of what had happened to her, finishing with, “I went to prison for something I didn’t do. I didn’t want anyone to know, but now everyone will know. We might as well leave. My business will be ruined. My friends will be gone. We’ll just go somewhere and start over. You can’t tell, Mac, because of attorney-client privilege. TJ, come on. Let’s go.”
“We know about your prison record, Savannah. We’ve known for weeks. It doesn’t matter to us.”
Her world froze. We know. We’ve known for weeks.
Savannah’s heart began to pound. “We? Us? Who is us, Mac?”
“All of your friends.”
All of my friends. For weeks. How?
Then anger flashed. Betrayal stabbed her. “Zach told you.”
“No. Celeste. She overheard a conversation at Angel’s Rest the day TJ painted the cabin. Since the maintenance man overheard it, too, and he loves to flap his tongue, she wanted your friends to be ready to defend you if necessary. She said it was obviously something you were sensitive about.”
Savannah’s mind whirled. They’d known. Her friends had known and they hadn’t said anything. They’d known and hadn’t treated her any differently. “What does this mean?”
“It means that you don’t need to run away frightened. You have friends, Savannah. Your friends will help you and TJ through this mess. I believe him when he says he didn’t steal the stop sign. I believe that someone else is trying to set him up for it. Zach is a good sheriff. He won’t railroad anyone and especially not your nephew when there is sufficient evidence to suspect he’s been framed. You need to trust us, honey.”
Now she sank down into the office chair and buried her face in her hands. Trusting her friends meant trusting Zach.
Zach hadn’t told them. Hadn’t betrayed her secret. Not Zach. Of course not Zach. He’d given her his word. Sheriff Andy didn’t break his word.
Trust.
Zach was the sheriff. Zach was her lover. He’d told her that he loved her, and she’d run scared. He’s hurt and angry at her, but he wouldn’t take that out on TJ. Zach wasn’t like that.
Trust.
They said the charge would be negligent homicide.
Homicide.
Trust.
Once before, she’d trusted a man who told her he loved her. She’d been a fool. But it wasn’t just about her this time. Could she risk her nephew?
Zach is a good man. That’s the bottom line.
No, she realized, trust was the bottom line. Did she trust him? Could she trust him? Her old fears … her memories … it might not be fair to Zach, but right now Zach wasn’t her priority.
This wasn’t about her. Not this time. This was about TJ. She had to protect her nephew. She couldn’t let her heart rule her mind. “Will Zach arrest TJ tonight? Put him in jail tonight?”
“No. He’s just going to question him. Probably the same set of questions we just covered here.”
“What if he tries to trick him? That’s what they did to me. The detective lied to me, and I found out later that it’s perfectly legal for them to do it.”
“Zach won’t lie to TJ, and TJ isn’t going to lie to Zach. I’ll be with TJ the entire time, and I won’t let him say anything that could possibly damage his case. I’m an excellent attorney, Savannah. Like I said, you need to trust us.”
“Okay.” I’ll act like I trust them, anyway. But we need to leave all our options open. Like Grams always used to say, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
Savannah had no intention of being anybody’s fool ever again.
Zach wanted a beer. He wanted his bed. Today had been one helluva day, and he didn’t expect it to end anytime soon.
The door to the sheriff’s office opened and Mac, Savannah, and TJ walked inside. Savannah was as white as the snowcap on Murphy Mountain. Mac looked like … a lawyer.
TJ looked scared to death. No defiance now, but no guilt, either. Pale as a ghost. A young, frightened boy. If he’s guilty, Savannah will …
No. Zach didn’t want to go down that road. It would destroy her.
He couldn’t think about that now. He couldn’t think about her. He had to be the cop. The guy with the badge. Everything she hated.
Zach rose to meet them. “We’re going to do this by the book. Ms. Moore, Deputy Romano will take your statement at her desk.” He gestured toward the small room that served as the department’s interrogation room. “If you gentlemen will join me in here.”