Page 79 of Justice Delayed

“And good work getting Seth to photograph the child’s stuffed animal. We’re going to hold off on that part of the story for now. I think there’s more to be said than a rabbit belonging to Jesse Thompson showing up on Melender Harman’s doorstep. I want you to get the reaction from the Thompsons and also verify if the stuffed animal actually was Jesse’s. What do the police think?”

“About the bunny?”

Fallon nodded.

Brogan shrugged. “Livingston wouldn’t speculate on how the bunny got to Melender. He was taking it to the Thompsons’ this afternoon to see if it was Jesse’s.”

“And you’ll follow up with the detective?”

“Livingston said he would call me after the visit,” Brogan said, adding, “I’ll contact him in case he forgets.”

“Good.” Fallon picked up his glasses but didn’t perch them back on his nose. “When we break this story tomorrow morning, it’s going to generate a public feeding frenzy. The Thompson case was big news when it happened, and Quentin Thompson has only become more powerful in the intervening years. He has many friends in high places, and this kind of revelation will not be welcomed by his business associates.”

Brogan had considered that as well. “Which is why we need to be on top of this story.”

“Exactly.” Fallon placed his glasses on and reached for a red Sharpie. “I think this story will break, and we have a real opportunity to scoop the big boys. You have the inside track on this one. Don’t squander it.”

“I won’t.” Brogan rose as his cell phone buzzed. Out of the office, he answered. “Brogan Gilmore.”

“It’s Detective Livingston.” The other man cleared his throat. “We have confirmation from the Thompsons the bunny was Jesse’s, last seen in his crib the night he went missing.”

“Go on.” Brogan bit back the questions he wanted to ask and let the detective unspool his thoughts in his own time.

“We also discovered Quentin Thompson was absent from the charity event for an hour or so that evening.”

Brogan did a fist pump in the air at the news as he settled into his desk chair but kept his tone neutral. “That corroborates the nanny’s testimony she saw him on the phone outside during the event.”

“True, but it’s still not enough to actively reopen a closed case. However, we do have a solid case against Jared for the attempted kidnapping apart from his confession.”

Brogan wedged his phone against his ear and opened his notepad. “Can you give me the details?”

Livingston sketched out the facts. Finding Jared’s fingerprints—which were on file because of Jesse’s disappearance—on some of the ransom money, connecting with an officer on the drug squad who had Snake under surveillance, and getting photographs of Jared and Snake on the night in question. Then Jared confessed he was behind the ransom.

“What’s going to happen to him?”

“He will be formally charged with attempted kidnapping.”

“Whoa, only attempted kidnapping?” Brogan didn’t bother to hide his surprise. Jared’s involvement in the kidnapping surely opened up the possibility he had something to do with Jesse’s disappearance.

“Since Melender’s been convicted of killing Jesse, that means Jared couldn’t have actually kidnapped his younger brother. Not in the eyes of the law,” Livingston said.

“Which means this ties up one loose end related to the case but does nothing to point to Melender’s innocence.” Brogan’s heart ached for Melender, who would be glad to be cleared of suspicion of kidnapping Jesse but disappointed it hadn’t led to overturning her murder conviction.

“That’s right.” Livingston paused. “Listen, my boss has told us to lay off questioning the Thompsons again. There’s nothing in Jared’s confession about the ransom that sheds new light on Harman’s conviction, since she was never officially charged with kidnapping Jesse.”

Brogan rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Yeah, that’s what I figured would happen.” The Thompsons, with their money and connections, had most likely made a few phone calls to stop what Quentin would undoubtedly have labeled as police harassment.

“So that’s it then.” At least from the police perspective, Brogan had hoped Livingston would look at the case with fresh eyes.

“From the Fairfax County Police Department’s perspective, yes.”

“I appreciate your call.”

“The brass said I could let you know on the record about it, since your tip was instrumental in cracking that part of the case.”

Brogan wanted to slap his forehead. He had been so focused on the Thompson angle, he nearly forgot to follow up on the Williams murder. “Did you find out who killed Williams?”

“Yep, Fernando Jones, a junkie who didn’t have enough money for his next fix.”

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