Page 28 of I’ll Be Watching You

“It’s a long story, and I only have some of the answers.”

We went into the conference room, and I sat next to Mom. We both had part of the story, and I needed to make sure she didn’t change her mind about telling us the truth. I didn’t know how I would do that, but I hoped it didn’t come to that.

“I don’t know where to begin,” Mom said. “The primary reason you’re here, however, is that your father was transferred to a federal penitentiary in Colorado. It happened early this morning, without warning, without notification to his lawyer.”

“Colorado?” Jack asked. “Which prison?”

Mom hesitated, so I said, “Supermax.”

“Why?” Jack demanded. “Why would he be sent to the most secure prison in the country? Why out of state?”

“I don’t have those answers,” Mom said. “Rita is working on it, but so far all we know is that the order came from a federal judge. It’s sealed. The warden said it’s for Cooper’s protection.”

“In the middle of the night?” Jack asked, sounding like he didn’t believe any of this. I was still having a hard time wrapping my head around it, but I’d had an hour car drive to let it sink in.

“Yes. The warden was aware of the court order late yesterday afternoon. The transfer was scheduled for Friday, but when the warden arrived this morning, Cooper was already gone. He’s trying to help, but Rita is in a better position to get answers at this point.” She rested her hand on the manila envelope that Tony Zanutti had given her. There wasn’t much else to add because they didn’t know who had requested the transfer, the nature of the threat, or how much danger Dad was actually in.

“Is that why you and Margo went down to the prison?” Jack asked, gesturing to the distinctive Eyman State Prison label on the paperwork in front of her.

“No,” Mom said. “We didn’t know he had been transferred until we arrived. Margo and I had a scheduled visit.”

I cleared my throat. Already, Mom was obfuscating. I knew she was nervous and scared—I was scared about Dad as well—but I wasn’t going to start this conversation by hedging.

Mom hesitated, as if not knowing how to begin. So I did, because I damn well knew how to start.

“Monday night I got a call from Liz Swanson, who used to be one of Dad’s nurses. She saw something wonky in the electronic medical records for one of her patients.”

“Why’d she call you?” Tess asked.

“Long story short? Dr. Klein’s former assistant, Georgia Rollins.” I explained why I’d sought her out, how she disappeared, and everything Liz told me on the phone Monday. “She agreed to meet me, but never showed. She and her husband were murdered, shot in front of their house early Tuesday morning.”

Nico straightened. “My office is processing evidence from that case. North Peoria. You were there?”

“After the fact. I was waiting for her at a coffee shop down the street. But when I saw a line of cops and emergency vehicles parade by, I became concerned so went to her house. It was roped off, but I put two and two together.” With a little help from Josie, but I didn’t say that.

“What does that have to do with Dad’s transfer?” Jack asked.

“I talked to him yesterday. Told him about Liz, begged him to tell me the truth about Devin’s murder. He refused.” I glanced at Mom. “Mom promised to share everything. Everything,” I emphasized, my eyes fixed on hers.

She closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were damp.

“Mom, it’s okay,” Tess said, leaning over and taking her hand. “Dad is fine. If it’s a protective order, then maybe they had a reason to transfer him, and something got lost in the process so we weren’t told.”

Tess, the eternal optimist, I thought.

Mom shook her head. “I don’t know where to begin.”

“What’s in here?” Tess asked kindly, touching the manila envelope.

“Phone logs, visitor records, a cell phone he used.” Mom slid it over to Tess.

“Mom,” I pushed when she didn’t continue. “You have been thwarting my investigation into the truth about what happened to Devin for years. Dad is innocent. Yet you and Dad went along with this lie that Dad killed his friend in cold blood. Why?”

“To protect you.”

“I don’t need your protection.”

“Yes. You. Do! You all do.”