Page 83 of Death on Gallows Path

“I know, I know. You’re right.” She swallowed. “He’s punishing himself. He convicted himself, and handed down a sentence of banishment. That’s not what any of us want. It’s not what he deserves.

“Only O’Teague has such a hard head, it will take a real jolt to shake him loose from that.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Riana hugged me in the parking lot. “I’m so glad to have met you, Sheila. Even more, I’m so glad to know you and O’Teague are together.”

Quincy patted me on the shoulder, then grinned. “Me, too.”

We said good-byes without promises to talk or stay in touch.

Unspoken was that the future relied on Teague’s reaction, and that depended on what — and how — I told him about this.

And then there was . . . if I told him.

I had a lot to think about driving back to Kentucky.

I reran the conversation with Riana through my head, reaching her assessment that Teague required a jolt to shake him loose from his self-punishment as I passed a truck slowing for an exit.

My mental re-run jumped to Friday night, when I said to him that we all made mistakes with people and his, Yeah, we do.

He thought he was the person his cousin’s son made the mistake about.

The pain of that . . .

Something edged into the corner of my mind. Instinct told me that if I grabbed at it, it would skitter away.

I drove zoned-out from everything except the road and traffic until signs appeared for the next exit.

Injury . . .

Teague had healed as well as he could from the physical injuries, including the damage to his eye, and adapted to what wouldn’t heal.

Moral injury . . .

The concept I’d thought of recently in connection with Clara’s reaction to dogs not being treated well. Struggling with something that clashed with the conscience.

Especially something a person held himself responsible for.

I made a call.

“Kit—”

“Where are you? Sounds like you’re driving on a highway.”

“Roads all sound—”

“Alike? Not at all. Have different rhythms.”

I should jump into my questions.

Instead, I told Kit the gallows history from Urban.

She listened to it all, then said, “As long as you’re talking gallows, what about the coping mechanism of gallows humor?”

That came close enough to what I was avoiding that I emulated Willow Yost with a skitter. “Doesn’t help the person about to die.”

“Gallows humor’s viewed as psychologically beneficial for physicians, military members, first responders, so I don’t see why it wouldn’t be a way of distancing, of releasing pressure for people about to die.