said, ‘but it also came days after Colin Tavilla was found guilty and sent to prison.’
Thorne sighed. ‘For which Tavilla blamed me.’
‘Passionately,’ Joseph said dryly. ‘Jeanne has – had – two daughters.’
‘Let me guess,’ Gwyn cut in. ‘Drizella and Anastasia.’
Joseph’s lips twitched. ‘Not too far off. Margo and Kathryn.’
‘Aka Anne and Laura,’ Thorne said. ‘The firm’s admin and the club’s bartender. What about the baby? The one Kathryn posted on her Facebook page as her own?’
‘It’s Margo and Colin’s baby,’ Joseph said. ‘Born after Colin went to prison. Kathryn was the baby’s aunt. We found the child when we arrested Jeanne Bruno. Jeanne has been charged with all kinds of criminal enterprise. She’s being held without bond and the baby is in foster care.’
‘Margo seemed to really love Colin,’ Gwyn said quietly. ‘Although I’m not sure how much of what she said can be believed, considering she’d double-crossed Tavilla and was planning to take over. She said she only decided to take over after Colin’s death, but . . .’ She shrugged her disbelief. ‘She worked for us for a year.’
‘Tavilla set up her false ID years ago.’ Hyatt looked incredibly weary, and Thorne found he had a little compassion for the brash lieutenant. ‘He’d been watching your businesses for some time and knew the kind of person you’d want to hire. Plus, he discouraged anyone else from working for you.’
‘What?’ Thorne looked at Jamie. ‘How?’
‘By offering them jobs with higher salaries at competing firms and threatening them when they wouldn’t take those jobs.’ Jamie shook his head. ‘I tracked down some of our applicants and they admitted that they’d been too afraid to come forward.’
Thorne felt some of the blood drain from his face. ‘Our admin assistant before Anne . . . She was in a car accident and had to quit. Was Tavilla responsible?’
Jamie nodded, briefly closing his eyes. ‘We didn’t know, Thorne. She didn’t know either. She doesn’t blame you.’
Gwyn’s hand tightened on his. ‘How did you find this out?’
‘We got Margo’s laptop,’ Hyatt said. ‘She had notes galore, including incriminating files on your clients’ – he held up a hand to stem Thorne’s impending explosion – ‘which we’ve sealed, pending the review of a third-party mediation panel who will determine what we can and cannot access for our investigation.’
Thorne bit the inside of his cheek, the sudden pain in the top of his head indicating that his BP had skyrocketed. This was unacceptable. This was wrong. He hadn’t come this far only to have his clients fucked over.
Jamie glanced up at the bank of monitors. ‘Thorne, you need to calm down, or the nurse will come in here and throw everyone out.’
Thorne jerked a nod. ‘Who’s on the panel?’
‘Grayson,’ Joseph said. ‘And Daphne.’
Thorne relaxed. Grayson Smith, Paige’s husband, was one of only two prosecutors he trusted. The second was Joseph’s wife Daphne.
‘And Frederick and me,’ Jamie added. ‘Don’t worry, Thomas. We won’t let your clients be screwed over.’
Thorne let his head fall back against the pillows, the pain in his head receding. ‘Okay. What else did you find in Margo’s laptop?’
‘A list of your clients she intended to blackmail once she’d taken over Tavilla’s operations,’ Joseph said. ‘According to everything we could find, those initial calls were as far as it went. That list was sent to the third-party panel as well. One of the things that won’t make you angry is the tie between Tavilla and Judge Segal. Segal crossed Tavilla’s radar about eight months ago. Tavilla had been digging into your past, figuring out the best way to hurt you. He had a multi-pronged attack – your friends, your businesses and your integrity. Ultimately he wanted you in prison, but he hadn’t planned to kill you.’
‘Then why did he have us brought to his boat?’ Gwyn asked.
Joseph grimaced. ‘According to Brickman, Tavilla had decided you weren’t worth the trouble. He’d planned to tie your deaths back to the judge, specifically revenge for his wife’s death and the kidnapping of his son. That way, if Segal claimed Tavilla had killed his wife, no one would believe him.’
‘But Margo had other plans,’ Thorne said. ‘She killed her own sister.’
‘She might have been a little . . .’ Hyatt tapped his temple. ‘But she kept amazing records.’
‘Best office admin we ever had,’ Jamie said morosely.
Gwyn frowned. ‘Hey.’
Jamie’s smile was indulgent. ‘You know we all love you, Gwyn, but your filing system was a huge pile of papers.’
She sighed. ‘That’s fair.’
Hyatt didn’t smile. ‘As best we can figure, she planned to make it look like her father-in-law and Thorne had killed each other. That way, Tavilla’s clients would continue to do business with her.’
‘What about Tavilla’s connection to Patricia?’ Thorne asked. ‘Did her husband give her up?’
‘We don’t think so,’ Joseph said. ‘Once we started searching Segal’s home, we had enough for a warrant for his safe deposit box. He’d written a detailed account of his dealings with Tavilla, who approached him about his connection to Thorne. Tavilla knew months ago that Segal had killed Richard Linden. He had paid Darian Hinman and Chandler Nystrom for the information. He also somehow knew that the judge had always been looking over his shoulder, expecting Thorne to figure it out. Or maybe it was just guilt. Whichever it was, Tavilla exploited it, convincing Segal that helping him get rid of Thorne would be in his best interest. The judge didn’t fight him too hard.’
