Page 36 of Go Under

Darnell offered a perspective on that as the three lead agents enjoyed—well, ate—their lunch, cold sandwiches catered from a local sub joint that was a favorite of the field office.

“She was a young Black woman living at a time when racism may have been driven underground but was still alive and well. Being the sister of a convicted murderer would have granted some people license to reveal that latent prejudice.”

“Would it have to be racism, though?” Marcus asked. “I’m not saying you’re wrong, but he was her brother, after all. I’d be pissed if my brother was murdered whether the killer murdered him for being white or for being a Red Sox fan.”

Darnell shrugged. “It wouldn’t have to be racism. I’m only speculating why her parents’ choice to accept the settlement might have infuriated her so much. Daniel Avery was convicted of a murder he didn’t commit. During the trial, they played up his criminal history, including some very tenuous ‘gang affiliations’, and they used the video of his resisting arrest to paint a picture of him as violent. That’s a stereotype Black people have been dealing with ever since the abolition of slavery.

“Then after that, her family is persecuted mercilessly by her schoolteacher. Despite the fact that neither Nora nor her parents were even accused of wrongdoing, Donna Frick referred to them as unworthy of sharing the same society as the rest of them. And though officially, Donna was reprimanded and forced to stop, she was allowed to keep her job.”

“And she got what she wanted anyway,” Kate said.

Darnell nodded. “Exactly. The Averys were forced to move and change their names once again. All because of a false conviction.”

“Then, years after her brother’s death, the courts come to the family and say, ‘Gee, our bad’,” Marcus continued. “‘Here’s some money, and in return, you’re not allowed to talk about how we fucked up and put your son in prison, which eventually got him killed.”

“Exactly,” Darnell said again. “Essentially, Georgia and Theodore knuckled under. They gave up. Nora couldn’t handle that.”

Kate bit into her sandwich and chewed thoughtfully. It made sense. Nora would have carried that anger with her for decades. Not just anger either. Guilt that she had done nothing herself. Guilt that she hadn’t carried the torch where her parents had dropped it. Perhaps even guilt over monies she’d accepted. After all, it was easy to hold onto righteous anger but very difficult to say no to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

That made her a perfect candidate for a Cox disciple.

“I still don’t know if I buy it, though,” Marcus said. “Donna taught a lot of Black kids. She treated Nora differently from them.”

Darnell smiled. “Well, I’ll admit that her motivations may have been more personal. We discovered her relationship to Narek Tankian.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes. It turns out the two of them were engaged.”

Marcus’s eyes widened. “Really? How did no one know about that?”

Darnell shrugged. “Clearly, they kept it secret. But Narek Tankian applied for a marriage license between himself and one Donna Frick of Wilmington, Delaware that was pending when he was killed. My best guess is that she planned to run away with him. From what we’ve gathered, she was not happy with her life here. Maybe she was planning on building a new life with him. Then he was murdered, and the family of the man who killed her suddenly lives in her neighborhood. His younger sister attends her school, sits in her classroom. Maybe even looks a little like him, so instead of seeing the face of possibly the only man who could love her every day, she sees the faith of the man who, as far as she knows, killed him.”

“But he didn’t kill him,” Marcus pointed out. “So, what happens after she finds out?”

Darnell chuckled. “She doesn’t believe it. By that time, she’s built an entire worldview around Daniel Avery being the killer. She’s succeeded in ruining a family’s life and tearing the spirit of a child down. She wouldn’t want to confront the possibility that she was wrong to do so.”

Kate sipped her water bottle. She felt restless. This was all well and good, but it didn’t really help them. They needed the answers to the important questions. Damn it, they needed to find Nora Avery.

She got to her feet. “I’m going to take a walk. I need a moment to clear my head.”

“Everything okay?” Marcus asked.

“I’m just a little frustrated at the lack of material progress,” she admitted. “It’s no one’s fault, but it’s frustrating. I need to breathe for a minute and approach everything refreshed.”

“Fine with me,” Marcus said. “We’ll call you if we find anything out.”

She stepped outside and weaved through the cacophony of movement and noise in the field office. It was nice to see everyone working hard, but once again, all their hard work meant nothing without results. The FBI didn’t award participation prizes, and if their killer struck again, no one would pat them on the back and say, “Good try.”

She wasn’t just going to walk, though. She needed to clear her head and find answers.

So, when she was outside, she dialed Gabe’s number.

Professor Gabriel Levine was the chair of the Linguistics Department at New York University. He was also Kate’s mentor and the man who had suggested she join the FBI after her father’s death. She owed him her passion for cryptography and her career.

He was also the person she felt most comfortable opening up to. She needed to open up to someone. Marcus would just want to protect her, and her mother would sweep all of her concerns under the rug for fear of finding something actually dangerous.

Gabe answered on the second ring. “Kate! It’s good to hear from you! How are you feeling?”