Chapter 25
Twenty-Five
Ryder
NOW
Outside the house, I call Arlo for a ride to my car, which must still be at the ballfield. While I wait, I lean against Caroline’s new minivan. The payments are six hundred dollars a month. How will we ever pay for everything with a massive legal tab hanging over our heads?
Since Arlo lives nearby, he arrives ten minutes later.
“We need to talk about the campaign,” he says on the way to the ballfield where my life changed forever.
“What campaign? It was over the second I was taken into custody last night.”
“I’ll take care of making it official.” He glances over at me, as stressed as I’ve ever seen him. “I’ve been getting calls all day from the other guys who signed that affidavit. They’re worried.”
“We should talk to Cam about it and see if he’s heard from the AG’s office on that.”
As the lawyer in our group, Cam is usually our go-to guy for advice. That he and our other closest friends could get caught up in this mess only compounds the nightmare.
Arlo calls Cam on the Bluetooth. “Hey, I’m taking Ryder to get his car. The decision has been made to suspend the campaign.”
“Okay.”
“I’m getting calls from the others about that affidavit…”
“We might be screwed on that.”
“You think so?” Arlo asks, his voice quite a bit higher than usual.
“My contact at the AG’s office told me that Neisy reminded them that the affidavit was complete bullshit and made her cooperation in the reopened case contingent on them doing something about that. He said they’re looking into it.”
“Son of a bitch,” Arlo whispers.
“I’ll let you know what I hear,” Cam says.
The line goes dead.
“Yeah, goodbye to you, too,” Arlo says.
“He’s pissed with me, not you. He told me not to run for Congress because of the skeleton in my closet. I should’ve listened to him.”
“You had no way to know my sister, of all people, had seen it and would come forward.” He sounds bitter and furious. “I still can’t believe she did that.”
“Cam was right. I should’ve left well enough alone.
I should’ve been satisfied with what I had and counting my lucky stars to have gotten off the first time.
” I glance out the window at the familiar scenery of the town I’ve called home for most of my life.
“I want you to understand why I felt the need to run…”
“I’ve wondered about that. It sort of came from out of nowhere.”
“Not to me. I’d been thinking about it for a while, and then when Altman decided to resign, it felt like a sign, that maybe this was my time.”
“I never would’ve pictured you for politics.”
“I’ve always had that in the back of my mind.
After I was charged the first time, the Naval Academy appointment went kaput and then Louisa died…
It took a long time to figure out how to go on.
I did my best to be happy at URI, but I was still in such turmoil.
I missed Louisa so much. Nothing was ever the same after that summer.
I wanted to try to get back some of the magic, you know? ”
“I guess.” He gives me a tentative glance.
“What’s on your mind, Arlo?”
“Jen wants me to stay away from you. She’s freaking out about me being unemployed and associated with….”
“A rapist?”
“Yeah.”
My heart sinks. My brother is furious with me and now my closest friend is telling me I’m radioactive. “I get it.”
“If it was only me, I’d never turn my back on you, man. Tell me you know that.”
“I do.”
He has a family to protect. I don’t blame him for doing what’s best for them.
The most important men in my life could end up in big trouble because of me. Of course they’ll keep their distance.
Arlo pulls into the parking lot, which is empty except for the silver BMW SUV I can no longer afford. “I’ll be pulling for you to find a way out of this, man.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m sorry it was my sister who caused this.”
I look over at him. “She’s not the one who caused it.” That’s as close as I’ve ever come to admitting the truth to him. “I’m sorry about the job. It was fun to work together, even if just for a little while.”
“Yeah, it was.”
“Will you tell Dallas about the campaign?”
“I’ll take care of it.”
I reach for the door handle. “Your friendship for all these years has meant everything to me, Arlo.”
“Same, brother.”
Before one or both of us breaks down into tears, I get out of the car and wave him off, wondering if I’ll ever see him again.
I’ve got fifteen minutes to get to Bennett’s office.
As I drive there, I think about what the lawyer said about missing everything with the kids if I plead guilty and also about how it only takes one juror to acquit.
I’m so torn over what to do. Before I left the house, I grabbed a check to pay the attorney. I hope there’s more than twelve thousand dollars in the account, or I might get charged with passing a bad check, too.
When I get to his office in Newport, I’m shown into a conference room.
