Chapter 7

Fiore arrived at Jarrod's home as expected, and Jarrod let him in. It took only as long as to close the door before Jarrod asked, "The article in the morning paper – is it Agatha Cromwell's ring you've broken up?"

Fiore broke into a big smile. "It is."

"How?" Jarrod asked, his smile nearly as big.

"Silly, actually, but that's what happens sometimes," Fiore said. "One of her engravers got drunk in a card game and beat up a man he didn't know was a police officer, threatened him with a gun, too. The policeman was going to throw the 'informal' book at him hard, so he gave up his partners in exchange for a pass on the charges from the card game. He's got counterfeiting charges, but we've already struck a deal with him on those. His male partners were picked up last night. Agatha Cromwell was picked up this afternoon. Do you have depositions for me?"

Jarrod ushered Fiore into the living room, where he took the papers out of his briefcase and gave them over. "Four witnesses. Confront her with these and Melanie Palmer's identification, and you can have a good case against her."

Fiore took the papers. "Her actions against you and your family are State jurisdiction, but we won't let her up easy, though we might cut some kind of deal with her. Regardless, between our system and the State's, she's going to do a lot of jail time."

"I hope you can keep her in the federal system," Jarrod said. "I'd hate for her to get her hands on Melanie Palmer in Quentin."

"Understood. We'll do what we can. Do you want to see her?"

Jarrod raised an eyebrow. "You'd let me?"

"Yes, I would."

"When?"

"She'll be arraigned tomorrow at ten. Come by my office at nine, and I'll give you a few minutes with her."

Jarrod nodded. Not that he had much to say to her, but he wanted to see her. Or actually, he wanted her to see him.

"I'll be there," Jarrod said.

Jarrod showed Fiore out, and then he came in and flopped down in his favorite chair. He was really tired, and then suddenly his chest began to hurt. Maybe the chicken and dumplings, but maybe not. He began to feel very uncomfortable, so he reached into the inside breast pocket of his jacket for some pills he kept handy – but there was nothing there.

Oh, great, he thought. Looks like every silver lining has to have a cloud.

He consciously relaxed and breathed through it until the pain eased off. Then he just shook his head. The fates may not have been unkind to him this day, but they certainly were fickle.

XXXXXXX

The next morning at nine, Fiore showed Jarrod to a room used for questioning, and a moment later, he brought a woman in. She looked to be in her late 40s, wearing just a prison gray smock, handcuffed. She was not sad looking though, as Jarrod thought she might be. Instead, she looked at him and smiled. An ugly smile, but a smile.

"Well, Jarrod Barkley," she said. "This is a surprise."

"More so for me," Jarrod said. "I didn't expect you to be taken down so fast."

"Twist of fate," she said. "You've come to gloat?"

"No," Jarrod said. "Just to see who brought my family so much grief. Was it worth it?"

She just shrugged. "I really don't know what you're talking about."

Acting ignorant. Smart woman. Jarrod smiled. "You'll go to prison for a good long time."

"Perhaps," she said. "Truth be told, life hasn't been worth all that much to me – since my husband died, thanks to the Barkleys."

"He's why you came after us."

"Me? Come after you?"

"Because of Carpenter. Because of his son."

She smiled that ugly smile again. "I've learned a lot about you and your brothers over the years, and your mother and sister. Since Alex died – well, life changed. I've built my little network of people who know things, or who know people who know things. Even if I were inclined to come after any of you – to see that at least one of you paid for Alex's son, for Alex – well, we both know I don't have to do that. The Good Lord is taking care of that for me."

Jarrod's skin crawled. What was she saying?

She smiled even more, and she aimed a finger at the center of his chest. He grabbed her hand before she could touch him, and for a moment he seriously considered breaking her arm.

She knew. How did she know?

She gasped at the way he twisted her arm, but he stopped, and she went back to her ugly smile. "When a man is seen coming out of the office of Dr. Anthony Lumen, it's obvious why he went in there in the first place."

Jarrod found himself squeezing her arm now, almost twisting it again, but he stopped himself. Assaulting a prisoner would get him locked up himself. Instead he pushed her arm away. His eyes burned fire at her.

She didn't flinch. "I supposed I'll have to give up my network now, but it doesn't matter anymore. What I wanted will come to pass before too long, and I won't have to lift a finger to make it happen. Good-bye, Mr. Barkley. I hope you got what you wanted out of me."

She banged on the door, and the matron outside opened it. She left without looking back and seeing the increasing anger in his face – and the way he shut his eyes against it.

Jarrod left the building with only a cursory good-bye to Fiore, who saw the look on his face and said quickly, "She won't hurt you or your family or anyone else anymore, I promise you that."

Jarrod nodded to him and said, "I know. Thank you," and left.

Once outside on the street, he took time to get himself back together. So she knew. His deepest secret. It didn't matter. She was not in control of anything anymore, and it appeared she was ready to give up her idea of killing any of the Barkleys, simply because she did know what she knew.

A tightening in his chest made Jarrod stand and breathe deeply and evenly until it passed, and with it went the concern he had about Agatha Cromwell knowing what she knew. It just didn't matter now. It was even something good, if she really would leave his family alone now.

He kept telling himself that until he actually believed it.