"Dan?" I asked. "He's the new police captain?"
"Mhm," the man agreed. "He's also been telling us about the program here. It's a good thing you people are doing. I can't count the number of times that I would've preferred to see a kid rehabilitated instead of incarcerated. That just makes them serial offenders." Then he pulled out his card and offered it to us. "We're still working out shifts, but if you need something, we're here to make sure you know you can trust the police again."
"Thank you," Violet said, taking it.
"Now, I'm going to need to get a private statement from each of you," he explained. "Would this be more comfortable to do inside?"
"Yes," Cy said. "It will also let me check them out, because we're all hurting a little."
The officer simply gestured towards the house. "Well, lead on. Let's see if we can get out of your hair in time for you to get at least a little sleep tonight."
Chapter Seventy-Four
For the next two days, Southwind was busy. Police showed up to take photos, collect evidence, and let us know how the case was going. It was the third day when everything went wrong. This time, when the officer showed up at the door, he was alone. I could see his silhouette through the frosted glass. When I opened it, Dan was standing on the other side in a crisp, clean uniform.
"Can I come in?" he asked, but his voice was serious.
"Yeah," I said. "Guys?"
One by one, Violet, Luke, Cy, and Faith made their way into the room. Dan stood nervously by the door, so I gestured for him to make himself comfortable. Instead, Dan just walked to the edge of the living room, then stalled out again.
"Coffee?" Violet asked.
"No, ma'am," he said, and that change of tone made it very clear that this wasn't a social call. "You should all probably sit down."
"Dad?" Faith asked, looking over at Luke.
"What's going on, Dan?" I asked.
"Please, Ash?" he asked. "Sit. I think it would be better."
So I sat. Cy and Violet were on one sofa. Luke and Faith took the other. I took the armchair between them. Pulling in a steadying breath, Dan moved over to stand before the fireplace, the fingers of one hand sliding over each other in some kind of nervous tick.
"This morning, just after five a.m., Paul Simmons succumbed to his injuries and died. Because of that, Zeke Harding's charges have been upgraded from reckless endangerment to manslaughter." He paused to lick his lips. "Self-defense isn't on the table. Mr. Simmons was not actively engaged in assault at the time that he was shot. The castle law doesn't account for damage to property, only theft, assault, and threat of bodily harm."
"Shit," I breathed.
Dan nodded. "Yeah. He can try to fight it, but we have too much evidence. We needed it to convict the men who attacked all of you. We also have nine witness statements that all claim the same thing: Paul Simmons was trying to set the barn on fire when Zeke shot him."
"Dad?" Faith asked. "What does that mean?"
"It's not good," Violet said. "We don't know yet, Faith, but it's not good."
"But he was protecting us!" she insisted.
"I know," Dan assured her. "But, that's part of why I'm here. That boy - no, thatmanwas doing the right thing. I don't believe the law always has it right, and while y'all kept saying that Southwind was for the selfless criminals, I never truly understood until this moment. Zeke is a selfless criminal. His case is already assigned, so I talked to the judge. Zeke has the right to a fair trial, and I will support that decision if that's what he decides to do, but we have another option. The judge said that if he pleads no contest to the charges, he will move the case forward on the docket. It's pretty common with plea bargains."
"And then?" Luke asked.
"Then the judge will agree to deferred adjudication with the stipulation that the young man complete the program at Southwind. He will be convicted of involuntary manslaughter, his sentence to be served here, and his record wiped upon completion of the program." Dan swallowed a little too loudly. "Emily said no. She said he's not guilty, and she won't let him go down for doing the right thing."
"I'll handle it," I promised everyone. "I know exactly how to convince her that this is ok."
"How?" Faith asked.
"I'm going to tell her exactly what I did." My eyes jumped to Luke, then back to Faith. "I came here because I killed someone too, Faith. I stopped a man from raping a lady, but after she ran away, I knew he'd do it again, so I made sure that couldn't happen. I shot him. I didn't know what else to do, so I pulled the trigger. I also know that without Southwind, I would never have become the man I am today. I think Zeke deserves the same thing."
Faith looked over at Cy. "What did you do?"
