“In fact, they have. In addition to blood evidence, they’ve found five shell casings that are almost certainly related to the shooting, hundreds of fingerprints, and they’ve collected dozens of hair and fiber samples. They’ve also found numerous semen stains and other bodily fluid stains on sleeping bags found in the back of the van.”
“They’ll test the semen against the boys, won’t they?” she said.
“They will.”
“And if they find a match to Charlie, they’ll think he was in on it.”
“Not necessarily.”
“What do you mean?”
“From what I understand, Charlie’s father is an outstanding criminal lawyer. I’m sure if Charlie is innocent, his father will be able to make a compelling argument to prove it.”
“You believe me, don’t you Dad? About Charlie?”
“I do, honey.”
“Good. I couldn’t bear it if you didn’t.”
“I understand there’s going to be a vigil tonight,” I said. “At the high school.”
“It starts at nine. We’re all going.”
“Well, you be safe, okay?”
“I will. And thanks for trusting me with all this. I won’t tell anyone.”
“No problem. I love you, Kimberly.”
“I love you too, Dad. And…”
“Yes?”
“I loved Charlie.”
I winced. “I know you did, honey.”
Chapter 17
“Donovan, let’s cut to the chase,” said Dr. Nadine Crouch. “This is our third visit, and so far you’ve refused to talk about your parents or your childhood, you’ve refused to talk about your job, or even what you were doing in the moments before the chest pain occurred. So I have to assume you were doing something illegal or immoral.”
She paused to see if her words stirred a reaction in me.
“Do you deny it?” she said.
“Would it bother you?”
She said, “Suppose you found a bird with a broken wing that needs your help. Is it really important how its wing got broken?”
I paused a moment, trying to follow her train of thought. Giving up, I said, “Maybe you should just tell me what you’re trying to say.”
“It’s not my job to judge you.”
“In that case, I don’t deny it.”
“Very well,” she said. “So you were doing something immoral or illegal when the pain began. Is this an activity you’ve engaged in previously?”
“Hypothetically?”
“Of course.”
