Chapter 10 - The Reckoning of Deputy Nolan
Before leaving the county, I visited the federal holding facility in Alexandria, Virginia, where the former deputies of Harrington County were being processed.
Deputy Nolan sat in a small, concrete interview room, wearing an orange jumpsuit, his hands shackled to the stainless-steel table. The swagger and arrogance he had displayed at the airport terminal were gone. He looked ten years older, his face hollow, his eyes fixed on the tabletop.
I sat down across from him.
Nolan slowly raised his head. When he recognized my face, he swallowed hard, his throat clicking nervously.
“Carter…” Nolan whispered. “Look… I was just following Daniel’s orders. If you didn't play ball with the Mercers, they ruined you. They fired you, took your house, put your kids in state custody… we didn't have a choice.”
“You always had a choice, Nolan,” I said calmly. “You chose to put on a badge, take an oath to protect the people of this county, and then act as an enforcer for a criminal cartel.”
Nolan’s eyes welled with tears. “What’s going to happen to my family?”
“The same thing that happened to every family you terrorized for two decades,” I replied. “You’ll face justice. But Agent Reid tells me you’re cooperating with the federal prosecutors.”
“I gave them everything,” Nolan choked out, his voice breaking. “Every safety deposit box. Every ledger. Every name on the payroll. Just… please tell your wife I’m sorry. I didn't know Travis was going to use an iron pipe on her… I swear to God I didn't know he was that crazy.”
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“You knew,” I said quietly, standing up from the chair. “You just didn't care until the Black Hawks landed in your front yard.”
I walked out of the interview room, leaving Nolan alone with the echoes of his own choices.
