Page 139 of State of Bliss

“But it wasn’t the same for the rest of us, was it?”

“Are you trying to tell me that you felt left out of the boys club, so you decided to become a criminal while wearing the badge?”

“It was so easy,” Stahl said with a nasty smirk. “Candy from a baby.”

“You still haven’t said why,” Jake said.

“Does it matter?”

“It might,” Joe said, starting to lose patience.

“Do you remember Luke Starling?”

Joe sat up straighter. “What about him?”

“He was the first one to show me how there was a whole other world to be found for guys in uniform. People would pay for access, for favors, for just about anything they wanted or needed from us. And they remembered when you did them a solid. They were always happy to return the favor.”

Joe felt sick. He’d liked Luke Starling. “Was he a killer, too?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know? He was also the one who told me how you guys talked about me when you thought no one was listening.”

“So we talked about you,” Jake said. “That’s what turned you into a murdering scumbag?”

“It made it easier not to care about the same things you do. And the killing thing? That didn’t start here.” Evil radiated off him in waves that Joe could almost feel, despite the thick glass between them. “Taking someone’s life… It’s the most natural high you can get, watching the existence seep out of them… I got addicted to the power the way your boy wonder Gonzales got addicted to drugs. After a while, you start toneedit, to crave it. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Thank God that’s true,” Joe said.

“Ah, you and your God… You’re too good to be true, Joe, and yet, all around you are flawed souls who can never live up to your pious expectations.”

“My expectations have nothing to do with piety and everything to do with upholding thelaw—you know, the job we’repaidto do!”

Jake’s hand on his back was a reminder to keep his cool.

“Tell us where all the bodies are so we can bring some peace to the families,” Joe said.

“Why would I do that?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do.”

Stahl threw his head back and laughed. “You’re gonna have to do better than that. Why should I help you? I’m already doing life with no chance of parole for trying to kill your darling little niece.”

“With one phone call, I can arrange six months in solitary confinement so you can think about where you buried the bodies.”

The threat stole some of Stahl’s cockiness. “That’s cruel and unusual punishment.”

“So is kidnapping and murdering for the fun of it and then leaving families to wonder for years what became of their loved ones. So is pretending to work cases and not even doing the most basic investigations. So is collecting a taxpayer-funded paycheck for doing nothing. Shall I go on?”

“You always were such a killjoy, Joe. Do you ever loosen that tight sphincter of yours and have a little fun?”

“What happened to your brother Michael?” Jake asked.

Stahl hadn’t seen that question coming. His face lost all expression. “I have no idea.”

“Really?” Joe asked. “So when we dig up your backyard, we won’t find his remains?”

“No, you won’t. I had nothing to do with his disappearance.”

“We don’t believe you,” Jake said. “We think you know exactly where he is.”

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