Chapter 5
Monday late afternoon
Juvenile Hall always smelled of disinfectant and old concrete.
Sabre signed the visitor log while JP stood beside her, looking around with quiet curiosity.
His dark hair was still thick but carried more gray every year, especially at the temples.
His eyes, an unusual greenish brown, studied everything quietly.
JP never went anywhere without his black Stetson and a pair of worn cowboy boots, which made him look more like a rancher than a private investigator.
People often underestimated him because of that. JP rarely corrected them.
When several workers greeted Sabre, JP commented, “You come here a lot, don’t you?”
“Apparently, too often.” She stepped up to the desk. “I’m here for Bay Mercer.”
The guard checked Sabre’s ID, handed her a temporary badge, then glanced at JP.
“He’s with me,” Sabre said.
The guard studied JP briefly, then shrugged and handed him a badge as well.
“Interview room three.”
“Thanks.”
As they walked down the hall, JP said quietly, “So, this is where the magic happens.”
Sabre gave him a look. “If by magic you mean teenagers who don’t trust anyone and a system that tries to fix them in fifteen-minute increments.”
“Sounds about right.”
They reached the small interview room. Sabre paused before opening the door.
“One thing,” she said.
JP raised an eyebrow.
“She’s cunning. Don’t underestimate her.”
“I never underestimate teenagers,” JP said.
Sabre opened the door to the interview room which was more spacious than the one at court.
Bay sat at the small metal table, her hands folded in front of her. She looked up, and her eyes moved first to Sabre, then to JP. The shift was subtle but unmistakable. It was an assessment, a calculation.
Sabre closed the door behind them.
“Bay,” she said. “This is JP Torn. He works with me.”
Bay studied him for several seconds. Not in a nervous way, just measuring.
JP offered a small nod. “Nice to meet you.”
Bay didn’t return the greeting. Instead, she turned to Sabre. “You brought him to investigate me.”
Sabre pulled out the chair across from her. “That’s part of his job.”
Bay’s gaze moved back to JP. “You’re a private investigator?”
JP smiled. “Something like that.”
Bay perked up. “So, what did you find?”
“Something interesting,” Sabre said.
Bay waited.
Sabre slid a piece of paper across the table.
Bay glanced down at it. Her expression didn’t change, but her eyes lingered on the name printed at the top, Joy Bay Ridden. She pushed the paper back.
“That’s not me.”
JP said nothing.
Sabre studied her carefully. “You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
Sabre cocked her head. “That birth certificate was filed two years before the one for Lila Mercer.”
Bay shrugged. “Lots of people have the name Bay.”
Sabre leaned forward. “Not many fifteen-year-olds with delayed birth certificates filed in neighboring counties.”
Bay didn’t answer.
Sabre let the silence stretch.
Finally, the girl said quietly, “Are you trying to prove I’m lying?”
“No,” Sabre said. “I’m trying to understand who you are.”
Bay looked directly at her. “You already know.”
“No,” Sabre said gently. “I really don’t.”
Bay’s gaze softened for a fraction of a second. “My name is Bay.”
“Just Bay?” Sabre asked.
“That’s the only one that matters.”
JP spoke for the first time since they sat down. “Did someone give you that name?”
Bay turned her eyes toward him. “Everyone gets their name from someone.”
JP held her gaze. “Yes,” he said. “But not everyone gets a new name every few years.”
For the first time, Bay looked uncertain.
A crack in the armor, Sabre thought.
Bay recovered quickly. “You think you know everything.”
Sabre shook her head. “I don’t know much of anything. That’s why I’m struggling. It would help if you would tell me more about yourself.”
Bay didn’t respond.
“Who gave you the name Bay?” Sabre prompted.
The girl said nothing, but her silence said something else—loyalty.
“All right,” Sabre said. “Let’s try something different.”
Bay looked at her cautiously.
“Did you kill Todd Maddox?” Sabre asked softly.
Bay’s expression hardened again. “Yes.”
JP shifted in his chair.
Sabre held Bay’s gaze. “Why?”
“Because he deserved it.” The certainty in her voice was absolute.
Sabre felt the chill of something deeper moving beneath the surface of the case. Bay hadn’t spoken out of anger. She had said it like a fact, a simple truth.
