Page 55 of I Will Find You

“Let me begin,” Max said, “by thanking you for talking to us.”

“Of course,” Rachel said, all wide-eyed and innocent. “But can you tell me what this is about?”

Max glanced at Sarah. Sarah rolled her eyes.

They were in the FBI building in Newark, New Jersey, some five hundred miles from Briggs Penitentiary. Their BOLO—Be On the Look Out—had finally been answered by the Port Authority police when Rachel Anderson’s New Jersey license plate had been picked up on camera crossing the George Washington Bridge traveling west from New York to New Jersey. After calling for backup—the BOLO had stated that escaped convict David Burroughs was armed and dangerous—New Jersey state troopers pulled over Rachel Anderson’s white Toyota Camry on Route 4 in Teaneck, New Jersey.

David Burroughs was not in the vehicle.

Max decided to go the direct route. “Where is your former brother-in-law, Ms. Anderson?”

Rachel’s mouth dropped open. “David?”

“Yes. David Burroughs.”

“David’s in prison,” Rachel said. “He’s serving time at Briggs Penitentiary up in Maine.”

Max and Sarah just stared at her.

Sarah sighed. “Really, Rachel?”

“What?”

“That’s the route you’re going to take with this?”

Max put his hand on Sarah’s arm. “I realize that you’ve waived your right to counsel,” he said to Rachel, “but let me offer you some reassurances.”

“Reassurances?” Rachel repeated.

Max silenced Sarah’s next rejoinder with a gentle squeeze. “We will give you full immunity right now provided you tell us the truth.”

Rachel looked at Sarah, then back to Max. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

Sarah shook her head. “My God.”

“Then let me clarify what I mean by ‘full immunity.’ Suppose—shot in the dark here—you helped David Burroughs escape from prison. If you tell us where he is or what role you played in this very serious federal crime—”

“—a crime that can put you behind bars for many, many years,” Sarah added.

“Right,” Max said, “Thank you. You won’t be charged. You’ll just walk.”

“Wait,” Rachel said, putting her hand to her chest. “David escaped?”

Sarah sat back and plucked at her own lower lip. She studied Rachel and then gestured toward her. “What do you think, Max?”

“Really fine performance, Sarah. You?”

“I don’t know, Max. Don’t you think maybe she’s overselling her shock here?”

“Yeah, a little, I guess,” Max conceded. “Her ‘wait’ before the ‘David escaped’ might have been gilding the lily.”

“And the hand-to-her-chest move. It was too much. If she had pearls, she probably would have clutched them.”

“Still,” Max said. “I would say there has to be Oscar buzz for this performance.”

“A nomination maybe,” Sarah said. “But not a win.”

They both offered up sarcastic golf claps in Rachel’s direction. Rachel stayed quiet.

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