Page 124 of Never Forget
"He's going to plead," Morrison said. "Multiple charges, multiple victims. The alternative is worse. Part of any deal is full cooperation with victim claims. Including yours, Miss Donovan. The damages from the fire."
"I'd like to pursue that."
"We figured." Brooks tapped the table once. "Your attorney will be in touch. Montgomery's cooperation is part of the deal. He'll answer questions on the record."
Jamie nodded.
They stood. Morrison shook our hands at the door. Brooks said they'd be in touch.
The door closed.
Jamie didn't move from the kitchen. She had one hand on the back of the chair she'd been sitting in.
"He paid a man to set my house on fire with Rosie in it."
She closed her eyes.
I crossed to her and put my arms around her. She leaned into me. I felt her release the long breath she'd been holding for a while.
Her lawyer filed the civil suit two weeks after Morrison's visit.
Bryce's attorneys came back with a settlement offer before the ink was dry. He was already pleading guilty to the criminal charges. A civil trial on top of that was more exposure than his side wanted. They offered to settle for an amount that was, by Jamie's lawyer's read, reasonable. More than reasonable.
Jamie wanted a meeting before she signed.
Her lawyer told her she didn't need one. The deal was good. The money would go into a trust for Rosie. They could finalize everything in writing. Jamie said she wanted to be in a room with him once. Her lawyer said okay.
A few weeks later, we drove downtown.
The conference room was on the eighth floor of an office building off Meeting Street. Gray carpet. Long table. Jamie's lawyer at one end with the settlement agreement in a folder. Two chairs on our side. Three on theirs—one for Bryce, two for his attorneys. A pitcher of water in the middle.
We sat. I put my hand on Jamie's back between her shoulder blades. She was breathing slowly.
The door opened.
Bryce was led into the room, between two officers. Orange jumpsuit. His hands were cuffed in front of him. He was thinner than he'd been the last time I saw him, and the polish was gone from his face, but his eyes were the same. They swept the room the way they always had. They calculated. They found Jamie.
They held on to her.
"Jamie. It's good to see you."
The officers sat him down and stepped back against the wall. His lead attorney, a gray-haired man with a leather folio, opened his notes.
"Miss Donovan. Thank you for coming. My client is prepared to accept the terms as drafted. If you have any?—"
"I have one question."
He paused. "For counsel?"
"For him."
The attorney's eyes flicked to Bryce. Bryce nodded once.
"Go ahead, Miss Donovan."
Jamie folded her hands on the table.
"Why?"