Sabre was beginning to understand that Bay believed what she had done was justice. Sabre didn’t know yet where that belief came from, but the girl had answered the question too easily.
Because he deserved it.
Most teenagers accused of murder didn’t sound like that. They sounded scared, or defensive, sometimes angry. Bay had sounded certain.
Sabre folded her hands on the table. “Let’s talk about Todd Maddox.”
Bay didn’t move. “Okay.”
“You followed him.”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
Bay shrugged. “A few days.”
JP shifted beside Sabre but said nothing.
Sabre kept her eyes on the teenager. “That sounds like planning.”
Bay was silent.
Sabre continued calmly. “You found out where he spent time, where he parked, what times he came and went.”
Bay’s expression stayed neutral.
“You were studying him.”
Bay looked at the table for a moment, then said quietly, “I needed to know where to find him.”
Sabre leaned forward. “Why?”
“Because he was dangerous.”
“Dangerous to who?”
Bay’s eyes flickered. For the first time, Sabre saw a flash of uncertainty.
Bay looked away. “People.”
“Which people?” Sabre asked gently.
The girl’s jaw tightened.
Sabre could almost see the argument happening behind her eyes.
“He hurt—” Bay stopped.
The room went still. Bay’s gaze dropped to the table.
“Who did he hurt?”
Bay didn’t respond.
Sabre tried again. “You were protecting someone.”
Bay’s eyes lifted slowly. There was something fragile in them, a fear, but not for herself, for someone else.
Sabre lowered her voice. “Who were you protecting?”
Bay’s lips parted slightly.
For a second, Sabre thought she might say it.
Then the girl crossed her arms. “No one.”
Beside her, JP let out a quiet breath.
Sabre didn’t push. She let the silence stretch. Bay stared back at her with that same steady watchfulness.
Finally, Sabre said, “You tracked a man for days?”
“Yes.”
“You confronted him alone?”
“Yes.”
“You stabbed him?”
“Yes.” Bay’s expression flickered.
“You weren’t trying to kill him, were you?”
Bay didn’t answer.
“You were trying to stop him.” Sabre gently probed.
The words hung in the air. Bay looked away again.
“You thought he was going to hurt someone.”
Still no response.
Sabre continued. “And when he grabbed you, you believed he was going to hurt you too.”
Bay’s voice was quieter now. “You don’t know him.”
Sabre held her gaze. “No. But I know fear when I see it.”
Bay’s eyes hardened. “You should’ve been afraid of him too.”
Sabre absorbed that. The girl had implied that Sabre knew him. She didn’t bite. Instead, she changed direction. “Where did you learn to follow someone like that?”
Bay blinked.
“That’s not something most teenagers know how to do.”
Bay shrugged. “You learn things.”
“From who?”
The girl didn’t answer.
“The person who gave you the name Bay?”
Her expression changed to loyalty again.
Sabre noticed. So did JP.
Sabre studied her for a moment longer. “You trust that person, right?”
“Yes.”
Sabre nodded. “And you believe they’re protecting you.”
“Yes.”
“And that’s why you won’t tell me who you were protecting.”
Bay didn’t answer. But her silence said enough.
Sabre sat back. “All right.”
Bay looked surprised. “You’re not going to keep asking?”
Sabre shook her head. “Not today.”
Bay studied her carefully. “Why?”
“Because you’re not going to tell me today, are you?”
“No.”
“Whatever or whoever you’re protecting,” Sabre said quietly, “you’re not going to give it up until you trust me.”
“But I’m supposed to trust you.”
“I’m not sure what that means.” Sabre stood. “But I do know trust takes time.”
For a moment, Bay looked like she might say something else. But she didn’t.
Sabre and JP stepped into the hall. The door closed behind them with a heavy metallic click.
“So, whoever she is protecting is the real reason Maddox is dead.”
Sabre nodded.
JP looked at her. “So, what now?”
Sabre thought about the moment Bay had almost revealed the person’s name. He hurt—
“We find out who she was talking about,” Sabre said.
JP nodded. “And then?”
Sabre looked down the hall toward the exit. “We find out why that person was so afraid of Todd Maddox.”