Sean and Emily had a deal with the Devil. The Serrats would stay quiet about Mason James, and James would stay quiet about the Serrats, including that spring night on the football field of Bethesda–Chevy Chase High School. The deal with James wasn’t easy. By keeping James’s secrets, Sean had to watch in horror as the Senate confirmed James’s nomination to the high court and he became Chief Justice James. Not since Justice James McReynolds, a dreadful man and a proud anti-Semite who would get up and leave when a Jewish justice entered the room, had a more despicable human graced a black robe at the Supreme Court. Soon, Sean would have to see Chief Justice James on a regular basis. They would be brethren.
Sean and Emily had considered going to Detective Whiteside, having Sean turn himself in. On Cecilia’s advice, they’d even hired the best criminal defense lawyer in the country—none other than Blake Hellstrom—to guide them through the morass. And Sean had told Hellstrom everything. Even seen-it-all Hellstrom was taken aback. He was looking into whether and how Sean could make retribution for Japan. He never said so, but Sean assumed that Hellstrom also was trying to make sure the allegations about Japan would never come to light. But the main reason they’d hired Hellstrom was to see what could be done about Ryan because they all believed Ryan had delivered the fatal hit to Billy Brice. Hellstrom thought there would be a strong case for self-defense or defense of another. But coming forward about Brice—even if no criminal charges were ever filed against Ryan or Sean—would mean an investigation, one that could consume Ryan’s high school years. And the media attention alone could forever eviscerate any hope of a normal childhood for Ryan or Jack. When Sean had asked Hellstrom what he should do, the lawyer had said, “Look at the fish,” and pointed to a speckled brown trout mounted on Hellstrom’s office wall. Under the fish’s open mouth an inscription: IF I’D JUST KEPT MY MOUTH SHUT, I WOULDN’T BE HERE.
But if Ryan hadn’t delivered the fatal blow to Billy Brice, didn’t that change the equation? Sean wasn’t sure. He needed to call Hellstrom. But first, there was someone else he needed to call.
CHAPTER 82
Sean wiped a tear from his cheek as he listened to Ryan’s sobs from the SUV’s overhead speakers.
“Are you sure it wasn’t me?” his son said.
“It wasn’t you. And it wasn’t me. Someone wanted us to believe you did it.”
“So, can we go to the police and tell them now?” Ryan asked. “Can we tell the truth?”
Sean swallowed. “Mom and I need to discuss what to do.”
“Does she know? She didn’t say anything…”
“She doesn’t know. I just found out.”
Ryan’s voice broke, “Can I be the one who tells Mom?”
“Of course you can.” Sean’s eyes filled with more tears. The burden his sweet-hearted son had carried, yet fought so hard to conceal because he didn’t want to pile on to the family’s grief and worry, was lifted.
As Sean drove into the Georgetown Law parking lot, he saw two men holding cameras waiting for him. He slowed and said to Ryan, “I have to go, but we’ll talk more this afternoon. I love you.”
Sean pulled into a parking space and glanced at himself in the rearview mirror. His sunglasses concealed his red eyes, so he would look fine in any photos captured by the reporters. He wasn’t sure how they knew he’d be here. Someone must have leaked that he would be at Georgetown for the murder boards. The media’s interest in Sean had waned for a time, but his nomination to the high court put him back in the news cycle. It didn’t help that every few weeks rumors surfaced that the FBI had a bead on former Justice Thaddeus Carr, who had eluded capture for a month now. Some speculated that he was living in Switzerland under an assumed name. Others thought he had jumped off the Eleventh Street Bridge and drifted into the Anacostia River, a hypothesis supported by the fact that the handwritten confession found in Carr’s vehicle read like a suicide note. The spatters of his blood on the note—presumably a botched attempt to slash his own wrists—seemed to corroborate. But others speculated that the blood was from Carr removing the security GPS chip implanted under his skin. In the blogosphere, conspiracy theorists charged that the entire episode was part of a plot to change the makeup of the Supreme Court. So many questions remained.
Sean pulled the briefcase from the backseat and said hello as camera flashes went off. His handlers had advised that a nominee must act dignified at all times. Smile, say no comment, and move on. And that’s what he did. Before entering the building, he called Blake Hellstrom’s office and left him an urgent message.