Page 71 of Nash Falls

“Wait, those were his last words?”

“Yes. I was with him right up until the end. No one deserves to die alone.”

“I would have been there, if I had known he was dying,” Nash said stiffly.

Parker reached out and gripped his hand with her strong fingers. “He made me swear not to tell anyone. But you have to keep in your heart that at the end you were on his mind. And he wanted you to know.You.His son that he loved.”

Nash turned away and rubbed at his eyes. Standing, he said, “Thank you for sharing that with me. And thank you for all you did for him.”

“That’s what people do, Walter. They help others in need, or at least that’s what we’re all supposed to do.”

“Some certainly do it better than others,” he replied.

On his drive home he received a text from Agent Morris instructing him on how to download a particular secure messaging app on his phone. It was probably some invention of the CIA or NSA, he assumed. Morris had left an email address where Nash could send a message once he had gotten on the app.

Parked in his garage, he downloaded the app, created an account, and messaged Morris. A few seconds later he received a reply that read:

FOLLOWING TERMS AGREED TO BY UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.

Nash read down the list and was astonished to learn that the amount of money they were offering him was double what he had reasonably been expecting. And his demands for security, for his wife and daughter to be taken care of if he were killed, had also been agreed to.

Morris had ended the message by saying that they would set up a private secure account with 10 percent of the funds deposited right away and that he could withdraw or do with them what he pleased. But first he had to agree to help. A formal executed document memorializing the terms in the message would follow immediately.

Nash slowly typed out his response and then his finger hovered over the send key.

He drew a breath and lightly touched the key and the message was gone.

And maybe my life along with it.

The agreement reached his inbox seconds later. He read every word, and then electronically signed the attachment and sent it off. A minute later the details for the account and how to access it had been delivered. He went on the account and set it up with a new password. He checked the sums deposited and confirmed that they matched the 10 percent of the total amount the government had agreed to pay.

“Walter?”

He looked up to see Judith staring at him from the door leading into the kitchen.

He opened the Range Rover’s door. “Yes?”

“Are you going to come into the house or sit out there all night?”

“Be there in a minute.”

He finished up and walked into the house. Judith was at the stove stirring something in a pan.

“How was your day?” she asked.

“Fine. Rhett met with me.”

“Really, what about?”

“He found out I had inquired about a position at another firm.”

“What?”

“It was just an inquiry. I told him it was because I think Maggie might want to live in LA or New York, and the firm I contacted has offices in both.”

Judith said angrily, “You never talked to me about any of this.And I can’t believe you would reach out to someone about a new job without discussing it with me first.”

“I never would have made anydecisionwithout talking it over with you.”