Epilogue
In a rare occurrence, the sun is shining all across San Francisco. There are throngs of reporters camped out in front of the mayor’s home, hoping to catch a glimpse of Sam Davies’s family since they don’t have access to the man himself. Television, newspaper, magazines. Regional, local, national. Patricia, Sam Jr., and Eddie have become prisoners in their own home. They don’t dare to go out except to run to Safeway in the middle of the night, not even to attend school. Patricia’s mother has moved in with the family to take care of her grandchildren. None of them will speak to the media about what’s happened, not even to make the obligatory ‘no comment’ comment.
“In a stunning turn of events, the mayor has been arrested for the recent murders…”
“He’s charged with framing an innocent woman…”
“The mayor, his lawyer, several of his men, the chief of police, the editor-in-chief of the Chronicle have all been charged…”
“A kidnapping/pedophile ring…”
“The city is besides itself…”
“Special election…”
“Emergency election…”
“Photographs, documents, DVDs…”
“The mayor raped and murdered his own daughter five years ago…”
“His lawyer taped it…”
“Delilah Wire is completely exonerated…”
“Victim of a malicious plot…”
“I’d advise her to sue…”
San Franciscans are shocked by what’s being revealed on a daily basis. They can’t believe that Sam Davies could have been involved in such heinous deeds. Since the chief of police is involved as well as other cops and since it’s a federal case, the FBI have taken over. No one trusts the SFPD to take care of the mess—a mess in which they had a hand in creating. People aren’t talking about anything but the scandal on the streets of San Francisco. The Republicans are quietly gloating, of course, but publicly, they restrain themselves. Even the most ardent right-wingers, however, would never have wanted little girls to come to harm in order to further their cause. People are shocked. No one can quite believe the magnitude of the situation. An evil like that should be able to be felt, to be seen, to be scented. It’s beyond comprehension how the evil had been allowed to exist in their midst so peacefully for so many years. They will continue to ponder this for a very long time.