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“Why were you even there?”
“Mom, I have bigger problems right now, like why my brother and father are turning against me.”
“No one’s turning against you.”
“Then what happened?”
My mother sighed. “John went to the police after the wake and gave them a statement.”
“About what?” I asked, horrified, as it dawned on me. While I was meeting with Mike, John had gone to the police. “What did he say?”
“We don’t know. It has something to do with Lemaire and Runstan. We don’t know the particulars. We just know that he went.”
“How do you know that?”
“The detectives came to the office while we were there. We thought they came because of the burglary, but they started asking questions about Neil Lemaire. We asked them why, and they told us John gave them a statement. Your father hit the ceiling. We were completely blindsided.”
“Of course.” I realized the detectiveswantedto blindside my parents, the way they had blindsided me. They must have gone to the office right away, after John had made his statement. He’d dropped a bomb and wanted to see us scatter, the Devlins in disarray. “So did you ask them what John said in his statement?”
“Yes, but they wouldn’t tell us. They said it was official police business and it was confidential. All they would say is that it was about the death of Neil Lemaire.”
“Did John say I was involved in his death?”
My mother hesitated. “I don’t know for sure, but they asked us if we thought you were involved.”
“No!” I tried not to shout. “Mom, did he accuse me? They’re reopening the case, so he must have at least suggested I did it.”
“No, John would never. Look, TJ, we don’t have all the facts right now. We can’t jump to conclusions. Your father’s calling John, but he’s not picking up. Believe me, your father isn’t happy he left us in the dark. Runstan’s your father’s client, and now he looks like an idiot to Stan. So do I, and I’m the one who did his divorce. If John knows something the police need to know, he’s handled it in the worst way possible.”
“Then why did Dad give the cops a statement, too? What did he say?”
“He didn’t give a statement.”
“The detectives said he did.”
“They’re mischaracterizing what he said. He answered their questions. I don’t regard that as a statement per se.”
“Ido. More importantly, the cops do. What the hell did Dad say?”
“The only thing he said was that you relapsed.”
I felt stricken. “Mom, that’s a parole violation. They could pick me up because of thatalone. They could send me back—”
“They’re not going to. He told them you’ve got it under control and you’re back on track.”
“Why did he tell them I relapsed in the first place?”
“He had to answer truthfully.”
“But I told you I didn’t relapse.”
“He thinks you did.”
“What did he say when they asked him if I was involved with Lemaire’s death?”
“He said he didn’t know anything about it.”
“Are you serious right now?” My heart wrenched. It wasn’t anger, it was hurt. “Really, Mom? He doesn’tknow? Does Dad really think I’dkillsomebody? Couldn’t he have said that I’d never commit murder?”
