FOLLOW THE LEADER - Chapter 82

Chapter 82


It turned out that Colin’s bullet missed both the heart and lungs of Jason Powers, but it hit his spine. The attending physician said it was too early to tell if he would be able to walk unaided. Late afternoon of the next day he was fully conscious inside SF General Hospital.

Chief Howell signaled the attending nurse to leave the room. 

She did.

He hovered over Powers.

“There are a lot of people who want to hear from you,” he said. “They want to know what happened to their daughters.” 

“I’m not talking without my lawyer,” Powers said.

“Speaking of lawyers, the D.A. might cut you a little slack if you cooperate.”

“Define slack.”

“No death penalty.”

Powers said nothing.

“Some guys would rather be put to death than spend long years in prison for the rest of their lives. That’s what they say. But many years later, when that final morning comes around and the con eats his final breakfast and the priest comes in, he falls apart. He’ll shit his pants as they lead him down that long corridor.”

“So?”

“So there are at least eight graves in or around Death Valley.  If you want to escape death row, you can cooperate by identifying those remains. Which will give all those parents and relatives a modicum of closure.”

“They’ll never feel closure. ‘Closure’ is bullshit, and you know it.  Those parents will go to their own deaths still grieving for their daughters.”

He’s right, thought Howell. You never get over something so horrific. But he was not going to concede anything to Jason Powers.  He looked up at the IV feed. If there was some way, right now, to inject poison into Jason Power’s arm, he was ready. But the moment passed. His job was to glean as much information as possible from Powers before he lawyered up.

“Think about it,” said Howell.

He left the room before Powers could make another snarky reply.