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I have news for him. My wife has more than a backbone. She has balls. Big ones.
“I’m not looking forward to part two when I get home.”
“I’m guessing a former FBI agent can hold her own in an argument,” Jamie says.
She damn sure can.
“It’s going to get ugly fast. And I’m pretty certain Ellison will be home. I don’t want her to hear us.”
“Would you like me to come by and take her for a walk or a drive so she’s not in the middle of it?”
“Oh fuck! That would be awesome. Sure you don’t mind?”
“No problem.”
I’m careful to not have too many whiskies since I don’t need to be steamin’ when I have this conversation with Bleu.
It’s late when I get home but Ellison is still up. I hear music coming from her room. “Do I Want to Know?” by the Arctic Monkeys. I recognize the song because Bleu listens to it all the time.
I tap on her bedroom door. “Elli. It’s Sinclair.”
“You can come in.”
I open the door and find her painting her toenails. “I hate to bother you but I have a huge favor to ask. Bleu is really pissed off at me.”
Ellison giggles. “Yes, she is. Your name is shit.” I figured as much.
“I need to talk to her. I expect it to get loud and unpleasant. Is it all right if Jamie comes by to take you out for a walk or a drive?”
She bugs her eyes at me. “I haven’t seen him since the night I shot his dad. That’s going to be uncomfortable as hell.”
“He volunteered. I don’t think he would’ve done that if he thought it would be awkward.”
Ellison rubs her face and sighs as she leans over to look in the mirror. “I look like shit but I don’t guess it matters. If there’s going to be a screaming match between you and my sister, I’m out of here.”
I wait for Ellison and Jamie to leave before I go into the bedroom. Bleu’s already in bed but stirs when I come in, so she’s not asleep. I suspect she’s too troubled for slumber to find her easily.
She rises to sit, adjusting her pillow at her back. I go to her, kneeling beside the bed. I take her hand, kissing the top. “I love you. That’s what’s most important so that’s where I’d like to begin.”
“I love you too.”
Her response gives me hope this will go better than it did earlier.
“I didn’t do a great job of explaining myself earlier but it’s important you understand why I feel the way I do. You believe being Todd’s executioner will heal you. I fear it will cause more harm than good. The repercussions of bridging the gap between good and evil are real.”
“I’m conditioned for that to not happen. I’ve killed before and I was fine afterwards.”
What she’s planning is different. I have to make her understand that.
“You’ve killed but never by choice. Each time, it was forced upon you. I’ve made the decision time and time again for myself. What follows isn’t easy and I don’t want that for you.”
“I have to see this through to the end.” She can, just not the way she wants.
“I understand that turning away from this must seem like the hardest thing in the world, but I promise you, it’s profoundly easier than what you’re contemplating.”
“You’re asking me to give up the one thing I’ve wanted most in the world for nearly all of my life.”
“It’s time for you to want me and these babies more than you want to kill Todd Cockburn.”
She places her palm to my face. “Never think for a single moment that you and our children don’t come first.”
“You’re good, Bonny. I don’t want you tainted by what this will do to you.”
“You keep saying I’m good but I’m not. And it’s because of him.”
“You’re wrong. You couldn’t love me or these babies if you weren’t. I’m asking you to love us enough to let go and allow me to do this for you.”
She doesn’t reply. At least it’s not an argument.
“You’re filled by a darkness that isn’t your fault. I’m asking you to pass it on to me. Let me carry it for you.”
“I don’t know how to let go.”
“Refuse to be a slave to your demons. Be proactive. Make the decision to let me kill Todd Cockburn for you. Do it because you love our children enough to reject anything that could potentially destroy the person you are.”
She’s struggling. I see it. “I’m already filthy, but you don’t have to be.”
She closes her eyes and nods before the words come. “Okay. Do what you gotta do.”
* * *
Concrete floor. Cinder block walls. Single light hanging overhead. Nothing in this room would be what I’d want to see as I took my last breath.
Todd Cockburn has known four walls of iron bars as his home for four days. A cage for an animal. Very fitting.
