“I think so,” I said.
Aaron squeezed my hand.
Inside my coat pocket, my secure phone buzzed.
A message from Lena.
Commander, you need to see tomorrow’s hearing schedule. Victor Reynolds’ former aide has come forward.
My breath caught.
Aaron noticed immediately.
“What is it?”
I looked at the snowy lawn.
At Daniel.
At Margaret.
At my children.
For one foolish second, I thought the past had finished confessing.
I should have known better.
Some secrets do not die when the liar does.
They wait for the right witness.
PART 8 — THE CHILDREN WHO CAME FROM THE SKY
The former aide’s name was Thomas Greer.
He was seventy-four, thin as a winter branch, and dying of pancreatic cancer.
He gave his statement from a hospital bed in Denver, with oxygen whispering beneath his nose and a lawyer seated beside him. I watched remotely from Texas, Daniel and Margaret joining from separate rooms in Colorado.
