Page 79 of Deadly Revenge
“That makes more sense,” Maya said. She knew sometimes that happened so that different agencies didn’t have to worry about jurisdiction.
“Yeah, turns out he was working with a task force and was deputized because of the fugitive they were after. That’s probably how he met Abigail too. She may have introduced Ross as a marshal to just confuse Marcus O’Malley.”
“Was he a sniper with the FBI?”
“He had gone through tactical and sniper training.”
“He was definitely a good shot. Which I’m glad. We were all close together and if he hadn’t calculated correctly, he could have hit one of us,” Maya said, achill running through her. “I really thought the partner was going to be Aaron.”
“I was leaning toward him too,” Kessler acknowledged. “But even though he’s a bit brash, he seems on the up-and-up. I had the FBI find out if he really was texting a girlfriend. He was. Seems like they are going through a rough patch, so Nick telling us it was lady troubles was right on.”
“I’m glad for Nick’s sake it wasn’t Aaron...” Maya said, trailing off. She had another question. A big one for her personally. She took a deep breath. “What’s going to happen with Eric?”
Kessler nodded. “I figured you’d want to know. I’ve talked with both the federal and state prosecutors. I told them that despite the headache your father has been, he’s been trying to do the right thing all along. I asked if we could drop all charges except the minor ones in exchange for his testimony against Ross. I suggested they let him out with an ankle monitor to do community service and serve his sentence that way and mark his record so he can’t work a job in law enforcement again.”
“Did they agree to that?”
“They did. I was just heading to find Eric and see if he would agree to that too.”
“I think it’s a good deal,” Maya said.
“I do too, but we’ll have to see what Eric thinks.”
“Thank you. Even if he doesn’t accept it, I know you are doing everything you can for him.”
“And for you too,” Kessler said. “You’re not only a good officer, but you’re a good person, Thompson.You deserve this too. Although I’d be okay if you don’t call me for a while. Every time you do it turns into a big case for me.”
Maya laughed. “I’ll do my best and hey, it’s job security, right?”
“If you say so. Let’s go see what Eric thinks about this deal.”
They all headed down the hallway and to Maya’s surprise they went to the conference room. Her stomach grumbled. Maya realized she hadn’t had anything to eat since that morning. Even more to her surprise, Pops and Eric were sitting in there eating dinner and chatting. They stopped talking and looked up at the trio coming into the room.
“There you all are,” Pops said, standing. “I have food from the Black Bear Cafe for all of you. Let me go get it. Hopefully it’s still warm.”
As he walked by Maya, he gave her a hug. “I’m glad you’re okay, Maya Bear.”
“Thanks, Pops.”
He headed on out of the room and Maya turned to Eric. Would he accept the deal or would he do something mulish like wanting a trial to clear all charges? She plunked down into a chair hoping the stubbornness that ran in the family wouldn’t come out right now.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Kessler pulled out a chair and settled down across the table from Eric. Maya and Josh joined him. She realized that the way they’d taken their seats was three against one. Pops came back with some food and handed everyone their meals. Then he sat down on the same side as Maya, Josh and Kessler. Four against one.
Maya was okay with that. She wanted her father to take the plea deal. He might not ever do the job he loved again, but he wouldn’t be sitting in prison. Was it wrong of her to be happy about Ross sitting in prison rotting away when her own father had committed crimes?
Eric hadn’t killed anyone, but that didn’t mean the bribes and other things he’d done didn’t hurt someone either. Why did there have to be so many gray areas? The one thing Mayadidbelieve was that Eric had changed for the better over the past year. It was like being on the run and trying to help catch Abigail had changed his priorities.
Eric sat forward, hands on the table, but in a relaxed fashion with his fingers laced. “I get the feeling you all want to talk about something.”
Maya chuckled and shook her head. “You think?”
Kessler gave her a look that said this was his time. Maya understood and stayed quiet.
“I’ve talked with the prosecutors,” Kessler began. He laid out the deal he’d told Maya and Josh about. “What do you think?”
Eric sat back, crossed his arms and took a deep breath, then letting it out. “I think it’s very generous.”