He’s been freed from his enclosure. He now sits with his wrists and ankles securely buckled to the arms and legs of an execution chair in a corner of the black site.
My parents, Bleu, and I approach him. He looks relieved but he shouldn’t be. “Thank God you’ve come, Thane. These fools have kept me in a steel cage for days. I’m not even sure how long I’ve been here.”
I motion to two brothers. “Find chairs for my wife and mother so they may sit.”
“I don’t understand. What is this about?”
I’m not sure if Todd has yet to realize he’s caught or if he’s figured it out and is planning to lie. “You’ll find out what this is about when I’m good and ready for you to know.”
Bleu takes a seat and stares daggers at her mother’s killer.
“Todd Cockburn. You are accused of the murder of Cara Breckenridge, Amanda Lawrence, eleven victims who are unaccounted for, and the attempted murder of my wife, Stella Bleu Lawrence MacAllister Breckenridge.”
He feigns surprise. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Then allow me to refresh your memory.” I place the opened box of trophies on the table in front of him. He fails to react.
My father steps forward. “You attended a casino staff meeting in my home sixteen years ago to discuss changes we’d be making at our Edinburgh location. Sometime during the meeting, you slipped away unnoticed and went into my daughter’s room. You used her favorite stuffed animal to smother the life out of her.”
My father takes Cara’s necklace from the contents of the box. “When you were done, you took this locket from her neck and positioned her body as though she was sleeping so we wouldn’t discover her death until the morning.”
“You murdered my only daughter.” My mother gets up from her chair and stands before Todd. “My God, how I loved that child. She was the only one Thane didn’t take from me.”
“Isobel. Please believe me when I tell you that I did not kill your daughter.”
“Cara was the most beautiful child I’d ever seen. Dark curls all over her head from the day she was born. So sweet. So kind. I only got to have her for five short years because you took her from me.”
“I didn’t kill that precious girl.”
My mother slaps Todd hard across his face. “Shut yer lying gob!”
I go to my mother and guide her away.
My father continues, “Eighteen years ago, you went to the home of Amanda Lawrence, the woman I loved, and you shot her to death. She was wearing the diamond earrings I had given her.”
My father displays the diamond studs in his palm. “These. You took them from her body and when you finished, you went into her daughter’s room. You
shot their dog, but not before being attacked by him. Next you plucked her daughter from her hiding place beneath her bed and put a pillow over her face to smother her.”
Dad takes the ring from the collection. “You took this birthstone ring from that little girl’s body and left her for dead. But something happened that you couldn’t possibly have anticipated.”
Dad points at Bleu. “She was saved and there she sits. My son’s wife is the little girl you thought you murdered eighteen years ago. But I’m guessing you already have that figured out since I strongly suspect it was you who phoned the authorities the night we were making a trade with The Order for Bleu’s return.”
“I didn’t do any of these horrible things. Someone is framing me.”
“Let’s entertain the idea of you being innocent. Amanda’s killer was bitten by their German shepherd on his right leg. If you didn’t kill her, you won’t bear the scar of a dog bite.”
One of our men steps forward and takes a knife from his pocket to slice open the fabric of Todd’s trousers from the hem to the knee. My father motions for Bleu to come closer for inspection. “Is the scar on Todd’s leg consistent with the one you’d expect from the attack you witnessed?”
Bleu goes closer to examine his leg. “That’s exactly what I’d expect to see from Max’s bite.”
She stands before Todd, studying his face. “Do you know who I am?”
“You’re Bleu Breckenridge, wife of my leader.”
“Before I was Bleu Breckenridge, I was Stella Lawrence. Amanda Lawrence’s daughter. I’m your daughter as well. Did you know I was yours when you put that pillow over my face and smothered me?”
“You aren’t my daughter. You can’t be. I had a vasectomy thirty years ago so that would never happen.”
“As much as I hate being genetically tied to you, I am your flesh and blood.” Bleu takes the paternity results from her pocket. “We obtained a sample of your DNA and ran it against mine. I’m yours and here’s the proof.”
Todd says nothing.
Bleu’s trembling, her face pained. “Why did you kill my mother? She ran from you. She wasn’t a threat.”
