Josie followed Noah out of the room. She couldn’t listen to any more. Lampson had already been arrested in the FBI raids the day before. He would be punished. That’s what mattered.

Noah joined her in her office, leaning casually against the door jamb. Again, she stood by the window, staring out but seeing nothing this time. “I’m fine,” she said over her shoulder.

“Okay,” he said, even though they both knew she wasn’t. She wouldn’t be fine for a long time. None of them would.

She turned away from the window and sat behind the desk.

“Any word on Luke?” Noah asked.

“They’re going to try bringing him out of his coma tomorrow.” A genuine smile crossed Josie’s lips. “He’s doing well though. They’re very optimistic. I’ll want to go and be with him.”

“Of course.”

They heard Trinity’s heels clacking on the tile moments before she pushed past Noah and plopped down in one of the guest chairs on the other side of Josie’s desk. The same chair Josie had sat in a little over a week ago to beg the chief to bring her back on, even temporarily. “Your coffee sucks,” she said. “When are you getting new staff? This place is a ghost town. Oh, and that FBI douche wouldn’t let me in the viewing room. Did Branson give up Luke’s shooter?”

Noah told her because Josie couldn’t find the words. Trinity gave a low whistle and pulled out her cell phone. “Not yet,” Noah reminded her. “Wait till he’s charged, okay?”

“He’s already in custody, but whatever.” She rolled her eyes but dropped her cell phone back into her purse. “Who else did Branson give up?”

Noah said, “Couple of guys in the State Police, one guy at the sheriff’s office, the DA, Frisk. Most of the guys involved—law enforcement, anyway—were from here. The rest of them were just locals including a doctor, a pharmacist, and a bartender.”

“That sounds like the beginning of a very bad joke,” Trinity said. “This is insane. You realize that, don’t you? I mean this thing is huge.”

“Huge, but exclusive,” Josie said.

“Oh really?” Trinity said incredulously. “It sure doesn’t seem like it was exclusive.”

“They didn’t let in anybody,” Josie clarified. “Gosnell required absolute secrecy and loyalty. Nobody wanted to be the person to blow the whistle. Turning Gosnell in meant turning themselves in. Any one of them might have been able to cut a deal and testify against the rest of them—if they lived long enough to do it—but their friends and colleagues would have gone down with them.”

“But surely someone tried to put a stop to it. I mean how did this go on for decades? How did so many people get away with it for so long?” Trinity asked.

Josie said, “Gosnell was all about intimidation and once he had people in his pocket who were willing to cover for him, he was unstoppable. Some of the men we identified on the tapes as Gosnell’s clients killed themselves. Maybe they wanted to say something but couldn’t.” She thought about Ray and how he hadn’t wanted to know because knowing would force him to act. He had known he wasn’t strong enough to take on Gosnell and his accomplices. “But they couldn’t live with it either.”

“Some of Gosnell’s clients had unfortunate accidents,” Noah put in. “That probably weren’t accidents at all.”

Trinity stared at him open-mouthed. “Holy shit.”

“If I wasn’t living it, I wouldn’t believe it,” Josie said.

“What else did Branson say?” Trinity asked. “Did he say anything about Isabelle Coleman?”

Josie told her what Dusty had revealed.

“So she’s in the woods somewhere?” Trinity asked.

Josie shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Hopefully she didn’t get eaten by a bear,” Noah put in.

Trinity turned to regard him. “That’s not funny.”

His cheeks colored. “It’s not a joke.”

From down the hall, Holcomb called for Noah and he shuffled off, leaving Josie alone with Trinity. “Can you make a public appeal?” Josie asked her. “We could use help with the search. I’ve only got twelve people out there. It’s all we can spare right now.”

“Of course,” Trinity said. She pulled out her cell phone and started firing off emails at machine-gun speed. Josie swiveled in her chair and stared back out at the gray sky. It had been overcast and occasionally rainy ever since she left the Gosnell property. She wondered if she’d ever see the sun again. It was a silly thought. Of course she would. But would Isabelle? Was she still alive? “She’s still alive,” Trinity said, as if reading Josie’s mind.

Without turning, Josie said, “I hope you’re right. The odds are not in her favor.”

A tap on the door drew both their attention. Noah stood there, a pinched look on his face. “Boss?” he said.

Josie couldn’t get used to him calling her boss, but she didn’t correct him. He seemed to enjoy it. “Yes?” she asked.

“Someone just called in another missing person. It’s Misty—Misty Derossi.”