A mahogany desk sat at the center with a fountain pen and a closed dossier. A bottle of aged whiskey rested on a side table beside two crystal glasses. He’d been ready for me. Behind the high-backed black leather chair were tall windows that stretched toward the ceiling, dressed in heavy charcoal drapes. This was where decisions were made, alliances were forged, and lives could quietly change direction with the stroke of his signature.
In his polo T-shirt and khakis, Senator Falcone grabbed the bottle of whiskey and walked over to the lounge area,gesturing for me to sit down in the leather chair facing a round coffee table. Sitting down, he poured me a glass of whiskey.
“Thank you.” I placed it on the coaster on the table, studying the disheveled man with unkempt hair and a beard that desperately needed a shave.
“Not in the mood to drink?” he asked, his eyes looking tired.
“No,” I said. “Why do you look so tired?”
“Sleep hasn’t come easy lately.”
How could a man sleep when his life was crumbling?
“Is it because you’ve been too busy lying and harming children?”
His eyes flicked to mine briefly before looking away to finish his whiskey. He placed the glass on the coffee table and inhaled a deep breath.
“I . . .” Senator Falcone began. “I tried to get help.”
“Tried is past tense,” I retorted. “If you knew you had an illness, then you would have eradicated that disease.” Anger boiled in me. “Dammit, Bill. You fooled me and the boys. Webelievedin you.”
Sometimes the truth has thorns, capable of more harm than it should. His betrayal shattered me. How many other people had I trusted but shouldn’t have?
“I’m sorry.” His lips trembled. “I didn’t mean to.”
I slammed a fist into the arm of the couch. “That’s what all criminals say when they’re caught. It’s time to redeem yourself,” I scoffed. “You’re going to help me find Hawthorne.”
Fear sparked in his eyes. “I don’t know where he is. I’ve only worked with Tony.”
That had been my suspicion, but I wanted to hear it from him. “Where’s Tony?”
The senator rattled off an address for Tony thatI already knew. The powerful façade that hid his sick character crumbled.
“I made a big mistake years ago, and Hawthorne got it on video and blackmailed me.” With trembling hands, the senator poured more whiskey into his glass and sipped. “I didn’t want people to know I preferred kids. It would ruin my career.”
“So you ruined children’s lives instead.”
He didn’t respond to my comment. Remorse swam in his eyes, but I didn’t give a damn. He knew exactly what he had done, and he would have continued to do it if he hadn’t been caught.
“What did Hawthorne want in exchange?”
“A secluded place to run his business. He’s got several across the country. And no, I don’t know where they are. I was focused on making sure my property wasn’t jeopardized.”
“It was jeopardized the moment you agreed to work with him,” I seethed. “How long has the compound been under the lake?”
“Construction started about twenty years ago.”
“When the boys and I escaped?” I recalled moving bricks in the corridor.
“Yes.” He nodded.
“You knew me and the boys escaped that awful place. Why didn’t you tell Hawthorne about us?”
Senator Falcone could’ve easily informed Hawthorne that his prisoners had escaped.
“Despite my dealings with the psychopath, Ihatedhim,” Senator Falcone scoffed. “He blackmailed me, and I wanted him to fail. I wanted him todie.” He looked at me. “Your escape was something I wanted for myself too. Though I wasn’t physically trapped underground, I was also his prisoner.”
People with secrets, like the senator, were easy to control. Who else was on Hawthorne’s long list?
