“Why? Because you and I have tended to be on opposite sides of the justice system?”
“No. Because I may have interfered with the Silver Ridge PD investigation today, and I’m trying not to feel bad about it.”
“What?”
He shrugged, one hand steering us through the curves in the road. “I bent the rules. Piper asked me to come to the station and see what I could do for you. I convinced Chief Nichols to interview me as a witness. That way, she could show me exactly what evidence they had against you. Technically, I was just sharing what personal info I had on those subjects. I didn’t expect to have useful information.”
“Nichols mentioned a witness identifying Piper’s knife. That was you, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah. But I was just telling the truth. And it’s Ollie’s camping knife, actually. I bought it for him.”
Teller explained what had gone down over my dinner break. After he’d seen the photo of the knife, he’d called Piper for permission to check her garage. He and Nichols had driven to Piper’s house. They’d found the leather sheath and holster, all part of a fancy camping knife set Teller gave Ollie for his last birthday.
But no knife.
“When I got to the station a couple hours ago,” Teller said, “I had no idea if I could help or not. By then, Chief Nichols was starting to have serious doubts about your guilt. The timing andevents just didn’t add up. It’s clear the stabbing took place at the Pine Cone, and you weren’t there.”
“I was at Piper’s.”
“Yeah, I heard,” he said tightly. “Anyway, the perp tossed the knife, along with that Seattle sweatshirt, as false clues. It’s sheer coincidence you wound up discovering Danny slumped in his car.”
A damn lucky coincidence, in a weird way. I couldn’t have stabbed Danny at his motel and also waved goodbye to Piper and Ollie at the same time. And then jumped out of the way of his car minutes later on Piper’s street.
“I’m just glad I could provide one more piece of the puzzle,” Teller said.
“Before that, you thought I did it. Didn’t you?”
He took a long breath. “I had to entertain the possibility.”
We drove in silence for a while. I still had no idea where we were heading, but it was outside Silver Ridge. Made me think of the drives Teller and I used to take. Talking, laughing. Just being there for each other.
Finally, I said, “I get it. You don’t know me. I’m just a violent ex-con to you. An ex-con who’s trying to get his hooks in your sister, from your perspective.”
Teller pulled us into a bright parking lot.
“You’re more than that,” he said hoarsely. “You were my friend, as Piper keeps reminding me. You were family. Just like Ashford, Callum, and Grace are to me. But you…with all the shit that happened with our parents, you and I stood shoulder to shoulder. We tried to take care of the others. For a while there, I counted on you, and I think you counted on me too.”
“I did. You were my fucking brother.” I blinked at the windshield as my eyes stung. “I messed that up too, even before my arrest, and I’m sorry for it. Sorry for a lot of things. Maybe that doesn’t mean much to you, but?—”
“No, it does,” Teller said. “Remorse isn’t a weakness. It’scowards who hide behind lies and excuses. It takes strength to admit when you’ve done wrong.”
He turned and looked at me, and the barrier behind his eyes shifted. Like he was really considering me for the first time since we’d met in the station hallway earlier.
“Piper keeps telling me to listen to your side of the story. Do you want me to do that? Do you think it’ll make a difference?”
“You have to decide for yourself. I’ve told Piper nearly everything. I need to tell my siblings the whole story. It’s long past time. Might be easier if I can tell all of you at once, but I still don’t know if I can get Ashford into the same room as me.”
Teller pointed at the large building in front of us, and I finally registered where we were. Hart County General Hospital.
He’d brought me to Piper. That had to be a positive sign.
“Everyone’s here,” Teller said. “Even Ashford. They’re here for Piper.”
“Because she’s amazing.” She deserved everything. All the love in the world.
“But from what I’ve seen, her faith inyouhasn’t wavered for a single second. That’s what convinced me to go to the station and try to help you. If anyone can convince Ashford to listen and give you a chance, it’s her.”
FORTY-SEVEN
