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Daddy! It was Daddy! His younger self was so excited, giggling as he reached for the lock.
No.
No, no, no.
“The glass. It was f-foggy,” Jimmy stammered, his chest shuddering as clarity stole away his breath. “I thought it was my dad. But, but it wasn’t! I let… Oh my God. I let him in. I let him in.”
“You let David in,” Augustus said, tense and uncertain.
“No,” Jimmy insisted, the memories flashing vividly before his eyes. He hadn’t realized it, but Cold was right beside him, folding their hands together. “I thought it was. I did. That’s why I opened the door. But I was wrong.”
The memory continued to move forward, and the Man in the White Coat brushed by him and went straight to his mother. They were arguing. The knife—where did he get the knife? It hit her in the stomach first, and that’s when Jimmy sobbed.
No, Daddy.
Not Daddy at all. It wasn’t David, but why couldn’t Jimmy see his face? Why couldn’t he see who it was that was hurting his mom?
He let him in. He let him in.
Jimmy collapsed into Cold’s strong arms, sobbing hysterically. “It’s my fault. The Man in White… I let him in the house. I thought it was my dad. But it wasn’t. It wasn’t him!”
Augustus had the decency to look upset, but he was still clearly not convinced.
“Breathe, Jimmy,” Cold ordered, his tone firm and soothing. “It’s not your fault.”
Jimmy cried harder and trembled all over.
Maybe Augustus was right.
Maybe David…
No!
Jimmy forced himself to examine the memory, as painful as it was, and look at the white coat of the man who killed his mother. It wasn’t a doctor’s coat.
No, it was a white suit jacket.
The memory was shaky, but he could remember when David came home and found him and his mother later. Yes, he was also wearing a white coat, but it had his name embroidered on it and was still wet from the rain. Jimmy could recall the damp feeling on his face when David hugged him close, much like the damp pressed against his cheek now from crying so much.
Jimmy slowly calmed down and kept taking deep breaths. He didn’t care what Augustus said. David didn’t kill Eliza. There was another man there that night.
Holding Jimmy close, Cold rubbed his back, not caring about the wetness Jimmy left on his shirt. He glanced back at Augustus expectantly, nodding for him to keep going.
“When the Luchesis contacted me and told me to keep the case rock solid against David, I didn’t even ask why.” Augustus sighed, holding out his hands, looking at Jimmy without a hint of regret. “It wasn’t the first time they’d asked me to do something like that. And everything I ever did helped put guilty men behind bars.”
“All men who also happened to be enemies of the Luchesi family,” Cold drawled. “Except David Poe. You didn’t find it odd?”
“If I ever asked questions, they’d start talking about what school Anna went to,” Augustus said quietly. “I did what I had to do, and I was putting bad men in prison. When you took over, all of that stopped. I never heard from the Luchesis ever again.”
“Who contacted you from the Luchesi family?” Cold demanded. “I need a name, Detective.”
“Gregory Rees,” Augustus replied defeatedly.
Cold’s jaw twitched. He knew the name. His lips stretched in a mirthless smile. “Tell me, Detective Duplin. How would you like to help me catch a murderer?”
Chapter twenty-three
It took quite a bit of convincing for Augustus to accept Cold’s deal. Augustus was resistant, but Cold would not back down. Jimmy wished he had been privy to the entire conversation, but it soon got so heated that Cold asked Jimmy to leave the room.
