62
An hour later, they’d settled down in Julia’s motel room, having ordered pizza that turned out to be free after the restaurant realized it was for her.
Her name had become public, which made her uncomfortable, and she ignored photos of her that flashed by on the muted TV, or the closed caption that read PRITZKER CURRENTLY RESIDES IN THE CHIANTI REGION OF…
They’d run the gauntlet of reporters when they arrived back at the motel, and the media was staked out in the parking lot in front. The noise filtered into the room, but luckily Leni was back asleep, stretched out on the other bed.
Julia, Gianluca, Courtney, and Paul ate pizza sitting on the bed and two chairs.
They all pieced together the awful events of the night, with Julia and Paul recounting what had happened with Alex when he left the room in the prison, which made Courtney cry.
She’d composed herself, then told them what had happened when she’d gotten sick, then been taken from her cell to the infirmary, leaving Soroya behind in their cell.
The conversation was gut-wrenching, and they all grieved Alex and Soroya, even though they felt relieved that Courtney had been freed.
Courtney looked exhausted, her expression pained and her eyes puffy. “I am glad to be free,” she said, trying to rally. She hadn’t eaten because her stomach was still bothering her. “What scared me was that I didn’t know if I’d ever get out.”
“It must’ve been awful.” Paul touched her arm.
Courtney nodded, rubbing her face. “It kills me to think that Alex and Soroya were murdered because of me.”
Paul frowned. “Don’t say that, honey. Don’t put that on yourself.”
“But it’s true,” Courtney shot back, agonized. “Alex died trying to save me and Soroya was killed in my place, mistakenly. It’s on me.”
Julia interjected, “No, it’s not, Courtney. The people to blame for their deaths are the people who killed them, not you. We’re going to get to the bottom of whoever killed them and make sure they get punished.”
Courtney’s face fell into heartbroken lines. “I won’t rest until they do.”
“I won’t, either,” Julia said, feeling for her.
“I’ll say a prayer for them,” Gianluca added.
Courtney’s mournful gaze met Julia’s. “Girl, I’m going to be thanking you the rest of my life. You got me out. You caught Grandma Kay’s killer.”
“Not just me.” Julia couldn’t begin to process what had happened before Valley Forge. “You and I did some girl-sleuthing together, and Paul helped, too.”
Paul looked over. “No, it was you, Jules. All I did was knock over the muskets. You were the one.”
Courtney nodded. “Julia, don’t be modest. He’s right. Now we know that Novak did it and we know why.” Her eyes narrowed. “It sounds harsh, but the fact that Novak is dead feels like justice to me.”
Julia didn’t reply, flashing on Novak being shot point-blank. It was a horror.
“He was totally the man I chased out of the house. The detectives showed me his picture, and I recognized him as Matt Winger. Did you, Julia?”
“Yes, but not for sure until he took his cap off.” Julia hadn’t recognized Novak from the photo in the files, either, but his ballcap had covered his hair. She didn’t know if she would ever understand why her gift would show her some things and not others.
“He killed Grandma Kay. He took her life.” Courtney’s eyes welled up, and Paul put his arm around her, but she kept talking, thinking aloud. “I can’t wait to testify against McKenna and the others. They deserve to rot in prison. They have to pay.”
Paul nodded. “They sure do. Bennie will be all over it, we discussed it.”
Courtney straightened. “But some good has to come out of this, I swear. I’m thinking, I have to do something, somehow, to honor Alex and Soroya.”
“What?” Gianluca asked, his tone gentle.
“Well, for Soroya, I know exactly what to do. She asked me a lot of questions about my job because she was going to be out in a year.” Courtney swallowed hard.
“She told me that she didn’t know how to act in the business world, and I thought, I can tell her.
She mentioned it to two other women who were up for parole, so I told them how to act as a job applicant or when you meet a boss, a customer, or an account.
” Courtney’s eyes shone. “Parole is more common than I knew, and these women deserve a second chance. I’m thinking about doing something to help female inmates and parolees enter the workforce.
It could be, like, a tribute to Soroya’s memory. ”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Julia said, touched.
Paul blinked. “So would you quit work?”
“I don’t know if I still have a job anyway.
” Courtney shook her head, mystified. “If I do, I don’t care about work the same way I did before, not after this.
I don’t want to be a regional manager anymore.
Maybe I’ll just go back to sales. I can do well and there’s a lot less travel.
I feel like my perspective has changed.”
Paul looked over. “I hope that’s not because of me. I told you, I realized I’ve been such a jerk because I was missing Mike. I was taking it out on you.”
Courtney put an arm around him. “No, it’s not because of you. It’s because of this, it’s because of everything I just went through. I want to live my life better than I have been. I need more meaning, more balance.”
Gianluca smiled. “Courtney, perhaps maybe you turned Italian?”
Courtney chuckled, only briefly. “As for tomorrow, I heard from Alex’s friend Tim that his burial and his service was private, but Shenandoah Preservation arranged a public memorial at the firehouse, tomorrow morning. I’d like to go.”
“We will, too,” Julia said, and Gianluca nodded.
“After, I want to pick up Grandma Kay’s ashes and scatter them over her garden, the way she wanted. Would you guys want to be there, too?”
“Of course,” Julia answered, then flashed on her vision at the funeral home. The shadowy face. The agonizing blow to her chest.
“We’ll be there,” Gianluca answered with a sympathetic smile.
Paul took Courtney’s hand. “You must be exhausted. Let’s call it a day, okay, babe?”