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She s okay, his father shouted over the noise of whirling blades. Cindy s
okay!
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Jack heard the words, but couldn t assimilate them.She can t be alive. He d
seen her with his own eyes. Seen her hanging there. The part of his soul where
she d resided had been ripped out of him. Still, he wanted to believe. Oh, how
he wanted to believe . . . He looked at his father intently, allowing himself
some small measure of hope.
She isdefinitely okay, Harry said, seeing the confusion on his son s face.
I just saw her. I just held her in my arms.
The governor threw him a line, but Jack was too stunned to move. Slowly, the
realization sank in. Cindy wasalive. His father was with him. And the danger
was behind them. He reached for the lifeline and swam toward the helicopter.
The swirling wind from the chopper blades blew water in his face, but he
didn t mind. All the cuts and scrapes, the bruises even his cracked rib were
glorious reminders that he was alive alive with something to live for.
That much was obvious from the face that greeted him. As he looked up, Jack
saw tears of joy in his proud father s eyes.
Epilogue
"
Before Esteban s body was borne by currents out to sea, his story had washed
ashore with the force of a tidal wave. The media blitz began that Sunday
morning and lasted for weeks, but the essential elements of the story were out
within twenty-four hours. It was front-page news in every major Florida
newspaper. It was the lead story on local and national network newscasts, and
CNN even ran several hours of continuous coverage.
By Monday afternoon the Swytecks had revealed all to the media, and the truth
was widely known about Esteban s two-year campaign to avenge his brother s
execution. The public knew that neither Jack nor his father had killed Eddy
Goss. Esteban had, as part of his plan to frame Jack and have him executed for
a murder he d never committed. The public knew that Esteban, not Jack, had
murdered Gina Terisi, in a last-ditch effort to ensure Jack s conviction. And
the public knew that Governor Swyteck had not executed an innocent man. As
Esteban had admitted to Jack, Raul Fernandez was in the act of raping the
young girl when Esteban had killed her; both Esteban and Fernandez had gotten
what they deserved.
By Monday evening the Swytecks were heralded as heroes. They d eliminated not
just a psychopathic killer, but one of Castro s former henchmen. The governor
received congratulatory telegrams from several national leaders. A petition
started in Little Havana to create Swyteck Boulevard. Amidst all the hoopla,
a cowardly written statement was issued quietly from the state attorney s
office, announcing that Wilson McCue would promptly disband the grand jury
he d empaneled to indict the Swytecks.
And on the following Tuesday the second Tuesday in November the voters went
to the polls. Florida had never seen a larger turnout. And no one had ever
witnessed a more dramatic one-week turnaround in public opinion.
The second time is sweeter! Harry Swyteck proclaimed from the raised dais
at his second inaugural ball.
Loud cheers filled the grand ballroom as three hundred friends and guests
raised their champagne glasses with the re-elected governor. The band started
up. The governor took Agnes by the hand and led her to the dance floor. It was
like a silver wedding anniversary, the two of them swaying gracefully to their
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favorite song, the governor in his tuxedo and his bride in a flowing white
taffeta gown.
Couples flooded onto the dance floor as Jack and Cindy watched from their
seats at the head table. It had been a long time since they were this happy.
They had their wounds, of course. Cindy had nightmares and fears of being
alone. Both she and Jack constantly remembered Gina and what she d gone
through. Slowly, though, they regained some semblance of normalcy, and their
love for each other became the source of their strength. Cindy returned to
work at her photography studio. Jack started his own criminal-defense firm and
enjoyed the luxury of picking his own clients. By Christmas, their lives had
vastly improved psychologically, emotionally, and most of all, romantically.
Jack couldn t hide his look of wonder and admiration as he stared at Cindy
across the table. She was spectacular in a deep purple gown that featured an
elegant hem and sexy dcolletage. Her hair was up in a swirling blonde twist;
her face was a radiant portrait framed by dangling diamond earrings that Agnes
had loaned her.
Come on, he said as he took her by the hand. There s something I want you
to see. They walked arm-in-arm away from the crowded ballroom to one of the
quiet courtyards that had made this classic Mediterranean-style hotel so
special since its opening in the 1920s.
Soft music flowed through the open French doors, making it even more romantic
beneath the moon and stars on this cool, crisp January evening. They strolled
arm-in-arm amidst trellised vines, a trickling fountain, and potted palms on a
sweeping veranda the size of a tennis court. Jack rested their champagne
glasses on the stone railing where the veranda overlooked a swimming pool
forty feet below. He took Cindy in his arms.
What s that for? she asked coyly, enjoying the hug.
Forever, he answered. Then, covertly, so she wouldn t notice, he took a
diamond ring from his pocket and dropped it into Cindy s glass.
Well,here you are, said the governor with a smile as he came around the
corner. I ve been trying to have a word alone with you two all evening.
Jack wasn t sure how to the handle the untimely interruption.
Cindy returned the smile. And we ve been waiting for a minute with you, too,
Governor. To drink our own private toast to another four years.
A wonderful idea, he replied, except I m out of champagne.
Well, here, she offered, have some of mine.
Wait Jack said.
Cindy reached for her glass but knocked it off the railing.
Oh, my God, Jack gasped, looking on with horror as it sailed over the edge
and plunged forty feet down, exploding on the cement deck by the pool.
Oh, I m so clumsy, she said, looking embarrassed.
Jack continued to stare disbelievingly at the impact area below. Without a
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