“Hey, K,” Fiona said.

Kira pursed her lips.

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. I think I got you in trouble.”

Arian seemed to know better than to interrupt, or to take notes, or to react in any way that might cause his client to clam up. He was a human mannequin. But his eyes found Fiona and attempted to deliver something that she found difficult to interpret.

“You remember that I was having problems remembering what happened?”

Kira lifted her eyes to look across at Fiona, but said nothing.

“I’ve made some headway in that department.”

Kira appeared concerned.

“In a good way,” Fiona said. “The way I look at it, the truth can’t get us into trouble. You know? It is what it is. What happened, happened. That’s all we’re after here: the truth. What happened. It’s no big deal.”

“It is if it gets you in trouble.”

“Do you think that’s going to happen?”

Kira looked over at her attorney, then at Fiona. “Yes, I do.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“You would if you were me,” Kira said.

“Why is that?”

“Because . . . you know.”

“Tell me.”

“I left the bat there.”

“Where?”

“Outside the door. That night the sheriff came, and I sneaked up on him and all.”

“Which door.”

“The front door. Here.” She pointed.

“Okay. And what about the bat?”

Kira’s eyes darted to Arian, then to Fiona. “Well, it isn’t there anymore.”

“The thing is,” Fiona said, “he’s on your side. Our side. Whatever he hears, it doesn’t matter, because he represents you.”

“What about you? Who represents you?”

“I’m not the one who needs a lawyer,” Fiona said.

Kira lowered her head.

“K?”

“What if you do?”

“Need a lawyer?”

She nodded.

Fiona checked with Arian, who nodded ever so slightly, encouraging her to pursue this line.

“The night of the Advocates dinner, you recognized him, didn’t you?”

She nodded.

“Marty was there. You saw him. You told me that later, and I didn’t believe you, and now I know I should have. I apologize for that.”

Kira shrugged her shoulders.

“I just . . . It just didn’t seem possible.”

“I froze.”

“I must have walked right by him. You realize that? I got that e-mail and I left right away, and if I didn’t walk right by him, I came incredibly close. None of this would have happened. None of this would have been the same if he’d found me there. He was looking for me.”

“That’s what I was afraid of. That’s why I froze.”

“All these years. Well, you know how afraid I was of him. You’re the only one here I’ve talked to about any of this. Your thing with Roy Coats . . . We shared stuff, you and me. I know you want to protect me, but you can let go of that because I remember now. Something Walt—the sheriff—said. I don’t know. It was like it all came back to me. Like something unlocked. Katherine says it happens. She told me it would happen, and I didn’t believe her. But it happened. I don’t have it all back. She says it takes time. But what I remember, I remember clearly. He was there . . . he came here to apologize to me, Kira. Not hurt me. But to apologize. He freaked me out. I was terrified of him. And him apologizing like that. I think I freaked out and stepped back and probably went over the stool and hit my head.”

“But I saw you with the bat,” Kira blurted out, as if forgetting about Arian. “I saw you hit him.”

“Me?”

“On the head. From the back.”

“Me?” Fiona gasped dryly for a second time.

“In front of your place. The two of you.”

“But . . . you saw me?”

“What was I supposed to do? I didn’t want you to know I’d seen. I didn’t want anyone to know. The car took off. The guy’s car. It wasn’t him driving, that was for sure. Not after that. I got in the truck and left. I didn’t know what else to do.”

“Me?” Fiona repeated. “You saw me?”

Kira was crying. She lowered her head.

Fiona came around the coffee table and sat down next to her and held her. Kira sobbed. “I didn’t want to get you in trouble.”

Fiona fought back her own tears. “But I thought you’d done it.”

“Me?!” Kira leaned back and explored Fiona’s face. “Seriously?”

“And Walt . . . He thinks we did it together. That we’re covering for each other.”

Kira burst out laughing, tears still falling. “He what?”

“I know.”

“Seriously?”

Fiona nodded.

“What do we do?” Kira asked. Then she looked to her attorney.

“There’s evidence,” Peter Arian said. “From what I’m hearing from you, I’m assuming it’s the baseball bat. That could be damaging. The sheriff wouldn’t give me that, so we’re better off now that I know. And they haven’t charged you. Either of you. I’m assuming the prosecuting attorney called off the sheriff, and for good reason: he didn’t like the evidence. Or, it could be that they’re awaiting more lab results, or witnesses. Or it could be your standing in the community. You’re something of a celebrity,” he said to Kira. “They may simply be waiting for it all to come together. That’s important for us to consider. What’s equally important is that both of you lay out exactly what you remember. That you write it down exactly as you remember it. I will be the only one in possession of those documents. If charges are filed, I can apply for access to the evidence. If the sheriff is building a case against the two of you, that’s more complicated and will take more time. At some point he’ll attempt to get one of you to turn on the other. It’s a pretty straightforward approach. I will need to be there for those interviews.”

“It wasn’t me outside the cottage,” Fiona said. “I’m willing to bet I was inside, lying on the floor unconscious, although I don’t know that for sure.”

“That’s a big bet,” Arian said. “I’m not sure that’s a bet you want to make.”

“Well, it wasn’t me,” Kira said. “I saw it. I didn’t do it.”

“No other cars?” Arian asked Kira.

“Not that I saw. And I didn’t hear the gate beep.”

“They can make a case that it was one or the other of you, or that, as you say the sheriff is thinking, that it was both of you, and you’re covering for each other.”

“But it’s not true,” Kira said.

Arian’s face sagged. “This is the law we’re talking about. Truth is only one small part of the equation.” He waited a moment for this to sink in. “Your parents have asked you to stay with them?”

Kira nodded. They’d discussed this earlier on the drive up. “But I don’t want to.”

Fiona spoke up. “Kira, you should do it. Maybe this is the chance you’ve been waiting for.”

“I don’t want to see him.”

“What if your father’s changed?”

“He doesn’t change.”

“We all change,” Fiona said, “if others give us the chance to.”

Kira nodded faintly. “But only for tonight.”

“Don’t be too quick to judge,” Fiona advised.

“I don’t want to leave you.”

“I’ve got stuff to work out,” Fiona said. “Stuff to write down. I’ll be all right.”

“I can drop you off,” Arian proposed.

“I’ll get my things,” Kira said, standing and reluctantly letting go of Fiona’s hand.

“What do you make of all this?” Fiona asked Arian when they were alone.

“Do you believe her?” he asked.

“Absolutely.”

“And how do you know you went over a stool? What if your injury occurred outside your cottage?”

“You think that didn’t occur to me?”

“Do you think it’s possible?”

“Did I hate him that much? Yes, I did. Could I do something like that? Never.”

“Never’s a big word.”

“Never,” Fiona repeated.

Arian dug out his wallet, and from it, a business card. “In case you need me.”

“I don’t.”

“But in case you do,” he said.

Fiona accepted the card.