CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
The smell of antiseptic competed with the smell of flowers, creating an odd cocktail of scents.
Gabriel Stone lay propped against white pillows, his weathered face marked by cuts and bruises that stood out starkly against bleached sheets.
Tubes snaked from his arm to hanging bags of fluids and antibiotics.
Sheila sat in the visitor's chair beside him, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest. The bullet wound in his thigh had been cleaned and stitched, though the doctors said he'd likely walk with a limp for several months. Better than not walking at all.
"You should be sleeping," she said softly.
"Too much to talk about." His voice was rough, scraped raw by hours of interrogation before she'd found him. "You got him?"
"Yeah." She leaned forward, elbows on her knees. "The man who ordered Mom's death. The one who's been protecting this corrupt system for decades." She studied her father's face. "Carlton Vance."
Gabriel nodded slowly, his face showing no surprise. "I would have told you before you went after him, but it took all I had just to convince you to go after him. His identity didn't seem quite so important at the moment."
"He's calling himself Toby Fitzgerald now. Claims Vance retired to some island paradise. But the way he talked about the department, about how the system was built..." She shook her head. "He knows too much. Things only someone on the inside would understand."
Silence stretched between them, broken only by the soft beep of medical monitors. Outside the window, afternoon sunlight painted Salt Lake City in shades of gold and shadow.
"I should have told you sooner," Gabriel said finally. His voice carried the weight of decades of regret. "About Vance. About everything."
"Then tell me now."
He shifted against the pillows, grimacing at the movement.
"I worked under him in Internal Affairs.
Back when it all started. He seemed like this crusader for justice—investigating corrupt cops, building cases against dirty judges.
" A bitter laugh escaped him. "It took me too long to realize he wasn't fighting corruption. He was organizing it."
"Meridian Holdings," Sheila said. "The shell company he created to move the money."
"That was just the start. Drug seizures, evidence tampering, witness intimidation—he turned it all into a system. Professional. Efficient." Gabriel's jaw tightened. "By the time I understood what was happening, I was already compromised. He made sure of that."
"What do you mean?"
"Little things at first. Losing evidence that would hurt certain cases.
Overlooking disciplinary issues for officers who played along.
" He wouldn't meet her eyes. "Then bigger things.
Money started appearing in my account—'bonuses' I couldn't explain.
By the time your mother started asking questions. .."
"You were trapped."
"I tried to warn her. Told her to drop it, that some things were better left alone." His voice cracked. "But she was like you. Couldn't let injustice stand, no matter the cost."
"So when Vance sent Eddie Mills..."
Tears gathered in his eyes. "I had no idea about that. You have to believe me."
Sheila took his hand, feeling the tremors that ran through him. "I believe you."
"Everything I did was to protect all of you." He grunted and shook his head sadly. "Fat lot of good it did. Your mother and Natalie died anyway. And now they almost killed you, too." His fingers tightened around hers. "I'm so sorry, kid. For all of it."
They were both silent for several moments.
"You never told me how you got free," Sheila said. "When you came to help Finn and me."
Gabriel's lips curved in a grim smile. "Old sheriff's trick.
When they took me out to execute me, Vance couldn't do it himself—too much history between us, I guess.
Sent one of his men instead." He shifted against the pillows, wincing.
"The guy wasn't expecting me to know how to slip flex cuffs.
Something I learned back in '82, working a case with the FBI.
You hook your thumb just right, create a weak point. .."
"And then?"
"Then I waited until he was positioned between me and his backup.
Basic hostage situation control—never let a suspect use your own people as cover.
" He coughed, grimacing. "When he got sloppy with his position, I moved.
Got his weapon, managed to take out his partner.
After that, I just had to make it up to where they were holding you and Finn. "
"You skipped over the part about you getting shot in the thigh."
He shrugged one shoulder. "A minor technicality. You really think I'd let a bullet stop me from protecting my little girl?"
Sheila smiled and felt tears gathering in her eyes. Before she could say anything, however, a knock at the door distracted her. Finn stood in the doorway, his face bright with barely contained excitement.
"Tommy's awake," he said without preamble. "And he's ready to talk."
Sheila felt her father's hand tighten. "The department plant? He's out of the coma?"
"Came to about an hour ago. Doctor says his cognitive function appears normal." Finn moved into the room, closing the door behind him. "The first thing he did was ask for protective custody. Says he'll tell us everything—who ordered him to kill you, how deep the corruption goes, all of it."
"Does anyone else know he's awake?" Gabriel asked.
"Just his doctor and two deputies I trust. Sarah's with him now.
" Finn pulled out his phone, showing them a video.
On the screen, Tommy lay in his hospital bed, pale but alert.
His voice was weak but clear as he spoke to the camera: "I, Thomas James Weber, being of sound mind, want to make a full statement about corruption in the Coldwater County Sheriff's Department. .."
"He's scared," Sheila observed, watching Tommy's face on the screen. "Really scared."
"Should be," Gabriel said. "The people he's about to expose—they don't take kindly to loose ends."
"That's why he's smart to talk now," Finn said. "His statement is already being recorded and secured in multiple locations. Even if something happens to him..."
"The truth still comes out." Sheila felt hope rising in her chest—dangerous, fragile hope. "With his testimony..."
"We can bring down the whole system," Gabriel finished. "Not just the foot soldiers, but everyone. The judges, the prosecutors, all of them."
"There's something else." Finn's eyes gleamed.
"He says he can prove Vance ordered both Thompson's murder and your mother's.
Says he has documentation going back decades—meticulously kept records of every bribe, every coverup, every case that was buried.
Names, dates, dollar amounts. He even has recordings of meetings where judges and prosecutors openly discussed which cases to bury.
The kind of evidence that not even the most expensive lawyers can explain away. "
Sheila sank back into her chair, exhausted. After all these years of chasing shadows, of watching killers walk free while good people died... Finally, they had what they needed. Real evidence. Testimony from someone on the inside.
"We'll need to move fast," Gabriel said. "Once word gets out that Tommy's talking..."
"Already on it," Finn assured him. "Sarah's coordinating with the FBI—not Walsh's team, but agents we trust. Tommy's being moved to a secure location tonight. Federal marshals will handle protective custody."
Finn's smile carried fierce satisfaction. "They can't bury this one, Gabe. Not this time."
Sheila watched her father absorb this, seeing decades of guilt and fear begin to lift from his shoulders. "Mom would be proud," she said softly. "Of both of us."
Gabriel's eyes filled with tears he didn't try to hide. "She always believed the truth would come out eventually. That justice was worth any price." He squeezed her hand. "Looks like she was right."
"Justice is coming," Sheila agreed. "For Mom, for Thompson, for everyone they've hurt." She looked at Finn. "How soon can we take Tommy's full statement?"
"As soon as you're ready. He's asking for you specifically—says he wants to tell you everything face to face."
She stood, checking her weapon out of habit. "Then let's not keep him waiting. Dad, you rest. Let the doctors do their job."
"Be careful," Gabriel said. "Even with Tommy's testimony, these people are still dangerous."
"I know." She bent to kiss his forehead. "But they're not as dangerous as the truth. And that's all coming out now."
She left her father's room with Finn beside her, their steps carrying new purpose. Outside, afternoon sunlight painted Salt Lake City in shades of gold and promise. Somewhere in a secure hospital room, a man waited to tell the truth that would bring down decades of corruption.
It wasn't over yet. But for the first time since losing her mother, Sheila felt the balance shifting. Justice wasn't just possible now—it was inevitable.
Time to hear Tommy's story. Time to gather the final pieces of evidence.
Time to bring it all into the light.