Ella thought it through.
Put Creed in a room with whoever was in that cell.Have him talk to her.Ask her things only Lindsey would know.Watch her reactions.See if she gives herself away.
It was a long shot.
Psychopaths were exceptional actors, and there’d be two of them in that room.They could both fake anything they needed to sell the performance.If the woman in that cell was Tracy, and if she’d been working with Lindsey this whole time, then she’d know enough about her sister’s relationship with Creed to fake it convincingly.
But it was better than nothing.
‘It’s not foolproof,’ Ella said.
‘Certainly not,’ Dever said, ‘but there is one… uh...benefit.’
It wasn’t even 10AM and Ella’s head already felt like a solid ball of rock on her shoulders.An hour ago, she’d thought this whole ordeal had been over, but now she was dealing with potential twin serial killers.
She held Dever’s stare.He was talking about a benefit, and Ella was quickly getting a feeling for his way of operating.If she was a betting woman, she’d think that Dever was about to offer Austin Creed a deal.
‘Let me guess.If Creed confirms it’s Lindsey Doyle in that cell, you’ll delay his execution.’
‘No.We’ll reduce his sentence to life imprisonment.No death penalty.’
Ella inhaled deeply.She wasn’t sure how to feel about such a possibility.‘Can we override the court ruling like that?’
Vernon said, ‘Yes we can.Executions take years to come to fruition anyway, and his lawyers have been fighting tooth and nail to get his sentence reduced all on the taxpayer’s dime.We’d be doing the courts and the lawyers a favor by reducing his sentence.Everyone wins.Which means…’
‘Which means Creed has an incentive to tell the truth.’
‘Bingo.’
‘Sometimes you need to feed the beast to catch the beast,’ Dever said.
Ella wondered just how many beasts Dever had actually caught.By her count, he’d spent most of his career shuffling paperwork, but she kept that thought to herself.
‘Creed is currently at Louisiana State Penitentiary,’ Vernon said.‘We need him here in D.C.’
‘Right.’
‘And I want you on the escort team that brings him back.’
Ella’s throat constricted.‘What?Me?’
‘Yes.You heard me.’
‘Why me?’
‘Because it gives you a chance to talk to him.Two hours uninterrupted on the journey.You’re the one who caught him.You’re the one Doyle’s been targeting.I’m aware Creed denies any involvement with this, but he could be lying, and he might slip up.’
Two hours alone with Austin Creed.She’d been the one who’d put him in prison and helped secure his death sentence, and she had no doubt there’d be a visceral reaction from him sitting opposite her in a confined space for two hours.She could use that.
‘I can work with that.’
‘There’ll be a SWAT team and other agents too, including Terrance.We’re flying commercial to avoid drawing attention, but the plane will be locked down.There’ll be no civilians or press.’
‘Flying?’
‘Driving is too risky.Air is safer.’
‘When?’Ella asked.
