cried, but her hand began gently moving up and down his back. Brian leaned into her, holding her tightly, somehow believing that if he let go, everything would change between them.
But even then, he knew it had.
He wasn’t sure how long he cried, but when he finally stopped, he began to tell his sister how it happened.
He did not lie.
He did not, however, tell her about the visits.
During his entire confession, Brian never met her eyes. He didn’t want to see her pity or her horror; he didn’t want to see the way she really saw him.
But at the end of his story, he finally steeled himself to meet her gaze.
He saw neither love nor forgiveness on her face.
What he saw was fear.
Brian stayed with Sarah most of the morning. She had many questions; in the process of answering them, Brian told her everything once more. Some questions, though—like why he hadn’t gone to the police—had no meaningful answer, except for the obvious: that he was in shock, he was frightened, that too much time eventually passed.
Like Brian, Sarah justified his decision, and like Brian, she questioned it. They went back and forth, time and time again, but in the end, when she finally grew silent, Brian knew it was time for him to leave.
On his way out the door, he glanced back over his shoulder.
On the couch, hunched over like someone twice her age, his sister was quietly crying, her face buried in her hands.
Chapter 31
That same morning, while Sarah sat crying on the couch, Charlie Curtis strode up Miles Ryan’s walkway. He was dressed in his uniform; it was the first Sunday in years that he and Brenda wouldn’t make it to church, but as he’d explained to her earlier, he didn’t feel he had a choice. Not after the two phone calls he’d received the day before.
Not after staying up for most of the night and watching Miles’s house because of them.
He knocked; Miles came to the door wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, and a baseball hat. If he was surprised to see Charlie standing on his porch, he gave no indication.
“We need to talk,” Charlie said without preamble.
Miles put his hands on his hips, not hiding the anger he still felt at what Charlie had done.
“So talk.”
Charlie pushed the brim of his hat up. “Do you want to do this on the porch where Jonah can hear, or do you want to talk in the yard? Your choice. It doesn’t matter to me.”
A minute later, Charlie was leaning against the car, his arms crossed. Miles stood facing him. The sun was still low in the sky, and Miles had to squint to see him.
“I need to know if you went looking for Sims Addison,” Charlie said, getting right to the point.
“Are you asking or do you already know?”
“I’m asking because I want to know if you’re willing to lie directly to my face.”
After a moment, Miles glanced away. “Yeah. I went looking for him.”
“Why?”
“Because you said you couldn’t find him.”
“You’re on suspension, Miles. Do you know what that means?”
“It wasn’t anything official, Charlie.”
“It doesn’t matter. I gave you a direct order and you disregarded it. You’re just lucky that Harvey Wellman didn’t find out. But I can’t keep covering for you, and I’m too old and too tired to put up with crap like that.” He shifted his weight from one leg to the other, trying to keep warm. “I need the file, Miles.”
“My file?”
“I want it admitted as evidence.”
“Evidence? For what?”
“It concerns the death of Missy Ryan, doesn’t it? I want to see those notes you’ve been scribbling.”
“Charlie...”
“I’m serious. Either you hand it over or I’ll take it. It’s one or the other, but in the end, I’m going to have it.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“I’m hoping it’ll knock some sense into you. You obviously didn’t listen to a thing I said yesterday, so let me say it again. Stay out of this. Let us handle it.”
“Fine.”
“I need your word that you’re going to stop looking for Sims and that you’ll stay away from Otis Timson.”
“It’s a small town, Charlie. I can’t help it if we happen to bump into each other.”
Charlie’s eyes narrowed. “I’m tired of playing games, Miles, so let me make something clear. If you so much as get within a hundred yards of Otis, or his house or even the places he spends his time, I’ll throw you in jail.”
Miles looked at Charlie incredulously. “For what?”