Page 135 of I’ll Be Watching You

“I won’t say no to a cup of joe,” he said with a chuckle.

“You remember Jack and Margo?”

“Of course. I’m not going to stay long, but I wanted to tell you in person what is happening.”

Mom motioned for Langford to sit in the comfortable breakfast nook, slid a filled mug and container of cream in front of him. She sat across from him, unable to mask her apprehension. Jack leaned against the kitchen counter, and I sat on the stool beside my brother.

“Cooper is being transported this afternoon back to Eyman,” Langford said. “The individual who had been hired to harm him there has been arraigned this morning and will be sent to a federal prison out of state. While we don’t believe there’s still a threat to Cooper, the prison is investigating his communications. We believe he had been paid to kill him. However, with the current investigation and arrests, that’s no longer on the table. Still, we don’t want to take any chances.”

“Thank you,” Mom said, clearly relieved. “And there are no restrictions? I can see him tomorrow?”

He nodded. “No restrictions. My office received a copy of Rita’s petition to rescind his confession and release Cooper on his own recognizance while the court evaluates the evidence that his confession was coerced. My office is not contesting the petition, and neither is the AUSA. It will be heard on Thursday.”

“Thursday,” Mom said in both wonder and disbelief.

“Cooper will need to give a full accounting of everything leading up to his confession and what he may or may not have known about Dr. Klein’s situation, and I can’t guarantee that the judge will release him, but . . . I think the odds are in your favor. Still, he will remain a suspect and his activities will be restricted until all charges are cleared. If he’s released, he may still face a trial. But my office is not going to oppose monitored release.”

I couldn’t speak. Tears burned behind my eyes as I processed the information. Mom hugged her former associate.

I hugged my brother. His eyes watered like mine.

Dad would soon be free.

“Such good news,” Mom said to Langford. “Thank you so much for everything.”

Jack said, “What’s happening with Stockman, Miller, Maddox, the others?”

“I don’t have details on those investigations, other than Stockman was arraigned this morning in the the shooting of Roger Maddox. The other investigations are federal. There’s a lot of evidence to weed through.”

“Didn’t Stockman hire Joe Carter to kill Devin Klein and Liz Swanson?” I said.

“According to Stockman, Carter killed Dr. Klein and Mrs. Swanson at the behest of Mildred Maddox. No money exchanged hands, possibly because Carter was on the payroll of Marconi’s club. Carter’s dead, so we have a lot of work to do to substantiate what Stockman claims. I don’t know yet that we can prove it either way, though at a minimum, Stockman would be an accessory to murder. Mrs. Maddox hasn’t been interviewed yet, as she’s been in the hospital with her husband and any interview would be considered under duress. However, the FBI is scheduling a formal interview through her attorney, and her passport has been frozen.”

I wondered if Mildred would play the ignorant or senile card like she did with Jack and me. Or if she would put all the blame on Stockman as he was putting the blame on her. No honor among thieves, I thought with a sneer, thinking about what Tim Miller had said. I asked, “And Miller?”

“Cooperating,” Langford said. “His cooperation will help tremendously, not only because of what he personally knows and can testify to, but because of the video of Carter entering the medical center the night Klein was killed.”

“Will the manipulation of those videos make them null and void?” I asked. “Because he cut them into smaller files.”

He looked at me as if confused. “They’ll be analyzed by an independent tech expert, but I think they’ll stand.”

“Good,” I said. “And what about the drug trial? The Neurovantix drug is supposed to be approved this week.”

“That’s where this gets somewhat interesting. A Dr. Nadine Pierce from the Austin VA has filed a motion to postpone approval for the Neurovantix drug pending full review of all trial phases. In light of the conspiracy that Stockman was part of, I don’t see how the drug will be approved. Dr. Pierce appears to be taking lead on this part, and it’s not my area of expertise, nor do we have any jurisdiction. The FBI would know more.”

“As long as no one else is harmed by that drug,” I said. I made a mental note to ask Quincy to find out what was going on.

“What about Marconi?” Jack asked.

“All I can say is that we’re actively investigating both Marconi and Mildred Maddox. In addition, I received a memo from the local FBI office that they are starting extradition proceedings for Willa Blankenship. Perhaps she can shed light on all this.”

It was the best we could hope for. I wanted them all to go away for the rest of their lives.

But mostly, I wanted my dad home.

Chapter Forty-Nine

Ava Angelhart