“You’re right. But I had no choice. Why are you so upset? I told you what I was going to do.”

“You told me you were going to try to get the APB revoked, and Tom into federal custody. But from what you described, Brody’s giving your father a world-class get-out-of-jail-free card. A free pass on everything.”

“Well, I figured as long as I had him over a barrel, I’d push for everything I could.”

Caitlin felt her bottom lip shaking. She was usually good at hiding her emotions, but now it was impossible. “Royal’s obviously not going to move heaven and earth for free. What did you promise him in return?” A sickening thought struck her. “Did you tell him you’d give him the tape I made of his daughter?”

“Of course I did.”

Stunned by his casual tone, she walked around her desk and sat down, then fixed him with a level stare. “Did you promise that I would keep his name out of the Examiner?”

Penn didn’t answer immediately. Then he looked off to the side and said, “I had to, babe.”

She closed her eyes, and a sensation of falling in slow motion enveloped her. “You had no right to do that,” she said softly. Then she opened her eyes, her voice rising. “You can’t make a promise for me. You can’t make a deal with the devil in my name. You can’t sell my soul for me. Only I can do that!”

“Sell your soul? You’re blowing this out of proportion. This is my father’s life we’re talking about.”

Galvanized by righteous anger, Caitlin leaned forward and snapped, “Brody Royal’s a fucking murderer. Do you really think your father would want a man who’s killed innocent people to go free to protect him?”

“I don’t know,” Penn replied in a maddeningly mild voice. “I think Dad’s known some pretty bad things about Brody Royal for thirty-five years, and he kept them quiet to protect our family.”

Caitlin felt paralyzed; she wished Tom were here to argue for her. “For all you know, Royal is just stalling you. He could be packing his bags for Brazil right now.”

“Brazil isn’t a nonextradition country.”

“Oh, stop talking like a fucking lawyer.”

Penn rubbed the back of his neck, looking more haggard by the minute. “What do you think I’m trying to do here? Sabotage your career?”

“What are you doing? In the past, your motto was ‘Let justice be done though the heavens fall.’ And I loved you for it. But now that your father’s in trouble, suddenly Albert and Pooky and the others are just regrettable deaths. What about Henry and Sherry, for God’s sake?”

Penn took his time answering. “Caitlin, throughout my career, I had to compromise. Every single case eventually came down to that. Perfect justice does not exist in this world.”