Chapter 6
"Talk us through what happened?" Nyall O'Day asked.
Remorseful eyes gazed at the inspector during his inquiry. She sighed and lowered her eyes, unable to maintain eye contact with the two men beside her.
Confession Statement of Edit Reagan
Video Recording
"I need to pee, ma'am." She asked the nurse
"Go on, I will follow you, Reagan,"
Once Eddie was sure she was hidden, she turned and smashed her casted forearm against the nurse who was following her. The nurse crumpled to the floor mid-sentence.
Dragging the unconscious nurse to the rear, she pulled the shank from her pocket. Making sure her face was directed away from the camera, she walked towards Candy, lying cuffed in her hospital bed.
"Reagan, leave me alone, you pig. I don't feel very well," Candy told Eddie as she approached the woman. Eddie smiled at the moaning woman, knowing that she had only moments left to live.
Plunging the shank into her chest until Harrington's ribs stopped the plastic handle, she twisted the shank free and repeated the process on the opposite side. The air could be heard rushing out as she breathed in.
"Ouchh!" She cried as she plunged the shank into the side of her neck; her blood-soaked hand slipped up the handle, slicing her fingers open as they slid across the edge of the blade.
Rushing back to the bathroom, she tossed her blood-covered prison coveralls to the floor and quickly put on the nurse's scrubs. After wrapping her bleeding fingers with gauze, she slipped her hand into her pocket.
"Guards, I need help in here!" shouted a voice before Eddie could run. Two correctional officers rushed in. "Oh, you little bitch!" screamed a guard, noticing the naked nurse unconscious on the bathroom floor.
Eddie collapsed to the floor as the electricity flowed into her body from the two prongs of a taser sticking into her leg. Her eyes burned as the pepper spray entered her eyes.
Moments later, she was rolled onto her front and physically restrained.
"She is dead," Eddie heard.
End of video
BB
ADA Lisa Patterson viewed the recorded confession alongside her boss, DA Kimberly Crawford.
"Twenty-five years," Kimberly informed her assistant district attorney.
"What about Beresford? Can we propose a deal that might persuade her to confess to his murder now?" Lisa inquired.
Crawford considered Lisa's question. "Forty-five years, with the possibility of parole after forty. She's still young enough to enjoy life outside later on. If we take this to trial, we'll seek life without parole; she would spend her life in prison. I can assure her protective custody to ensure her safety, provided she refrains from committing any further crimes," the district attorney declared.
"Go ask Reagan if she will take the deal. Make sure she doesn't want her council present," Kimberly said.
Her ringing desk phone abruptly ended their conversation as she glanced at her caller ID. "Hi, Erin. Thank you for getting back to me," she answered, indicating with her hand that she needed her office.
BB
'911, Bay Ridge now,' was the text all Reagan family members received from Erin.
Erin sat at the dining table, holding her coffee mug, unaware of her surroundings. She was still shocked after speaking with her former boss, district attorney Kimberly Crawford.
"Erin!" Henry tried to get her attention, but she remained oblivious to the assembled Reagan clan.
"Erin, sweetheart," Henry tried again.
Tears streaming down her face, Erin gazed up at her grandfather, indicating she had been crying for a while. "Erin, what's troubling you?"
As she wiped her eyes, Erin showed no concern, smudging her makeup. "Eddie..." Her sobbing stopped her from continuing.
Jack approached his fiancée and pulled her head onto his shoulder, allowing her to cry.
" Eddie was attacked last night; her left forearm was broken by an inmate, Candy Harrington, the mother of a nine-month-old girl. Somehow, she gained access to the exercise room. Eddie had a cast placed on her arm and stayed overnight for observation." Jack paused momentarily to check on Erin.
"Jack!" a worried Jamie called out. He was concerned that his sister was not typically an overly emotional woman.
Jack held Erin and continued, "Harrington was admitted to the hospital with abdominal pain. She was secured to her bed while they treated her… "
Erin raised her hand to stop Jack because she wanted to continue speaking. Eddie subdued the nurse while she was being escorted to the bathroom. She hit her with her cast, knocking her out cold." She paused to wipe away her tears. "She stabbed Harrington three times: twice in her chest and once in her neck. Correctional officers detained Eddie; they had to tase and pepper spray her.
After Erin finished, the room fell silent. Jamie looked pale and found it hard to accept what he had just heard. "No! No!" he muttered. Not Eddie! No, no." Maria knelt and hugged her brother-in-law, trying to console him as he stood on the cliff's edge.
"Kimberly Crawford told me the whole incident was captured on camera. Eddie confessed to the murder of Harrington. Kimberly is recommending twenty-five years. They are offering her a deal: if she admits to murdering Beresford, she will serve forty-five years, with the possibility of parole after forty. Erin explained.
