Zero Days

Inside the police station, Jack needs a disguise. She finds a uniform and puts it on. When she runs into an officer, she introduces herself with a fake name. She says she is from a different precinct and is lost, so he walks her to the suite she requests, buzzing her through a security door. Just then, Gabe’s mother, Verity, calls to report that Jack’s daughter, Gabby, is sick. Jack says she’s on her way and informs the officer in the suite that she’s doing a pen test set up by Malik. Just then, Malik walks in, shocked to see Jack wearing a police uniform, and she is disappointed by the security vulnerabilities Jack uncovered.

Walking Jack outside, Malik tells her that Cole died while awaiting trial. He appears to have hanged himself, but she is not certain because he was in protective custody. She says, “He was found hanging. How you interpret that…” (350). Malik says he gave testimony before he died, and every lead is being pursued. Jack recalls that two bodies were fished out of the Thames River the summer before, and their DNA matched traces found at her flat. Jack wanted Cole to stand trial, as she thinks of him as the person responsible for Gabe’s death. Malik tells Jack that Jeff was found guilty of gross misconduct. He was fired, and two of his coworkers were reprimanded for their behavior toward Jack when she reported his abuse.

On the car ride home, Jack hears the song she and Gabe first danced to at their wedding. She thinks of the wedding but also of Cole, who whistled that song as she hid in the dunes. Jack cries, returning her thoughts to Gabe. She pulls up to her house and hears their daughter wailing. She is home and feels that this is where she wants to be.