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“You…tell me.” My father spoke with effort, managing a shaky smile, and my mother smiled back.
“You’re doing great. Your surgery was a success, and you’re going to be okay.”
My father paused. “Did you…pray a novena?”
“You know I did. You can thank me anytime.”
My father’s face softened. “Thank you…I love you.”
“I love you, too.” My mother kissed him on the cheek and smoothed back his hair. “How do you feel? Are you in pain?”
“Not…much.” My father shifted his weary gaze to Gabby. “Love you…honey. I picked a good day…to see you at work, huh?”
“Or a bad day.” Gabby’s eyes began to glisten. “I’m so sorry—”
“No…hush,” my father interrupted, speaking with effort. “I’m…sorry. You were right…about John.”
My mother interjected, “Paul, I told her already. We can talk about it later when you feel better. The doctor said you need to rest. This isn’t the time.”
“Yes…it is.” My father lifted an eyebrow, amused. “I gotta tell these kids…how I feel…What if I…throw a clot, Marie? I could check out…any minute.”
“That’s not funny.” My mother chuckled, and so did Gabby, but I sensed he wasn’t kidding.
My father squeezed my hand feebly, turning to me. “TJ…nice work…today.”
My throat caught. “Hardly. I almost got you killed.”
“Nah…just the opposite.” My father smiled, shaking his head. “You passed me…the ball. You made the…mother of all assists. It was…a total MVP move.”
MVP, me?My heart eased, and I felt tears in my eyes. “I love you, Dad.”
“I love you…too.” My father paused. “Who was…that guy anyway? Why did he…wanna kill Gabby?”
My mother interjected again, “We’ll talk about it later. TJ cracked the case.”
My father smiled again, his eyelids fluttering. “That’s…my boy.”
Wow.I squeezed his hand, and he held mine.
Neither of us let go.
Chapter Sixty-One
I sat in the gallery of the courtroom with my mother, father, Gabby, Martin, and Nancy, who’d left Connor at home with her parents. We were dressed like we were going to a funeral, and it was hard not to feel that way. John was pleading guilty today and was due here any minute. We’d come separately on the advice of both lawyers.
My family and I sat in silence, cowed by the size and grandeur of the federal courtroom. Wood panels encased us on all four sides, and the jury box and the witness stand were monoliths of dense, indeterminate wood. The judge wasn’t in the courtroom yet, and the dais was the biggest monolith of all. It was flanked by flags of the United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and between them hung the massive, round seal of the federal district court, as bronze as a burnished sun.
The assistant U.S. attorneys weren’t here, and we were the only people in the courtroom except for two lawyers talking in the back, their occasional laughter echoing in the cavernous space. I couldn’t imagine being that relaxed in a courtroom. I still had my knee-jerk reaction to authority, as nervous as if I were the one under federal criminal indictment. Even the air-conditioning was powerful, setting my teeth on edge.
Our lives had turned upside down since John’s indictment, but we were getting used to the new normal. My father had required additional surgery and was still in rehab. His brush with death had become a de facto retirement, and the scandal that broke after John’s arrest had made staying in business impossible. Devlin & Devlin was defunct. The Runstan acquisition had gone through, since Stan had committed no wrongdoing. John had been covering for himself when he’d lied to me about telling Stan about Lemaire.
Surprisingly, my father hadn’t taken the emotional nosedive we’d all feared when the office closed. The media reported that he’d saved Gabby at Hessian Post Plaza, which salvaged his reputation. It also made me see him with new eyes. He wanted to be the family hero, and in a way, he was. He sold the practice and made sure that the clients John had cheated were made whole, with interest.
My mother took him to his various doctor appointments, and despite their troubles, she seemed less burdened, too. She was taking a Dante class online with a famous professor, and her nose was always buried in theDivine Comedy. Today she sat silently next to me, and I worried about her.
I leaned over. “Mom, what would Dante tell us about today?”
“That we’re entering purgatory.”
