Page 56 of The Secrets We Hide
“You’re back home now, Jude. Things get out.”
She couldn’t worry about herself. Emmy had worshipped Gerald. If even a hint of scandal tarnished his reputation, it would finish her off. “Giglio lists are very specific. What was my father accused of?”
“Allison didn’t provide that information.”
“I’ve never known the FBI to get excited about one cop offering one name.”
“It’s a really big name.” Samuel sat back in his chair. Crossed his legs. “Allison was willing to testify. You know how rare it is for a cop to turn on other cops. We knew she wasn’t bluffing.”
Jude could tell he was still holding back, and not just because he’d changed into a defensive posture. “What about the ten other names? Who else was she offering?”
“Allison was keeping them in her back pocket, but we know she consulted for three of the four agencies in Clifton County. She could easily get her hands on a lot of information.”
“But she never consulted for the sheriff’s office,” Jude guessed. “How do you know the Giglio list is legitimate?”
“We don’t.” He shrugged, but she wasn’t buying it. “Jude, this lead on Allison Vickery was very early days. I put Foley on to it since he’s in Atlanta. He met with her once. She told him she had proof of a conspiracy that went to the highest levels.”
“The highest levels of what?”
“She never said, but Foley believed she was sitting on something explosive.”
“I’ve had periods that lasted longer than Foley’s tenure at the agency.”
“He’s got good instincts. I believed him.” Samuel sounded very sure of himself, which reinforced the fact that he was sitting on a lot of information he was choosing not to share. “Allison was supposed to meet with Foley in Atlanta two days ago. She was going to bring him concrete proof.”
“Proof of what?”
“I assume the fully unredacted Giglio list with supportingevidence that all of the cops were involved in a conspiracy to commit crimes.”
“Drugs?” Jude guessed. “Trafficking?”
“As I said, Allison never showed for the meeting. Your photo of the photo is from yesterday. Foley drove down to North Falls to find out why she missed it. That’s the emergency signal they set up. If he left an X, she was supposed to meet him at a rest stop near the Albany exit the following morning at nine. That was today. I guess we know why she wasn’t there.”
Jude thought about the scattered paperwork in Allison’s dining room. The killer had been searching for the proof. “Any ideas about the cash that was found in Allison’s house?”
“In my experience—in your experience—dirty cops know about dirty cops because they’re all dirty.”
Jude could’ve flown a Zeppelin through the giant holes in his story. “What was Allison’s signal to Foley if there was an emergency?”
“She wouldn’t establish one. Didn’t trust electronics. Wouldn’t talk on the phone. She told him if she had an emergency, she could take care of herself.”
Jude remembered the packed suitcases. “Who else at the agency knows about this?”
“I’ve kept it in a tight circle.”
Jude noticed the past tense. “But now?”
“A member of the public who reported police corruption to the FBI was murdered in her home. We have to bring the full force of the agency down on this.”
Jude knew where they’d start: the Clifton County Sheriff’s Department. “So you send down a bunch of Reid Foleys with their two-dollar haircuts and six-hundred-dollar shoes. They all come back with jack shit because nobody will talk to them.”
“You know it works, Jude. Somebody always talks.”
“A retired police officer and her child were shot in their own home because she talked to the FBI. Who’s gonna line up for one of your Reid Foleys after that?”
His silence told her that he knew she was right.
“You’re not in a good place here, Samuel. This is very messy for the agency. You couldn’t keep a whistleblower safe.” Sheknew there was something that mattered to him even more. “You’ve got a lot of friends on Capitol Hill, but you’ve made a lot of enemies in this building. They’d be happy to let you take the fall for Allison’s murder.”