"Twenty-five years?" Danny asked
Jack nodded in confirmation. "Eddie orphaned a nine-month-old girl. Harrington was handcuffed to the hospital bed and has admitted to the murder. It's not a bad deal, Danny. Believe me," Jack announced. "We are going to see her from here." He paused and locked eyes with Erin, who nodded her head in silent confirmation.
"Jamie, I will try to arrange a time for you to see her. She needs to talk with you," Erin told her little brother.
BB
"Garret, calm down. She is no longer a member of the NYPD; remember, I terminated her yesterday. Eddie is just my daughter-in-law and a former member of the NYPD. You can handle the press; this matter has nothing to do with the police commissioner. I will address this if needed," Frank told his overstressed DCPI.
Frank stepped into the kitchen, distancing himself from the gathered Reagans, and settled down. He felt the urge to think; although he wished to keep this within the family, he recognised the necessity to tackle it immediately. Staying silent would lead to complications.
"Alright, please prepare a statement for my review. Schedule a press conference for later this morning. Thanks, Garrett." He lowered his head and took a moment to collect his thoughts. This would test the Reagan family like never before; Joe's murder was complicated, but Eddie could shatter them.
After ending the call, he put his cell phone down, breathed, and went to work.
"Maria, go and collect Luis, question the courier, and see what you can find out. To stay on plan, we will deal with this; we must wait for Erin and Jack to speak to Eddie." Frank commanded, "Danny, look into Candy Harrington. See if she has crossed paths with Eddie or any of her partners. Something tells me we will find more answers from her than before. I hoped you wouldn't ask me why I don't know yet, but my gut tells me this is important." He added as he looked at the puzzled looks on his family's faces.
Frank turned to his youngest and held up his hand to stop him from complaining about not receiving anything to do. "Wait to hear from your sister. The vital thing for you is to see Eddie, and she is going to feel isolated and all alone, as she is in a dark place. She needs to see you. She will need to hear we have her back; family comes first; I have taken her dream job from her." He told his youngest to see the understanding in his eyes
Frank felt a warmth in his heart as he observed the Reagan family disperse from the house. However, his intuition hinted that this recent turn of events was off. He respected Eddie Reagan; her insights were significant. She contributed her distinct opinions to the family discussions and frequently left him impressed with her different perspectives.
"I know that look. What are you thinking?" Henry asked his son.
Frank looked up at Henry and shook his head. "Not sure, Pop, my gut tells me something is wrong. I must look into this carefully; I don't know where yet." He answered carefully.
Henry agreed with a nod. "We must uncover the truth, Francis. I'm concerned about Eddie."
"So am I, Pop. So am I,"
BB
Erin hid her shock from ADA Lisa Patterson after watching the footage of Eddie murdering Candy Harrington. Erin watched her blonde sister-in-law plunge the shank she held into the neck of Harrington. The Black fibreglass cast on her left forearm was visible as she cried, 'Ouchh!' As her right hand slipped from the blood-soaked handle of the shank.
"Here are the crime scene photographs of the lacerations on her fingers from the shank. As you can see, they match perfectly." Lisa Patterson confidently told the two defence attorneys.
Scanning the pictures on their iPads, they scrolled through the bloody prison coveralls. Everything they had been presented with categorically pointed to Eddie as the murderer.
Erin was devastated. The evidence was overwhelmingly against Eddie. Her gut told her that, no matter what the evidence suggested, Eddie Reagan was not capable of cold-blooded murder. As a Reagan, she was genetically made to uphold the law. To satisfy her Reagan genes, she had to ask Eddie face-to-face. She had an innate ability to read people and knew if they were lying.
"Erin, I have a proposal for your sister-in-law," ADA Lisa Patterson declared, relishing her former colleague's expression. Erin Reagan understood how airtight the evidence was against her sister-in-law.
Erin nodded and waited for Lisa to continue. "If she confesses to Beresford's murder, she will receive forty-five years, with the possibility of parole after forty. She's still young enough to enjoy life outside later on. If she declines and takes it to trial, we will seek life without parole. Erin, this is a good deal. I suggest you try to persuade your sister-in-law." Offered ADA Lisa Patterson
"What about protective custody?" Jack asked after listening to Lisa's offer, noticing she neglected to mentionprotective custody.
"She has declined protective custody; Reagan requested to be placed in the general population," Lisa replied.
"What!" exclaimed Erin.
ADA Lisa Patterson acknowledged, "It's her choice. We cannot compel her. It would be ideal if you could convince her to reconsider."
"Can we see Eddie now?" Jack asked
"Ten minutes,"
To be continued