hold the press conference.”
“And I have to call a Fed about your deposition, and call a friend to get you a lawyer. So let’s do this.”
They went their separate ways with purpose—Wyrick to the office, and Charlie to the den, and at 2:00 p.m. Charlie knocked on the office door and walked in.
There was an empty Pepsi bottle on her desk and a candy wrapper near it, and her dark eyes looked haunted. He had a momentary urge to put his arms around her and just hold her, and then the thought startled the hell out of him, so he frowned instead.
“Quit what you’re doing and come to the kitchen. I have pizza.”
She stood, picked up her trash and followed him. She tossed the trash, then sat down at the kitchen table where she’d sat with Merlin, planning his earthly exit. She wiped her hands across her face.
“Don’t talk yet. Just eat,” Charlie said, and so she did.
She downed two pieces of the hamburger-and-mushroom pizza and drank the glass of sweet tea he had waiting, then got a chocolate chip cookie from the plate between them.
At that point, Charlie started talking.
“Your lawyer’s name is Judd Perry. He’s a shark and a friend. He’ll protect you. Is that okay?”
She nodded.
“Then I’ll let him know later. The DOJ is hedging about setting a day and time to talk to you, which leads me to believe they may be working on plea agreements in lieu of trials.”
She nodded. Whatever happened, she had to deal with it. She crumbled the cookie she was holding onto her plate and then put her hands in her lap.
“I have received, at last count, eighty-five death threats. Proposals of marriage from twenty-two men and three women. I have hundreds upon hundreds of requests for winning lottery numbers. A good number of churches tell me I’m a child of the devil. A few others offered to save my soul for a generous donation. Every major newspaper wants an interview. I have invitations to appear on every major talk show, from all of the big networks. If circus sideshows still existed, I would be the freak show’s main attraction. Some people have given statements to the press saying they’ve known me since birth and that I’m from another planet.”
She picked up a piece of the cookie she’d crumbled and put it in her mouth. She was crying as she chewed and didn’t know it.
“It was harder than I expected to find the right venue for the press conference, but I’ve reserved the Innovation Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency DFW International for eight days from now. They had an event cancellation, or I wouldn’t have been able to get it. I hired the media company they work with to set it up. It will be by invitation only, so no media will be allowed in without a pass. There will be facial recognition software at the main entrance, and guards between the main entrance and the one into the ballroom stopping anyone who doesn’t pass inspection. If I’m assassinated, it’s on my own terms.”
Charlie came out of his chair, circled the table and pulled her up, wrapping his arms around her so fast and so tight that she didn’t have time to resist.
“Don’t! Just don’t fucking say that. You might feel like you’re alone in this shit storm, but you’re not! Understood? I’ve got your back. You have friends in the FBI who have your back. You just got a dose of the nutcases, but there are way more people who will think you’re God’s gift to the world, and see you as a victim of what UT did, not as a part of it.”
Wyrick was in shock that she was in his arms, but everything he was saying was burying the panic.
Charlie rocked her where they stood, holding her close. He couldn’t stand by and let her think she had to hurt alone. She was Wyrick. She was his friend and his partner. And she was breaking his heart.
For the longest time, neither spoke, and when he finally turned her loose, she looked up at him.
“In the movies, this is where the hero runs his fingers through the heroine’s hair and tells her it’s going to be okay, but we’re shit out of luck here. I’m bald, and you’re my boss, and so I’m just going to say thank you once, and trust you to remember that still stands, even if I never say it again.”
Charlie blinked, and then he