“No, it’s fine.”
Out in the showroom, the music changed to “You Spin Me Round.”
“Jem?”
“Yeah, sorry.”Jem cleared his throat.“So, I was thinking: why’d Ammon confess?”
“I don’t know.”A wary note entered Tean’s voice.“I understand it looks bad, Jem, but I still don’t believe Ammon did this.And I know we disagree, but I don’t think a phone call is the right way to have this conversation—”
“No, no.That’s not—” Jem blew out a breath.“I mean, that’s a valid question, right?If he’s innocent, why did he confess?I mean, he’s smart.”Jem added mentally, Kind of.“He’s a cop.He knows how this kind of thing goes.And from what you told me, he should have laughed at the probable cause in that warrant.Instead, they show up at his door, and he basically holds his hands out and says, ‘It was me, I did it.’That doesn’t make sense, and if it doesn’t make sense, then there’s something we’re missing.”
“They weren’t local police.We’re talking about the State Bureau of Investigation.This is their job, to investigate other police officers.Maybe Ammon knew that if they were already involved—”
“What?The best thing to do would be give up and serve a life sentence for a murder he didn’t commit?Besides, you want me to believeAmmonwas worried about these guys?All cops do is bitch about state and federal agents.Ammon wouldn’t have rolled over and stuck his ass out for them.If anything, he should have tried to fuck them nine ways from Sunday.”
A fragile laugh came across the line.
“Uh, it kind of got away from me there,” Jem said.“But you get the idea.”
Tean murmured something that might have been agreement, but the silence that followed was longer this time.Finally he said, “You think he’s protecting someone.”
Jem let out a breath.“Right?That’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Who?”
“Well.”
Another of those dragged-out silences.“Jem, you haven’t met Lucy.She’s—”
“She’s not capable of murder?”Jem asked dryly.“Like Ammon?”
“She’s—you’d have to meet her.”
“Look, I’m not saying she did it.”Although, in Jem’s opinion, any woman who’d had her husband dicking around behind her back for years, then leave her, all while being possibly the worst closet-case in the history of homos, might have a lot of anger stored up.And if somebody started fooling around with her son, well, that might have tapped into some deep, dark shit.“But it’s worth checking out, right?”
“Yes,” Tean said.“Okay.”
Those two words slackened the energy of the call, and for a few seconds, neither of them spoke in the unexpectedly comforting silence.
“Thank you,” Tean said.“I know you—” He stopped and said again, more quietly, “Thank you.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t like seeing you upset.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.I’m sorry I was kind of an asshole last night.”
“You weren’t.You were upset too.It’s okay to be upset.”
“How’s your day going?”
Tean’s laugh was stronger this time.“Horribly.”
“What’s wrong?Did someone do something?Who do I have to fight?”
More of that gentle laughter.“Nobody.Nothing.Just a lot of bureaucratic nonsense.A big waste of time.”
“Don’t call it nonsense.Call it bullshit.”