Bennett comes in a minute later. “They’ve got a second witness.”
That news leaves me feeling like I’ve been electrocuted. “Who is it?”
“Does it matter? They’ve got someone willing to testify that she saw you leave the party with the woman who later accused you of rape. With that added to the person who claims to have seen the actual attack, their case becomes somewhat of a slam dunk.”
“You said I shouldn’t plead guilty, but it’s looking more and more like maybe I should.”
“I’ll be honest with you. I’m a bit out of my league in this situation.”
“My brother is working on getting me someone more experienced in cases like this.”
“I think that’s a good idea.”
“What kind of sentence could I be looking at?”
“Possibly twenty years or more.”
Twenty years.
Or more.
My babies will be adults by then, having grown up without me. I’m so devastated by that thought I break down into sobs.
Bennett hands me a tissue.
“I’m sorry. I’ll ah…I’ll just get going.”
“Good luck to you.”
“Thank you.”
I stumble out of there, heartbroken and terrified. I’m going to prison. Possibly for decades. My family will be left destitute, my brother and closest friends could be in big trouble, and it’s all my fault.
Blaise
NOW
Three mornings after the dead animal landed on my stoop, I wake to a text message from Sienna.
Can we talk?
I don’t open it, so it won’t show as read.
“What’s wrong?” Jack asks.
He’s insisted I stay in the house with him and the Glock he has stashed in his bedside table. He made me aware of the weapon the other night and showed me how to use it, if need be. The possibility that I might need to shoot someone is too big to wrap my head around.
“Sienna texted me.”
“She’s the ex-best friend, right?”
“Yes, and she’s married to Ryder Elliott’s brother, Camden. They’ve been together since middle school.”
“What does she want?”
“To talk.”
“About you not testifying against her brother-in-law?”
“Probably.”
“Delete it. You don’t owe her anything.”
“Can I tell you something that you can never tell another living soul?”
“Of course.”
Because he’s shown me I can trust him implicitly, I say, “She was with me that night. She saw it, too.”
He props himself up on an elbow. “Does Houston know that?”
“I told him I was speaking only for myself when I initially made the statement, but I think he’s figured out from other things I’ve said that she was with me. She was the one who demanded I stay quiet at the time or else end up a pariah. She said she’d deny she was there.”
“Wasn’t he going to speak to her about the dead animal?”
“Yeah.”
“Ask him how that went.”
I send Houston a text to ask if he spoke with Sienna.
He responds right away. I did. She said she was home all morning and that the other parents on her street could attest to her being at the bus stop that morning.
Did you tell her why you wanted to know that?
Not specifically. She asked why I wanted to know, and I said it was confidential. Did something else happen?
She texted me and wants to talk.
How do you feel about that?
I don’t want to talk to her.
Then don’t. You’re under no obligation.
Did you find the key?
I did.
That’s good, right?
It helps. As does having another witness come forward.
I couldn’t believe it when he told me Ramona Travers had seen Ryder and Neisy leave the party together.
Hang in there and let me know if you need anything.
I will. Thanks.
I share the exchange with Jack.
“He’s right. You don’t owe her anything.”
“Is it weird that I’m curious about what she wants to say?”
“Not at all. If you want to see her, see her. But do it on your terms, not hers, and don’t ever forget she has a personal stake in this.”
“The same stake she’s had since it happened. For her it was always all Cam all the time to the exclusion of almost everything else. I was already getting tired of her bullshit before that night, but we’d been friends since third grade. You don’t just walk away from something like that.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I wouldn’t have even been there if it wasn’t for her feeling insecure about things with Cam and wanting to know what he was up to when she wasn’t with him.”
“If you were to mention to the prosecutor who was there with you, they could subpoena her to testify.”
“She’d probably lie.”
“Doing that under oath is risky. She could be charged with perjury. Hear me out—Houston said your description of events matched the victim’s, almost word for word, right?”
“Yes.”
“So they can easily prove you were there. If you testify under oath that she was with you, she’d be hard pressed to lie without exposing herself to possible perjury charges.”
“That’s true.”
“Would she risk being separated from her children to protect her brother-in-law?”
“Probably not. It’s interesting to realize the stakes have changed for everyone involved, including her.”
“You’d have nothing to lose by passing this information on to the prosecutors.”