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“You know, does she see things?”
“No, I don’t think she sees things.” He gestured toward her hands. “Or does terrible impressions of Jack Sparrow.”
“Poor Cassie. She must feel so alone sometimes.”
The thought had occurred to David more than once. “She’s tougher than she looks. She can handle it. Besides, she’s got me.”
“I’m not discounting that, but I think she needs more than just you. More than just us. She needs friends. She seemed so lost during the Baker case. It can’t be easy seeing what she sees.”
“I don’t think it is. But I’ve known Cassie a long time. She’s always struggled with her gift. It takes a toll on her sometimes. But this is the first time I’ve seen her embrace it like this. Before, she’d treat it like a job. A necessary evil. Now she’s treating it like a calling.”
“Good for her.” Harris let the silence carry on for a moment or two. “Okay, I’ve got a moral dilemma for you.”
“Go for it.”
“This guy, Shapiro. You’re pretty sure he killed how many people?”
“Twelve. At least.”
“Right. Twelve people. Someone comes along and kills him. Is that person good or bad?”
“Is this a trick question?”
Harris laughed. “Not really. It’s the Dexter dilemma, isn’t it?”
“That TV show where the serial killer killed other serial killers?”
“Exactly. What Dexter did was wrong within the confines of the law, but he likely saved countless lives while doing it. I mean, the FBI tells us there’s what, fifty to a hundred active serial killers at any time in our country alone? Following that train, Dexter stopped dozens of murderers from taking more victims. Shapiro was a prolific serial killer. If we’d have caught him twenty years ago, he would’ve been arrested, tried in front of a jury of his peers, convicted, and likely sentenced to death. The person who killed Shapiro carried out that same sentence, only he saved taxpayers a cool hundred grand a year.”
“But you’re talking about a person taking matters into their own hands. We have laws against that. Part of our job is to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“True.” Harris let her feet drop to the ground as she leaned forward in her chair. “But our system isn’t perfect. Humans are flawed, and so the system is flawed. How many criminals have you seen walk over the years? Hell, you can even look at this case. You said yourself your Captain didn’t put as many resources into it as he should have, and because of that, Shapiro got away with his crimes for two decades.”
David thought of Stockton’s easy dismissal of the case. He thought the victims weren’t important. Weren’t worth his time. And so he let the bodies pile up. “That’s a big jump from ‘we could’ve done better’ to ‘we should be applauding the guy who killed him.’”
“I’m not applauding anyone.” Harris held up her hands in surrender. “You know me. I’m as by-the-book as they come. I’m not asking whether Shapiro’s killer committed a crime. He did. I’m asking whether he did anything wrong.”
“It depends on who you ask. Christianity tells us Thou shalt not kill. But an atheist might have a different opinion. We give leeway to cops and members of the military, provided there’s a valid enough reason to kill someone. But does it really make a difference whether the person who killed Shapiro was a soldier or a civilian?”
“These are all good questions, but I think you’re avoiding the answer. I’m not asking just any Christian or any atheist or any cop or any soldier. I’m asking you.”
David’s mouth twisted to the side. “I’m not sad Shapiro is dead. But whoever killed him still ended another person’s life. We have a process to go through before we can enact capital punishment. They skipped those steps. That’s wrong, no matter how you look at it. I’d still arrest them. I’d still want them to be punished for their crime.”
“Let me ask you this, then.” Harris leaned back in her chair. “What if it was Novak instead of Shapiro? What if someone had killed him before he ever laid his hands on Cassie? Would you still arrest the killer, or would you thank him for a job well-done?”
David didn’t know what to say. He wanted to believe his opinion wouldn’t change, that he’d be tried-and-true no matter the circumstances. But when it came to Cassie, all bets were off. If he could’ve shielded her from all the pain she’d experienced, he would’ve stopped at nothing. If someone had hunted Novak down and killed him in his sleep, he would’ve shaken the person’s hand and sent them on their way.
Harris seemed satisfied with his stunned silence. She stood and opened the door with a smirk on her face. “Just something to think about. I’ll send Paulson in to help you.”
19
“So, we never really talked about last night,” Laura said.
Cassie looked up from a table covered in antique dinnerware and found Laura avoiding her gaze and inspecting a stoneware flowerpot with a yellow daisy design. They were at the Paris Market on West Broughton to see if they could find any cute houseware items to take home to their mom in a few days. It smelled like musty books and furniture polish.
“Is there stuff to talk about?” Cassie asked.
Laura finally looked up, her face full of concern. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “We saw a dead body.”
