“Then no thanks.” Her stomach felt like a trash compactor for her emotions.
“Those two over there are his attorneys,” Palmer explained. “That lady with the blue hair is his spiritual adviser. Those guys are from the Department of Corrections; they consider Blackwood a friend. Those three men are his cousins. And that group in back are from an anti-death-penalty organization, I forget which one. They’re using him for political purposes—”
“I remember that guy,” she interrupted, pointing out a man in his sixties with piercing blue eyes. “Isn’t that the medical examiner?”
“Quade Pickler,” Palmer muttered. “You know him?”
“I saw him at the morgue when my father went to identify Savannah’s body.”
Quade noticed them and nodded, and Palmer nodded back. The crowd stirred.
“Oh. Here he comes now,” Palmer said, looking past Kate’s shoulder.
Kate turned. An armed guard was escorting Blackwood into the enclosed Plexiglas cage. She was shocked; he no longer resembled the unfriendly neighbor with the troubled gaze and the military buzz cut who’d haunted her dreams. The fifty-five-year-old was older, leaner, tougher. He had collar-length silver hair and a jowly, unexpressive face. His arms and neck were covered in smeary prison tattoos. He wore an orange jumpsuit but wasn’t handcuffed or otherwise restrained. He held a can of Diet Coke in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other. She couldn’t detect any fear in his eyes as he sat down and smiled at his visitors. He waved at Palmer, but when he spotted Kate he looked away.
Blackwood’s three cousins went over to talk to him first. There were hearty bursts of laughter and fist bumps against the bulletproof glass. Then it was Palmer’s turn to talk to the prisoner. Ten minutes later, he stood up and signaled for Kate to come over.
She felt like the homecoming queen—all eyes were on her as she crossed the large, echoing room. She tried not to stumble as she sat in a chair, still warm from Palmer’s body.
“I’ll be right over there,” Palmer said, “if you need me.”
She nodded and picked up the phone.
Blackwood put down his Coke and held the receiver to his ear. “Hello,” he said.
Old fears surfaced. Despite the protective barrier, she didn’t feel safe.
“I appreciate you coming tonight, Dr. Wolfe,” he said slowly, as if he were used to people misunderstanding him. “I wanted to tell you in person, ma’am. Here’s the thing.” He swallowed nervously. “I didn’t kill your sister. I have no idea who did. But I swear to God, I’m innocent.” He took a long drag of his cigarette, leaned back, and said, “If there’s anything you’d like to ask me… now’s your chance.”
She swallowed the dry lump of revulsion in her throat and said, “I’m here because Detective Dyson persuaded me to come. He believes in your innocence, but I still have questions.”
He nodded respectfully. “Go ahead.”
“If you didn’t kill my sister, then how did she end up in your backyard?”
“I’ve been wondering the same thing myself. I have no goddamn idea. Somebody must’ve framed me. God knows why. Doesn’t make sense.”
“Who would do such a thing?”
He looked at her blankly. “Whoever took those other girls.”
So Palmer must’ve shared his theory with Blackwood. Palmer was clearly on the prisoner’s side.
“Why didn’t Nelly come forward sooner?” Kate asked. “Why did it take her sixteen years to come out with the truth?”
“I suppose her conscience finally got to her.”
“What about your conscience?”
His eyes flared, and for a moment she felt his intense fury toward her, confirming her worst fears—here was a violent man, a dangerous man. But he swallowed back his indignation and kept his voice steady. “My conscience is clear when it comes to your sister,” he said.
Kate realized something just then. It hardly mattered whether she believed him or not, because he’d worn a groove in her psyche. Henry Blackwood would always be the face of evil for her, no matter what the truth was.
He leaned forward. “Listen, Dr. Wolfe, what I did to Penny was wrong, and I’ve been punished for it. But they locked me up for a murder I didn’t commit, and now they’re going to execute me for it. Four hours from now, I’ll be dead.” He wiped the sweat off his face and swallowed hard. “My attorneys have presented the governor with some new evidence, including Penny’s testimony, and I was hoping… well, it’d be extremely helpful to my cause if you’d ask the governor for a new trial. I’d sincerely appreciate it, ma’am. I swear to you,” he said in a cotton-dry voice, “I didn’t do those awful things to your sister.”
To Kate’s ears, these words sounded rehearsed. She stared at him. Her mind was full of nothing but the desire to escape.
“If I die tonight… in case the governor doesn’t stay the execution… would you do me a favor? Will you tell Penny I love her? And Maddie, too?”
“Maddie?” Kate repeated dully.
He nodded. “I sure hope you can fix her.”
“You know that I’m treating her?”
“The detective filled me in. I care about her an awful lot.” It was the first time he’d seemed human to her. “She’s a great kid. Smart, like her mama.”
Kate didn’t know what to say.
He leaned forward again. “That night, Penny and me were watching TV when it happened… swear to God. I was with Penny all evening long. I was helping her with her homework. We ordered a pizza. We were together the whole time. The police made her lie on the witness stand. But she’s telling the truth now.”
Kate almost believed him.
“I remember when you used to walk past my house on your way to school, and your sister would be talking a blue streak behind you. She sounded like a bird. She’d pick flowers from my yard. Why would I hurt somebody like that?”
Kate readjusted her grip on the phone. “I’ll convey your message to Nelly. But I’ll leave it up to her whether she wants to share it with Maddie or not.”
“Okay. Thanks.” He took a drag of his cigarette, and she envied him his pack of smokes. “Anyway. Listen. I’m pretty much resigned to my fate. Unless my attorneys can throw a Hail Mary pass or something… it’s over for me.”
Kate nodded. She was about to hang up when she hesitated. “Okay, look,” she said thickly. “I’ll call the governor and tell him I’m not convinced of your guilt. At least there should be a new trial.”
He lowered his cigarette. “Thank you.”
“Please don’t thank me.”
“No, no,” he said emphatically. “Bless you, Dr. Wolfe. I appreciate this. It means so much to me.”
She hung up and rose unsteadily to her feet, wondering if she was going to collapse. Her head was hammering as if she was underwater. Drowning.
31
KATE SPENT THE NEXT hour in a quiet corner of the death row visitors’ room trying to reach the governor on her cell phone. Finally, one of his aides agreed to speak to her and took down her statement. He promised to let the governor know right away and reassured her of the importance of her call.
“Well, we’ve done everything we can,” Palmer said.
The medical examiner Quade Pickler came over and introduced himself to Kate, and he and Palmer made small talk. When Quade turned his gaze on her, Kate felt the same chill she’d experienced sixteen years ago in the morgue. “I hear you called the governor’s office?” he said with a wry smile.
She nodded slowly.
“Blackwood talks a good game but I’ve seen him lose appeal after appeal, trying to manipulate people into believing him. Sorry you were taken in, but I sincerely doubt the governor’s going to change his mind.” He turned to Palmer and said, “By the way, I saw your anti-death-penalty buddies out in force on the capitol steps today. An assorted crowd of mixed nuts and zealots.”
“They aren’t my buddies,” Palmer said.
“Funny. Because it looks like you’re working for the same side.”
“Why? Because I don’t like seeing an innocent man railroaded?”
“Oh come on. Don’t you think it’s time to hang it up, Palmer? Take up golf or something?”