"I know what happened the night Wolfgang was murdered was difficult for you."
"Yes, it was," I said carefully. Where were they going with this? "You know I didn't kill him."
He squeezed my hands. "We know that."
Woody snorted.
"We know you didn't kill him," Forrest said firmly, giving Woody the side eye. "We also know something else went on that night. Something you're not telling us."
I glanced down at the grass. It needed mowing. Like everything else on this property, it was a mess. Everything else, including me.
"I told you what happened," I whispered.
"Did you?" he asked. "If you're trying to cover for someone…"
I glanced up at him. "I'm not. I promise I don't know who they are."
He turned his head to the side slightly, one eyebrow raised. "I believe you. I also believe you left something out, something that might be important."
"Wolfgang would have killed me," I said, still whispering. "Sooner or later he would have." He had that in common with his son, apparently. "They saved me from that."
"You feel like you owe them?" Forrest asked.
"Yeah, I do," I said honestly.
"So you're holding something back because you don't want them to get in trouble," he reasoned.
I looked away without answering.
"I understand," he said softly. "You felt helpless and they…"
He trailed off, leaving me to say, "They gave me my life back. They let me be me again when I never thought I would be. They didn't judge me for not being able to walk away. They just…took care of him."
"Not all heroes wear capes," Leif said. "Some of them wear masks and dress in black."
Forrest gave him a brief, sharp look before turning back to me.
"I understand you want to protect them, but you'll feel better if you get whatever it is you're hiding off your chest. It might help you to move on with the rest of your life."
"What will you do if I tell you?" I looked into his eyes searchingly. If I was about to throw people under the bus, I might as well have stayed in the house and let the fire take me.
"That depends what you're about to say." He returned my intent look. "Like I said, I believe you when you told me you don't know who it was. Additional information may not change that."
I considered that for a moment. What did it matter if he knew one of them was a woman? Honestly, I suspected he wasn't letting me walk away until I told him everything, so I did.
I drew in a deep breath, then coughed as I inhaled more smoke and dust. When I was finished coughing, I managed to speak, low and succinct.
"I spoke to them for a minute before I went into the bathroom. One was a man, the other was a woman. They both sounded like they were from New York." Had I said too much? I couldn't take it back now.
Forrest nodded slowly, then glanced over to Woody.
"You want proof Sable did nothing to your father? I can get you that proof."
I clutched his hand. "What do you mean?"
Had I screwed up? Had I given him the clue he needed to find Wolfgang's killers? Was that what all of this was about? He wanted to get to the truth. To get to the bottom of what happened that night? Was it possible none of this was about me? He was using me for information.
He took my arms, just below my elbows.
