Page 25 of First Surrender
“I don’t know, but-” She cuts me off.
“Surely he wouldn’t be crazy enough to light a hotel on fire,” she states, exasperated. She truly thinks I’m terrible at my job if she thinks I haven’t considered all possibilities.
“I’m not implying that Declan is taking up a passion for arson, Natalie.”
“Then, what are you suggesting?” She asks but I bite my tongue. I was hoping she’d come to this conclusion on her own and I wouldn’t have to pull the wool from her eyes. When I don’t respond, her eyes narrow.
“I need to call a ceasefire.”
“A what?”
“I need you to promise that you will remain neutral toward me for a limited period of time.”
“Why?”
“What I’m about to discuss with you is going to make you mad and I don’t want you to run away from me because you hate me. I know I am not your favorite person, but this is serious and I need you to listen to me for the entirety of it.”
“Why should I believe that you have my best intentions in mind?”
Always the cynic.
“Because it’s about Dec and I know he is your most important interest.” I watch the defeat in her eyes. She knows I’m tellingthe truth. Her shoulders slump and I take it as a sign that she’s giving in.
“Fine, cease fire.”
“Declan is determined to get released. His lawyer is pulling out all of the stops. He’s already tried to throw the prosecutor off the case, the judge.”
“He can’t get out, he-”
“I know. I don’t want him to get out either. I terminated the deal because he didn’t give me any information and now he’s pissed. He’s mad at me. He’s mad,” I explain as cooly as I can. I’m mad about all of it, too. This week has been hell dealing with it.
“You terminated it? So he isn’t going to be charged with Involuntary Manslaughter?” She asks hopefully. I wish it were good news.
“He will be charged with Aggravated Murder but he won’t be convicted… There’s not enough evidence. That’s why I pushed for the deal in the first place. The prosecution can’t win this, the judge probably won’t even take it to trial.” She looks green as I finish that sentence, but I ignore it, needing to get the rest out in the open while I have her safe in my office.
“In the meantime, he’s desperate to gain his freedom. I don’t know why he’s so desperate suddenly, but he is.” Her eyes study me closely and I feel like an ant under a magnifying glass. There’s no getting away from being burned.
“There’s more, Jackson, I can tell. What aren’t you saying?”
Like a coward, I’m putting off the final piece of information that will cut the deepest. I think this would be easier if she were still calling me Sheriff Small Dick.
“It’s a long shot, but the reason that I think Declan had someone set fire to your apartment is because, with Dec dead, he would’ve been let out for extenuating circumstances. Like the death of a child.”
There’s a long silence as the blood drains from her face, her skin going porcelain white.
“Oh my God.” She jumps up and as predicted, runs straight for the door. I launch up from my seat after her. She should not be leaving like this, not after that information.
“Nat, stop.” I jam the door again with my arm above her head and she whips around to face me.
“Let me go. I have to go,” she rambles.
“No, talk to me.”
“About what? Declan wants to kill my baby brother!” She yells, her voice cracking. “I thought he hated me,” she whispers. “I thought it was about hurting me.”
“I don’t know what he wants. I don’t want this to be true, but I can’t help but see the connection. I hope I’m wrong about this. I’ve never wanted to be more wrong.”
She looks at me, finally. Her dark brown irises stare into mine. To her credit, she hasn’t shed a single tear. Her eyeliner is as sharp as ever. “That’s why you have the deputy watching us? Not because it was arson, but because you’re nervous about what Declan might do.”