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“A small town in Tennessee named Fremont.”
“Are the police looking for you?”
“I don’t know. There was nothing in the local paper except for his obituary. I think they’re keeping it quiet to protect his reputation. He wouldn’t have wanted anyone to think a woman shot him. Especially his wife.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. Men like that have big but fragile egos. They wouldn’t want anyone to know that one of theirs was killed by a tiny woman.”
“That’s right.” I twisted the tissues around one finger. “Are you going to turn me in?”
His face creased and twisted into an expression that could only be described as incredulous. “I would never turn you in.”
“But you’re a good person. With high morals.”
This seemed to take him aback for a moment. I could almost hear his mind working through what I’d told him, piece by piece. “Which is why I’m not turning you in. You did nothing wrong. It was an accident.”
“But I used all my kickboxing skills on him. That’s what led to his death.”
“Because he was trying to kill you.”
“Yes, but no one will understand or believe me. I’m a nobody. His father wants me punished, and I think he wants to do it himself. If he can find me. Or he might want me sent to jail. Either way, I lose Chloe.”
“What are you planning on doing long term? Running from one remote location to another? For the rest of your life?”
“It’s either that or death or prison. If they get Chloe, I’ll…I don’t know what I will do. Whatever happens to me, I just want her to be safe. To have a good life.”
“We can’t let them take her. That’s not an option.”
“I have no relatives. She would go to them if I was incarcerated.”
“How solid do you think this fake name and ID is?” Thad asked.
“Um, I’m not sure. The Social Security number was taken from someone deceased. This guy I hired seemed to know what he was doing. It’s worked so far.”
“And John’s family kept it quiet. Which means they know what really happened. He tried to kill you, and the gun went off by accident.” Thad looked up at the ceiling, clearly thinking through options and scenarios, as I had so many times.
“Do you trust me?” Thad asked.
“Yes.”
“What about my family?”
“I have no reason not to. They’ve been good to me,” I said. “But they might not understand this.”
“They will. Because of what happened to Mama.”
“She didn’t kill her husband.”
“No, but he was a bad man. Not one person mourned him, I can tell you that.”
“John’s family mourns him,” I said. “I took him away from them.”
“No, that’s not right. You defended yourself from a man who abused you for years. He caused his own death. Would he be dead if he hadn’t attacked you?”
“No. I just wanted to get away.”
“That’s your answer then.” He rose to his feet and poured more whiskey into his glass. “I want to talk to Atticus about this. He’s the smartest guy I know. He’ll help us figure something out. He’s got money if we need to hire resources.”
“Resources?” What did that mean?
