“Do you?”
“That would really change things.”
“Uh, yeah, it would.”
“Maybe we should take it slow.”
“Maybe we should.”
She tapped the steering wheel. “Sorry for jumping on you about this.”
“Forget it. And we just got Gabriel squared away with a great family. That was a big change, too. Slow is good right now. We go too fast, maybe we make a big mistake.”
Gabriel was an eleven-year-old boy from Alabama that Sean and Michelle had taken temporary custody of after his mother was killed. He was currently living with a family whose dad was an FBI agent they knew. The couple was in the process of formally adopting Gabriel.
“Okay,” she replied.
“And now we have a job to do. Let’s focus on that.”
“So that’s your priority list? Business trumps personal?”
“Not necessarily. But like you said, it’s a long drive. And I want to think about why we’re heading to the only federal maximum security institution for the criminally insane in the country, to meet with a guy whose life is definitely on the line.”
“We’re going because you and his lawyer go way back.”
“That part I get. Did you read up on Edgar Roy?”
Michelle nodded. “Government employee that lived alone in rural Virginia. His life was pretty average until the police discovered the remains of six people buried in his barn. Then his life became anything but average. The evidence to me seems overwhelming.”
Sean nodded. “Roy was found in his barn, shovel in hand, dirt on his pants, with the remains of six bodies buried in a hole he was apparently putting the finishing touches to.”
“A little tough to dance around that in court,” said Michelle.
“Too bad Roy’s not a politician.”
“Why?”
Sean smiled. “If he were a politician he could spin that story to say he was actually digging them out of the hole in order to save them but was too late; they were already dead. And now he’s being persecuted for being a Good Samaritan.”
“So he was arrested but failed a competency hearing. He was sent to Cutter’s Rock.” She paused. “But why Maine? Virginia didn’t have the facilities for him?”
“It was a federal case for some reason. That got the FBI involved. When the competency remand comes it’s wherever the Feds decide to send you. Some Fed max prison facilities have psych wards, but it was decided that Roy needed something more than that. St. Elizabeth’s in D.C. was moved to make way for a new Homeland Security HQ, and its new location was not deemed secure enough. So Cutter’s Rock was the only game in town.”
“Why the weird name?”
“It’s rocky, and a cutter is a type of ship. Maine is a seafaring state, after all.”
“I forgot you were a nautical guy.” She turned on the radio and the heater, and shivered. “God, it’s cold for not being winter yet,” she said grumpily.
“This is Maine. It can be cold any time of the year. Check the latitude.”
“The things one learns in enclosed spaces over long periods of time.”
“Now we do sound like an old married couple.” He turned his vent on full blast, zipped up his windbreaker, and closed his eyes.
CHAPTER
2