‘Did Segal know that Tavilla planned to kill Patricia?’
Joseph shook his head. ‘Not according to the papers he left in his safe deposit box. He and Tavilla had agreed on a “different target”. The judge’s words, not mine. My personal opinion is that Segal believed Tavilla was going to kill Tristan Armistead for having an affair with Patricia. Tristan had bee
n lured to a bench in the park. He thought the invitation had come from Patricia, but her phone records don’t show her having sent the text that he received. I think Segal texted Tristan himself.’
‘But Tavilla killed Patricia instead,’ Gwyn said.
‘Yes.’ Joseph lifted a shoulder. ‘Once that happened, everything was set into motion and Tavilla snipped off all his loose ends.’
‘But why did he need the judge?’ Thorne asked, squinting in confusion. ‘He had the story from Darian Hinman and Chandler Nystrom.’
‘Segal believes that Tavilla planned for him to be the fall guy,’ Hyatt answered. ‘That if everything fell through, he would be suspected, especially since he’d threatened Tristan Armistead for sleeping with his wife. Once Patricia was killed, Tavilla knew that the judge couldn’t come forward without incriminating himself over Richard’s murder and making himself a suspect in the murder of his wife.’
‘He didn’t draft the papers we found in his safe deposit box until after Patricia was killed,’ Joseph added. ‘He realized then that he needed leverage.’
‘What about Linden Senior?’ Thorne asked.
‘Keeping the “why” quiet – Patricia’s being sexually assaulted by Richard – was what Linden Senior was all about,’ Hyatt said. ‘He admitted to it when we pressed him.’
Thorne was stunned. ‘He admitted it?’
‘He had to,’ Jamie said, ‘what with Eileen Gilson’s testimony that her husband was paid for the key ring and then later killed over it. Plus fourteen years of bank deposits that paid for her silence.’
‘Linden didn’t have to admit it,’ Joseph corrected. ‘He could have fought us in court. But we were able to convince him that if he didn’t admit it, we’d order a DNA test on his grandson. Blake would be revealed in court records to be the son of Richard and Patricia. Which we already got Judge Segal to admit to separately, so it was kind of moot.’
‘Blake knows,’ Thorne said softly. ‘He told me so, right before Brickman and Patton came into that room where we were being held. How is the kid? Gwyn and I have been worried about him.’
Joseph frowned. ‘How did he find out?’
‘Same way we did,’ Thorne said. ‘He saw a photo of Richard. He guessed that Richard had raped his mother. I suppose we need to decide if we want to tell him that he’s got a half-brother. Angie Ospina’s son Liam is a product of Richard’s rape too. If I were him, I’d want to know.’
‘You should probably leave that decision to Angie,’ Gwyn recommended quietly. ‘Liam is living in Iowa now, but Angie told me that he’s been accepted to Johns Hopkins. He’ll be in Baltimore in the fall, attending classes. At this point, I don’t know if Liam even knows that his aunt Angie is really his mother. That’s a much bigger bombshell to drop than him having a half-brother.’
‘I agree,’ Jamie said. ‘You might want to know, Thomas, but like you said, those young men are products of rape. And part of that information, as a victim, is Angie’s to share.’
Hyatt’s mouth fell open. ‘What?’
Joseph’s eyes widened. ‘Explain. Please.’
‘Oh, right.’ Thorne told them how they’d known that Angie had also been raped by Richard. ‘We got a little distracted after we found that out. I would say she has a right to a civil judgment against the Lindens, but they’ve been paying her for years. It’s not quite child support, but she’s been compensated.’
‘Jamie’s right,’ Hyatt said unexpectedly. ‘It should be her call. She’s the victim. I don’t name rape victims without their consent.’ He looked at Joseph. ‘Is that all you have?’
Joseph nodded. ‘We do have some good news for you, Thorne.’
Hyatt hefted the shopping bag he’d brought in with him. ‘We found several of your sports medals in Judge Segal’s safe deposit box.’
Thorne blinked. ‘So he had them? All this time?’
Hyatt nodded. ‘Yes, but that’s not the only thing he had. We found four large boxes in his basement filled with your possessions.’ He drew two thick photo albums from the bag, along with some framed photos. ‘We’re clearing them out of evidence as quickly as we can, but I had these expedited.’
Thorne was . . . speechless. And almost too afraid to hope that the albums contained what he thought they did. Gwyn reached for them with care, bringing them to her lap.
Her smile was sweet. ‘Can I?’
He nodded, saying nothing. Hoping. Hoping.
‘Oh, Thorne,’ she laughed breathlessly. ‘Look at you. You’re so cute.’
Jamie rolled closer. ‘Oh, wow.’ He sounded delighted. ‘You really are. Phil is going to love seeing these.’
