Yes, that’s what he deserved, even if he was her brother. He broke the law and should pay for his crime.
Or should he? He was her little brother, just a kid when it happened, and it hadn’t been his fault.
She shook her head, suddenly wishing Brian hadn’t told her.
Yet in her heart, she knew why he had told her. For two years, Miles had paid the price of his silence.
And now, Otis was going to pay.
She inhaled deeply, bringing her fingers to her temples.
No, Miles wouldn’t go that far. Would he?
Maybe not now, but it would eat away at him as long as he believed Otis was guilty, and one day he might—
She shook her head, not wanting to think about that.
Still, she didn’t know what to do.
Nor had any answers come to her a few minutes later, when Miles showed up at her door.
“Hi,” Miles said simply.
Sarah stared at him as if in shock, unable to move her hand from the doorknob. She felt herself tense, her thoughts veering in opposite directions.
Tell him now, just get it over with. . . .
Wait until you’ve figured out what to say first. . . .
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Oh... yeah...um...,” she stammered. “Come in.”
She stepped back, and Miles closed the door behind him. He hesitated for a moment before heading toward the window, where he pulled the curtains and scanned the road; then he made a circuit of the living room, obviously distracted. Stopping at the mantel, he absently adjusted a picture of Sarah and her family, angling it so it faced the living room. Sarah stood in the center of the room without moving. The whole thing felt surreal. All she could think as she watched him was that she knew who’d killed his wife.
“Charlie came by this morning,” he said suddenly, and the sound of his voice brought her back. “He took the file I had on Missy.”
“I’m sorry.”
It sounded ridiculous, but it was the first and only thing that came to mind.
Miles didn’t seem to notice.
“He also told me that he’d have me arrested if I so much as look at Otis Timson.”
This time, Sarah didn’t respond. He’d come to vent; the defensive posture he held made that clear. Miles turned toward her.
“Can you believe that? All I did was arrest the guy who killed my wife and this is what happens.”
It took all the control she could summon to keep her composure.
“I’m sorry,” she said for the second time.
“So am I.” He shook his head. “I can’t look for Sims, I can’t look for evidence, I can’t do anything. I’m supposed to sit at home and wait for Charlie to handle everything.”
She cleared her throat, struggling for a way out. “Well... don’t you think that might be a good idea? For a little while, I mean?” she offered.
“No, not really. Christ, I’m the only one who kept looking after the initial investigation dried up. I know more about this case than anyone.”
No, Miles, you don’t.
“So what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’ll listen to Charlie, though, won’t you?”
Miles looked away, refusing to answer, and Sarah felt something drop in her stomach.
“Listen, Miles,” she said, “I know you don’t want to hear this, but I think Charlie’s right. Let other people handle Otis.”
“Why? So they can screw it up a second time?”
“They didn’t screw it up.”
His eyes flashed. “No? Then why is Otis still walking around? Why was it up to me to find the people who fingered him? Why didn’t they look harder for any evidence back then?”
“Maybe there wasn’t any,” she answered quietly.
“Why do you keep playing devil’s advocate about this?” he demanded. “You did the same damn thing yesterday.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yeah, you did. You didn’t listen to anything I said.”
“I didn’t want you to do anything—”
He held up his hands. “Yeah—I know. You and Charlie both. Neither one of you seems to realize what the hell is going on here.”
“Of course I do,” she said, trying to hide the tension in her voice. “You think Otis did it and you want revenge. But what happens if you find out later that Sims and Earl were wrong somehow?”
“Wrong?”
“With what they heard, I mean....”
“You think they’re lying about this? Both of them?”
“No. I’m just saying that maybe they heard it wrong. Maybe Otis said it, but he didn’t mean it. Maybe he didn’t do it.”
For a moment, Miles was too thunderstruck to speak. Sarah pressed on,