“But you didn’t see,” Max repeated.
“Maybe I did.”
Max closed his eyes for a moment. A muscle twitched in his cheek. “River! Do not fucking lie to the police. That way lies disaster.”
“No way…would Newt just have stood there…and shot Barney. It must have been an…accident.”
“Quite probably but he fired a gun. As I said, that’s a breach of his licence conditions.”
“He shouldn’t be on fucking…li…licence. He should never have gone to prison.”
“He was involved in an armed robbery! He fired a gun and a man later died.”
River exhaled. “You know what Newt and I were doing…before we got back to find…Barney in the house? We were at a hosp…hospice. Newt held his brother, Phelan…as he died.” He fought to get his words out.
“He forgave Phelan for doing…something terrible…to him…when he was…seventeen. Not supposed to tell, but fuck that. Newt didn’t do…what he went to prison for. His brother Phelan did.”
“River! That’s ridiculous. Why would Newt accept going to prison if he’d done nothing?”
“Because Phelan had a previous con…con…viction, they were sure he’d get a… fifteen-year sen…sentence. Newt should only have had three years because of his age. When the man who was robbed… had a heart attack, that made it man… man…sss…manslaughter.”
“River.” Max took hold of his hand. “You know how many people persist in claiming they’re innocent when they’re not? Eventually, they sometimes even manage to convince themselves they didn’t do it. Quite legitimately. No one is altruistic enough to accept a prison sentence on behalf of someone else. Unless maybe they’re paid to do so.”
River yanked his hand free. “I believe him.”
“Then you’re naïve.”
“I believe him,” River repeated more firmly. “Get Newt out of prison or we’re done.”
He took some pleasure in watching Max pale.
“How the fuck can I do that? It’s up to the police and the criminal justice system. You didn’t see what happened. Barney’s dead. It’s just Newt’s version of events, and he has form. I can speak to the police but they’re not going to let himout on my say so.”
“Guy breaks in. Waits with gun. He intends to kill us both. Newt tries to save me. Barney ends up dead… That’s what happened. Is on the news?”
“No, but you’re in the local hospital. People saw you. We’ve managed to partially keep the lid on the story, but it’s not screwed down. We’ll create the narrative. You’re in a private bay, which helps. But the news blackout won’t last.”
“No, it won’t. And what n-n-narrative? What are you going to say? If you th-throw Newt under the…bus…I’ll never forgive you.”
Max kept talking and talking, and River pretended to fall sleep. Once he was sure Max had actually gone, he got out of bed and looked in the cupboard.No fucking clothes.He wished he’d thought to ask Max to get him a phone. Then again, the way Max was feeling, it wouldn’t have happened.
It didn’t take long before things began to unravel. The number of people who seemed to need to pop their head around the door to take a look at River was growing. No one spoke, just glanced at him and moved on. At least no one tried to take a picture.
Later that afternoon, the nurse he liked the best came into his room. “You have a visitor if you wish to see him.”
River hoped it would be Newt. “Who?”
“Harry Gardner.” She blushed bright red.
River hesitated, then nodded. Barney had said nothing that suggested Harry was behind any of this.
Harry shot him a tentative smile as he walked in. “Hi, River. Good to see you. How are you feeling?”
“I’ve just been shot by your boyfriend. How do you think I feel?”
Harry blanched. “Barney isn’t…wasn’t my boyfriend. Look, this was a mistake. Maybe we can talk when you’re out of here.”
“Ah shit. Sorry, sorry.”Get your words out!“Stuck in here…while person who…risked his life… God knows where.” He took a breath. “Harry, sorry. Take a seat. We do need to talk. Just difficult.”
