Page 18 of Never Forget
And I'd failed.
I pulled into the driveway and sat there for a moment, hands on the wheel. Part of me wanted to see her. Just being near Jamie made the weight in my chest feel lighter, like I could breathe again. But I was about to walk in there with nothing. No honor guard. No flag-draped casket. No official recognition that her brother had died a hero.
Loretta answered before I could knock. She looked like she'd aged ten years in the past two days.
"Sam." She pulled me into a hug. "Thank you for coming."
"Of course."
"Jamie's out back. On the porch."
I found her sitting on the steps that led down to the yard, arms wrapped around her knees, staring at the darkness beyond the porch light.
She turned when the screen door creaked. Her face was pale, her eyes hollow, but she managed something that was almost a smile.
"Hey."
"Hey." I sat down beside her. "How are you holding up?"
She laughed, but there was no humor in it. "I have no idea. I think I'm still waiting to wake up."
We sat in silence for a moment. The crickets were loud, filling the space where words should have been.
"There's something I need to tell you," I said.
Jamie's posture shifted. I could feel her attention sharpen.
"The city isn't going to classify Jack's death as line of duty."
She was quiet for a moment.
"What does that mean?"
"It means no honors. No flag-draped casket. No federal benefits for Rosie." I stared at the yard because I couldn't look at her. "The city attorneys made the call this morning."
"On what grounds?"
I took a breath. "The building had been deemed unsafe. Command ordered everyone out. Jack went back in anyway."
"For a child."
"Yes."
"He saved her life."
"Yes."
"And they're calling that insubordination?"
I couldn't say anything.
Jamie was quiet for a long moment. I watched her face in the dim light—the way her jaw tightened, the way something shifted behind her eyes. She was filing this away. Storing it.
"City attorneys," she said. Not a question.
"That's what Cap told me. It came from downtown. The lawyers made the call and the chief's office signed off. Cap tried to fight it. He couldn't get anywhere."
"So they're protecting themselves from liability." Her voice was flat. "My brother saved a little girl's life, and they're treating him like a liability."
