He leaned back in his chair. “I see. And I suppose it’s just a coincidence that this decision gives you the biggest scoop of your career? On the same morning that a flock of vultures will land here to cover the same story?”
Her temper finally flared beyond her control. “I’m not going to apologize for doing my job! You think some other media outlet might not get to Katy Royal in the hospital? What if she tells them about her father’s crime?”
“She’s in a coma! Please tell me this isn’t about hanging another Pulitzer on your wall.”
His words stung like a swarm of hornets, because they were partly true. He got up and flattened his hands on her desk, his lips pale with emotion. “Are you seriously willing to keep my father’s life at risk so that you can beat everyone else into print with this story?”
Penn’s unfiltered anger was hard to withstand, but she found strength in her conviction that only the truth could gain justice for the victims who had suffered so long. “I think your father has always had it in his power to resolve this situation. If Tom is going to be saved, it won’t be by us. He’s going to have to do it himself. All we can do is what we think is best, each by our own lights. That’s why I have to write this story.”
“How can you face Annie and my mother if you do that?”
She turned up her palms. “I think we’ll both have a lot to explain, if it comes to that.”
He sagged against her desk. “Maybe it’s a blood thing. Maybe if it was your father running for his life, you’d feel like I do.”
She was too exhausted to think anymore. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t.”
Caitlin glanced at her watch. The absolute deadline was coming at her like a train out of a dark tunnel. “I really have no more time. None. Not if we’re going to get this mess out tomorrow.”
Penn regarded her with disconcerting intensity. “It’s your decision. You know how I feel. Do what you think is right, and we’ll go on from there … if we can.”
She felt dizzy. “Are you serious?”
He reached out and took her left hand. His skin felt cold. “We’ve been together for most of the past seven years,” he said. “That’s a long time to be involved without getting married. And if we really look at what’s kept us from taking that last step … it was your career. We met during the biggest murder case this town ever saw. You won your Pulitzer for your coverage. But deep down, you’ve always felt constrained here. Every couple of years, you’ve had to break out and hitch your wagon to some shooting star of a story to keep from going crazy. And that’s okay. But I also think it says something about what’s most important to you.”
Caitlin was trembling. She knew he could feel it through her hand. “That’s really going around the world for an insult. I think I’ve made my case tonight. And I think a lot of people would say my motives are purer than yours.”
“Now who’s talking like a lawyer?” he asked gently. “You’re right about one thing: this story is huge. But what matters in it are the people involved, not the articles written about it. You know me, Caitlin. I won’t let Brody Royal escape punishment for the things he did.”
“You promised him that you would.”
“I’m not bound by a promise to a murderer. In the end, justice will be done, no matter who prints the story. I’ll make sure of that. Kaiser will, too.”
“What’s written about it matters,” Caitlin insisted, her voice quavering. “The story matters.”
Penn nodded, but she could see that he didn’t agree. Not really. And if she were brutally honest with herself, she didn’t only want the story told; she wanted to be the one to tell it.
“Tell me one thing,” she said. “Did you mention ‘Huggy Bear’ to Royal? Or ‘Gates Brown’? Did you tell Royal there was a witness who could put him inside Albert Norris’s store on the day of that murder?”
“Yes. I had to frighten him into a corner.”
Her cheeks felt cold. “Did you promise to give Royal that man’s name?”
“I don’t even know his name!”
She shook her head slowly. “Brody might not need the name. You know? Just the Detroit Tigers baseball cap, or the Detroit connection. That might be all a man like him needs to find and kill that man, whoever he is.”
“I didn’t give him that stuff!”
“It won’t be hard for him to find out. That’s why I haven’t published a plea for ‘Huggy Bear’ to come forward, or to call my cell. I knew the risk was too great.” Caitlin suddenly knew what she had to do. “I’m standing by my story,” she said in a flat voice. “I’m printing it all in tomorrow’s edition. I’ll show it to you now, if you want to read it.”
Penn dropped her hand and stared at her in disbelief.
“I protected your father. But I didn’t spare Brody Royal anything.”
She stepped behind her chair and laid her quivering hands on its back, as though it were a shield. “I’ve got editors standing by at nine papers, and every one’s on overtime. I’m seriously pissing my father off to make all this happen. Please let me get on with it.”
Penn walked to the credenza, picked up his pistol, and went to the door. With his hand on the knob he let out a long sigh, then turned back to her. “Are you coming home tonight?”
“I can’t—not with all this going on. As soon as the story goes up online, we’re going to have people calling from around the country. Around the world, probably.”
Penn only nodded, but his eyes said, Which is exactly the way you want it. You and your paper at the center of a media storm.
“Please don’t leave this building by yourself,” he said. “If you do decide to come home, get one of the guys to drive you.”
“I will.” She stood in the awkward silence, searching for words that could magically separate them without pain. “I hope Forrest Knox cancels that APB, anyway.”