Chapter 21
Thursday afternoon
Sabre was halfway through reviewing a file for an upcoming review when her phone rang. She glanced at the screen. It was Ethan Vale.
She let it ring once more, then answered.
“Sabre.” Vale’s voice carried a sense of urgency. “Bay’s asking for you again.”
“Why?”
“She says she’ll talk.”
“Talk how?” Sabre asked.
“She says she has information,” Vale said. “About what happened the night of the murder.”
That got her attention. “And?”
“She’ll only give it if you’re there.”
“Give me twenty minutes,” she said.
~~~
Juvenile Hall always felt colder than it should, and it wasn’t just the temperature.
Sabre and Vale walked side by side down the corridor, the sound of their footsteps echoing off the concrete as they reached the interview room. A deputy opened the door and stepped aside. Bay was already sitting at the table, hands folded, posture still.
Her eyes went straight to Sabre, not to Vale.
“I told you,” Bay said quietly, “I’d talk.”
“Then let’s talk,” Sabre said, taking a seat.
They sat. Vale sat and opened his folder, but his attention stayed on Bay.
Sabre rested her forearms on the table. “Where do you want to start?”
“I had to do it,” Bay said.
“Do what?” Sabre asked.
“You know what.”
Sabre held her gaze. “Say it anyway.”
Bay’s fingers tightened together.
“I killed him,” she said. “I had to.”
Vale leaned in. “Why?”
Bay’s eyes flicked to him for a second, but she kept her attention on Sabre. “He was going to hurt someone.”
Sabre’s voice stayed even. “Did he hurt you?”
Bay shook her head quickly. “No.”
“Did he try to?”
Another shake. “No.”
Vale cut in. “Then who?”
Bay’s eyes dropped to the table. “He tried to hurt someone else.”
“Who?” Sabre asked.
Bay shook her head again. “I’m not saying.”
“You need to,” Vale said. “It’s important to your defense.”
“I’m not saying,” Bay repeated, firmer this time.
“Why not?”
“Because it’s not about me. It’s about protecting. It’s what we do.”
Sabre’s eyes narrowed. “We?”
Bay was silent.
“Who is we, Bay?”
Nothing.
Vale tried another angle. “Okay. Let’s go step by step. What happened that night?”
Bay’s gaze drifted, like she was watching something no one else could see.
“Bay, please answer,” Sabre said.
“She wasn’t supposed to be there,” she said quietly.
“Where?” Vale asked.
Bay didn’t respond.
Sabre leaned in. “Bay.”
The girl blinked, then looked back at her. “She wasn’t supposed to be at his house,” she repeated.
“So, what happened?” Sabre asked.
Bay shook her head. “I’m not doing this part.”
“You have to,” Sabre insisted. “If you want help—”
“I didn’t cry,” Bay cut in.
The room went still.
“I didn’t cry,” Bay said again, softer now. “When something bad happens… I don’t cry. I just get really quiet.”
Something shifted inside Sabre, a sense of anguish for what this girl had been through.
“Is that what you’re doing now?” she asked.
Bay looked at her. “Yes.” The word was almost a whisper.
Vale glanced between them, as if he was sensing something he couldn’t quite name.
“Bay,” he said, more gently now, “we need more than that. We need facts. What did he do? What did you do?”
Bay kept her eyes on Sabre. “I told you what matters.”
Sabre let the silence sit for a moment. “Bay,” she said, “you can’t protect someone by taking everything on yourself.”
Bay’s eyes sharpened. “Yes, you can.”
“Not like this.”
Bay didn’t answer.
Sabre asked a few more questions, and Vale made an attempt as well.
They got nothing new. The girl shut down piece by piece until there didn’t seem to be anything left to get.
Vale finally closed his folder. “We’ll come back,” he said.
Still nothing.
Sabre stood, and Vale did the same. He moved toward the door.
Sabre paused, hand on the back of her chair, and turned. “Bay,” she said.
“Are you doing okay?”
Bay nodded, then said, “I can be brave for a little while.”
Sabre felt it this time—words that reminded her of Hannah. It was clear, sharp, and familiar, but Sabre kept it to herself. “Okay. I understand.”
Bay gave a small nod. “Okay.”
Sabre followed Vale out, and they walked in silence down the corridor.
“What was that about?” Vale asked.
“She’s trying to tell me something. I’m not exactly sure what yet, but I’ll let you know as soon as I sort it out.”
“She didn’t give us much,” he said.
“No,” Sabre agreed. “We do know she’s protecting someone.”
“Do you think she’s telling the truth about that?”
Sabre kept walking. “Yes,” she said.
“Then we need to figure out who.”
Sabre wasn’t listening. Her mind was in a small interview room, years ago with a little girl swinging her feet under a chair. Her voice had been soft and serious when she’d said, “I can be brave for a little while.”
Sabre pushed the memory down hard and kept walking.