to answer any of his questions. It was late afternoon, the hottest part of the day, and the shades were drawn against the sun, denying them the glorious views of Bald Mountain to the west.
“Hey, K,” Fiona said.
Kira pursed her lips.
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. I think I got you in trouble.”
Arian seemed to know better than to interrupt, or to take notes, or to react in any way that might cause his client to clam up. He was a human mannequin. But his eyes found Fiona and attempted to deliver something that she found difficult to interpret.
“You remember that I was having problems remembering what happened?”
Kira lifted her eyes to look across at Fiona, but said nothing.
“I’ve made some headway in that department.”
Kira appeared concerned.
“In a good way,” Fiona said. “The way I look at it, the truth can’t get us into trouble. You know? It is what it is. What happened, happened. That’s all we’re after here: the truth. What happened. It’s no big deal.”
“It is if it gets you in trouble.”
“Do you think that’s going to happen?”
Kira looked over at her attorney, then at Fiona. “Yes, I do.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it.”
“You would if you were me,” Kira said.
“Why is that?”
“Because . . . you know.”
“Tell me.”
“I left the bat there.”
“Where?”
“Outside the door. That night the sheriff came, and I sneaked up on him and all.”
“Which door.”
“The front door. Here.” She pointed.
“Okay. And what about the bat?”
Kira’s eyes darted to Arian, then to Fiona. “Well, it isn’t there anymore.”
“The thing is,” Fiona said, “he’s on your side. Our side. Whatever he hears, it doesn’t matter, because he represents you.”
“What about you? Who represents you?”
“I’m not the one who needs a lawyer,” Fiona said.
Kira lowered her head.
“K?”
“What if you do?”
“Need a lawyer?”
She nodded.
Fiona checked with Arian, who nodded ever so slightly, encouraging her to pursue this line.
“The night of the Advocates dinner, you recognized him, didn’t you?”
She nodded.
“Marty was there. You saw him. You told me that later, and I didn’t believe you, and now I know I should have. I apologize for that.”
Kira shrugged her shoulders.
“I just . . . It just didn’t seem possible.”
“I froze.”
“I must have walked right by him. You realize that? I got that e-mail and I left right away, and if I didn’t walk right by him, I came incredibly close. None of this would have happened. None of this would have been the same if he’d found me there. He was looking for me.”
“That’s what I was afraid of. That’s why I froze.”
“All these years. Well, you know how afraid I was of him. You’re the only one here I’ve talked to about any of this. Your thing with Roy Coats . . . We shared stuff, you and me. I know you want to protect me, but you can let go of that because I remember now. Something Walt—the sheriff—said. I don’t know. It was like it all came back to me. Like something unlocked. Katherine says it happens. She told me it would happen, and I didn’t believe her. But it happened. I don’t have it all back. She says it takes time. But what I remember, I remember clearly. He was there . . . he came here to apologize to me, Kira. Not hurt me. But to apologize. He freaked me out. I was terrified of him. And him apologizing like that. I think I freaked out and stepped back and probably went over the stool and hit my head.”
“But I saw you with the bat,” Kira blurted out, as if forgetting about Arian. “I saw you hit him.”
“Me?”
“On the head. From the back.”
“Me?” Fiona gasped dryly for a second time.
“In front of your place. The two of you.”
“But . . . you saw me?”
“What was I supposed to do? I didn’t want you to know I’d seen. I didn’t want anyone to know. The car took off. The guy’s car. It wasn’t him driving, that was for sure. Not after that. I got in the truck and left. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Me?” Fiona repeated. “You saw me?”
Kira was crying. She lowered her head.
Fiona came around the coffee table and sat down next to her and held her. Kira sobbed. “I didn’t want to get you in trouble.”
Fiona fought back her own tears. “But I thought you’d done it.”
“Me?!” Kira leaned back and explored Fiona’s face. “Seriously?”
“And Walt . . . He thinks we did it together. That we’re covering for each other.”