Thorne forced himself to look at the album she held, and a lump rose in his throat. ‘Oh my God.’ He traced a finger over a photo of him with his real father, Thomas Thorne. He remembered the day. He’d been four and his dad had taken him to the aquarium. The album was filled with pictures of his father. ‘I . . . I thought these pictures were gone forever.’ He huffed out a breath and chanced a look up at Hyatt. ‘Thank you,’ he whispered.
‘Least we could do,’ Hyatt said gruffly. ‘There were other things in the boxes. Trophies and comic books. Stuff like that. We’ll be getting it to you as quickly as we can.’
‘Was there a ball?’ Thorne asked, again fearing to hope. ‘A rugby ball?’
Hyatt nodded. ‘Yes. Signed by a lot of players.’
‘It was my dad’s.’ His voice broke and he cleared his throat. ‘I thought it was all gone.’
Gwyn brought his hand to her lips and kissed it. ‘I’m so glad it’s not.’
Joseph’s smile was gentle. ‘Segal admitted that he’d gone by your house the day after you were arrested. He’d come down from the adrenaline high of killing Richard and told Patricia what he’d done. Linden Senior had already gone ballistic because of the key that Segal had shoved in Richard’s body. One of the cops on the scene – not Prew, but one of his colleagues – had given him the heads-up, and Linden Senior had already bought the key ring back from Kirby Gilson, the ME tech. Segal was feeling antsy by then, and paranoid. He wasn’t sure what you’d told your mother and stepfather, Thorne. So he went by your house, and that was when he saw your belongings at the curb. He loaded them all into that truck of his.’
The mention of Segal’s truck had Thorne’s mind snapping to Sherri. ‘Did he admit to killing Sherri too?’
‘Not yet,’ Hyatt said. ‘But the prosecutors are working on him. They’ll be offering him all kinds of deals for information,’ he added with disgust.
Joseph chuckled. ‘I won’t tell Daphne that you said that. She’s lead on Segal’s case. It’s the only perk she’s had out of all this. She’s wanted to be in the thick of it with you, but she knew that once we caught someone, she’d need to be conflict-less.’
‘I’m glad she’s on the case,’ Thorne said sincerely. ‘And I’m glad that Grayson’s home so that he can help.’ He knew that Grayson and the rest had returned from Chicago the day after Tavilla was killed. Lucy had been to see him every day, and the others had spaced their visits, timing them for when Jamie had been with Phil, because Thorne had only been allowed two visitors at a time in ICU.
‘We’re all going to be busy for a while. The paperwork on Tavilla’s victims alone is . . .’ Joseph shuddered. ‘And those are the victims we know of.’
‘How many?’ Thorne asked, afraid to hear the answer.
Joseph sighed. ‘Altogether we have nineteen present-day victims. Some of those were Tavilla’s kills. Some were Patton’s. We’re sorting through that now. We have Patricia, of course. The two members of the Circus Freaks that he stuffed full of Sheidalin matchbooks. Ramirez and his wife. Darian Hinman and Chandler Nystrom. The professor and her husband who were killed by mistake in their trailer. Brent Kiley, the EMT. According to Segal, Tavilla also killed the two men who drugged you and Patricia,
Thorne. Margo killed her sister, Kathryn.’
‘And Tavilla,’ Gwyn added.
Joseph shrugged. ‘That depends on who you talk to. The ME lists COD as exsanguination. But he wasn’t sure which of the wounds killed him – Margo’s two bullets or Thorne’s knife. So, Thorne, you can have that honor if you want.’
Thorne shook his head. ‘No. No, thank you.’ He still remembered the horror at having killed Patton. He would have killed again, because it was self-defense, but . . . ‘No.’
Again Joseph’s smile was gentle, as if he understood. ‘Then we’ll list Tavilla in Margo’s column.’
Thorne swallowed back bile. ‘Thank you.’
‘You get credit for Patton, though,’ Hyatt said, oblivious to Thorne’s emotional distress. ‘And Gwyn gets credit for Margo and one of the thugs who attacked your SUV. Frederick and Clay each got one too. Your friends did well.’
Gwyn squeezed Thorne’s hand, comforting him wordlessly. They’d each killed their first and, hopefully, only people. They’d done what they’d had to do to survive, as had Frederick and Clay. None of them were happy about what they’d done, but they’d live with it.
Jamie cleared his throat. ‘Of course, we also have the people who made it – Phil, Sam, Chad Ingram.’
‘And Blake Segal and Aidan York. We can’t forget them.’
Thorne felt Gwyn stiffen beside him and asked the question he knew she wanted to ask but couldn’t bring herself to do so. ‘Joseph, what happened with Aidan York? All we heard was that he was okay.’
‘He was found shortly after you two were taken. He’d been on his way home from his girlfriend’s house just before dawn. Kathryn and Patton were waiting for him to come out, but caught him sneaking in. They drove around with him for a while and dumped him. He appears to have no injuries. That’s all I know. I’m sorry, Gwyn.’
She jerked a silent nod.
‘Thanks,’ Thorne said, caressing Gwyn’s hand with his thumb, wishing he could comfort her. But she’d heard nothing from the Yorks, parents or son. And she wouldn’t push them. It made Thorne angry on her behalf, but he’d respect her wishes and wouldn’t push either.