“That’s right. And what’s next for her is that she’s fully prepared to testify against you and Louis for murdering her brother and covering that up for six years while you accepted the community’s generosity after the tragic murder of your son.”
“I didn’t kill him.”
“You knew who did all this time and didn’t report it.”
“Do you want to know why?”
“Yes, please enlighten me.”
“Because he told me that he had friends ready to do away with me and Amara if I breathed a word of it to anyone. And, he said, he’d make sure we suffered for every year he’d been forced to put up with us. After what I’d seen him do to my son, I believed him.”
“Thank you for sharing your story with us,” Sam said, appreciating the courage it’d taken.
“What’s going to happen now?”
“We’ll confer with the Assistant U.S. Attorney and see what she thinks.”
While they stood to leave the room, Thelma nodded and reached for another tissue. “I don’t care what happens to me, but I hope that son of a bitch spends the rest of his miserable life in prison.”
Freddie ended the recording before he followed Sam into the hallway where Hope and Malone waited for them.
“Wow,” Hope said. “Like with Amara, I believe her.”
“I do, too.”
“Same,” Freddie said.
“Ditto,” Malone added.
“Will this be enough for McDermott on top of what Amara gave us?” Sam asked Hope.
“Let me go back to her. I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks, Hope.”
After she and Malone had walked away, Sam turned to Freddie. “Talking to her was a very good call on your part. Well done, Detective.”
“Thank you. What do you think will happen now?”
“If there’s any justice in this world, then Louis Bingham will be charged with first-degree murder. Let’s do a deep dive into him and see who we’re dealing with.”
They ran into Malone on the way back to the pit. “The White House has identified our John Doe as Sergei Ivanov, a well-known Russian activist who’s been on the front lines of criticizing the Petrov regime.”
“Oh my God, Gretchen Henderson’s Russian is our John Doe,” Sam said. “Holy shit.”
“Um, what?” Malone asked.
She filled him and Freddie in on the news about Gretchen that the rest of the world would soon learn. “Keep that between us until it’s made public.”
Freddie folded his arms as he leaned against the wall. “Jeez, I hate this for Nick. It’s the last thing he needs.”
“I knew she was bad news,” Sam said. “I knew it.”
“You did?” Malone asked. “Really?”
“Oh yeah. From the word go, I didn’t get a good vibe from her.”
“Did you tell Nick?” Freddie asked.
