wanted to bring a child into their family. She loved babies but she didn’t need a baby. There were so many young children who needed a family to love and care for them.
But not now. Clearly, they had some huge hurdles to overcome. Getting Sean out of jail was only the beginning.
As Patrick drove them to Houston, leaving before the sun had even come up, she asked him about the young family that Elle, his longtime girlfriend, had been working to keep together. Patrick and Elle had brought the three kids with them for Thanksgiving, and Lucy had seen another side of Elle, who she had butted heads with over the years. For the first time, she could see what Patrick saw in the criminal defense lawyer. A strength and deep compassion that had her fighting for the underdog.
Patrick seemed surprised that she’d asked.
“The kids are doing well, thanks,” he said. “Elle found them a foster family and they’re together. She’s still working with the older girl because of the repeated arrests—that kid is her own worst enemy sometimes. But Elle got her into a community service program instead of doing time in juvie, and as long as she keeps her nose clean, her record will be expunged when she’s eighteen.”
“You were great with them,” Lucy said. “Both you and Elle.”
“They drew the short straw with their parents,” he said. “We were lucky, Lucy. Mom and Dad weren’t perfect—Dad was tough on everyone, except maybe you—but they gave us exactly what we needed and they loved us.”
“Dad was tough on me,” she said quietly. Not while growing up—one of the benefits of being so much younger than her brothers and sisters was that she had been a bit spoiled and she didn’t have the same restrictions they did. But as an adult, she sometimes felt like she’d constantly disappointed her father and worried her mother. It wasn’t because she was a cop—half her family were cops—but because of other choices she’d made. Her dad was still was angry with her for pursuing the cold case into her nephew’s murder. And some of the things he’d said … they still hurt.
“Hey, you okay?”
“Yeah, just thinking.”
“We’re going to get Sean out of this.”
At least she could change the subject away from their family. Patrick was right: they had had an amazingly wonderful childhood. They were hardly rich—her dad had a terrific career with the Army, but they lived on a single government salary. Her siblings had been raised as Army brats, but not her. Her dad took a permanent post in San Diego when she was three, so she only remembered that house, not moving around from base to base like her brothers and sisters. Growing up she’d often felt left out when they talked about the different bases and schools, things they did together as a family. But she cherished the relationship she had with them now.
Especially now when she needed them the most.
“Elise Hunt set this up,” Lucy said, “but she’s not working alone. I can’t figure out who is helping her. She doesn’t have money to hire people. I might concede that she has contacts here, but they would be her sister’s contacts, not hers. She was only in San Antonio for a few weeks before we arrested her.”
“But her family has contacts. Her father.”
“They’ve been out of commission for two years.”
“I don’t have to tell you that criminals can run their enterprise from prison.”
True, Lucy thought. Jimmy Hunt could be orchestrating the whole thing from California, using Elise on the ground.
“That restraining order is serious,” Patrick said. “You’re a federal agent and it could go on your record.”
“I know. I already have a message from Rachel, my boss, about it. I texted her that I would explain later, but I can’t do it now. I have to focus on Sean.”
Her phone rang and it was Rick Stockton. “Director,” she answered formally. She was still upset with him from yesterday and the feeling she couldn’t shake that he wasn’t sold on Sean’s innocence.
“I just got off the phone with Megan. Jimmy Hunt was transferred to the Beaumont prison. He testified against a known cartel hit man, Michael Thompson. The DEA arranged for it, and since they’re the ones prosecuting Thompson, I didn’t hear about it.”
This was no coincidence. Jimmy was in Texas; Elise was in Texas.
“When?”
“He was transferred two weeks ago from Victorville. The trial was this week, and he’s being transported back to Victorville on Monday. Megan is