one of the nerdier kids, and Chad was one of the cool guys.”
“You don’t look like much of a nerd.”
“That’s because Kayla challenged me to change that.”
“Challenged you?”
“She said we couldn’t change the fact that people judged on appearance and bought into stereotypes—except by breaking that stereotype. So I started running, lifting weights to get into shape. Found I liked it, and it cleared my head for the tech stuff. And she was right. People looked at me differently, tolerated the...geek in me because that wasn’t all I was.”
“So she’s as wise as she seems.”
“Wiser. She was fourteen at the time. Still just the girl next door, who felt like the little sister I never had.”
“But she already had a big brother.”
“Yeah,” Dane said, his tone sour. “And Chad didn’t like me either.”
“Not surprising, if you saw through him.”
Quinn really was open to the idea that Chad might not be the good guy Kayla insisted he was, Dane thought. So he’d meant it when he’d said they weren’t taking her viewpoint as the only one. Encouraged by that, he went on.
“When Kayla turned sixteen and her folks let her date, Chad kept trying to set Kayla up with his best friend, Troy Reid. I’d started to look at her differently then, and he wanted to get her away from me. Her folks went along with him—they adored Troy, he was the catch of the whole town, and they thought I was too...something. Her mom, especially.”
“But it didn’t work. Kayla stayed with you.”
“She’s incredibly...loyal.”
He stumbled over the word, remembering how he’d thrown the word at her the day he’d finally walked away.
“Were there other reasons Chad didn’t like you?”
Dane had the uncomfortable feeling Quinn already knew. What was that they told lawyers, about never asking a question you don’t already know the answer to? Hell, maybe this Quinn was a lawyer, for all he knew.
“He got into some trouble, a couple of times, right after they moved here.”
“Stole a bike, joyriding in a senior citizen’s car, breaking into a convenience store for cigarettes?”
So he did know. Dane filed that away to remember when dealing with this man.
“The bike was mine.”
“And you reported it.”
“My folks did. I didn’t care all that much by then—I’d started to drive, but it was a really good bike. And I remembered Chad asking how much it was worth.”
“And you told the police that?”
“Yes. And they tracked it down, found who he’d sold it to.” Dane jammed his fingers through his hair. “Even then he blamed somebody else. Said Rod Warren, a local punk, had put him up to it. But Chad was no angel, no matter what Kayla thinks.”
“Do you think he could have killed them?”
Dane sighed. How long had he been wrestling with that thought? How many times had be been on the verge of telling Kayla just that, only stopping himself because he couldn’t bear to see her face if he turned on her. Because that’s how she’d see it, he was sure.
In the end, he gave Quinn the answer that had always been his bottom line, even as he realized it stemmed more from his love for his own parents and an inability to relate to the idea of parental murder, than a real belief in Chad’s innocence.
“He had no reason to. They were good people. They loved him.”
“The police seem pretty certain. He was their only real suspect.”
“I know. After he ran, I don’t think they ever really focused on anyone else.”
“They’re a small department, overloaded, and they labeled the case cold fairly quickly. Not their fault—they just don’t have the manpower.”
“Kayla keeps pushing them, but...”
“They’re down to wanted posters and flyers and the occasional search of criminal databases, probably spurred by her pushing.”
“And everything is still focused on Chad.”
“Yes.”
“But Kayla’s right about the fact that there’s an innocent explanation for all the
“You don’t look like much of a nerd.”
“That’s because Kayla challenged me to change that.”
“Challenged you?”
“She said we couldn’t change the fact that people judged on appearance and bought into stereotypes—except by breaking that stereotype. So I started running, lifting weights to get into shape. Found I liked it, and it cleared my head for the tech stuff. And she was right. People looked at me differently, tolerated the...geek in me because that wasn’t all I was.”
“So she’s as wise as she seems.”
“Wiser. She was fourteen at the time. Still just the girl next door, who felt like the little sister I never had.”
“But she already had a big brother.”
“Yeah,” Dane said, his tone sour. “And Chad didn’t like me either.”
“Not surprising, if you saw through him.”
Quinn really was open to the idea that Chad might not be the good guy Kayla insisted he was, Dane thought. So he’d meant it when he’d said they weren’t taking her viewpoint as the only one. Encouraged by that, he went on.
“When Kayla turned sixteen and her folks let her date, Chad kept trying to set Kayla up with his best friend, Troy Reid. I’d started to look at her differently then, and he wanted to get her away from me. Her folks went along with him—they adored Troy, he was the catch of the whole town, and they thought I was too...something. Her mom, especially.”
“But it didn’t work. Kayla stayed with you.”
“She’s incredibly...loyal.”
He stumbled over the word, remembering how he’d thrown the word at her the day he’d finally walked away.
“Were there other reasons Chad didn’t like you?”
Dane had the uncomfortable feeling Quinn already knew. What was that they told lawyers, about never asking a question you don’t already know the answer to? Hell, maybe this Quinn was a lawyer, for all he knew.
“He got into some trouble, a couple of times, right after they moved here.”
“Stole a bike, joyriding in a senior citizen’s car, breaking into a convenience store for cigarettes?”
So he did know. Dane filed that away to remember when dealing with this man.
“The bike was mine.”
“And you reported it.”
“My folks did. I didn’t care all that much by then—I’d started to drive, but it was a really good bike. And I remembered Chad asking how much it was worth.”
“And you told the police that?”
“Yes. And they tracked it down, found who he’d sold it to.” Dane jammed his fingers through his hair. “Even then he blamed somebody else. Said Rod Warren, a local punk, had put him up to it. But Chad was no angel, no matter what Kayla thinks.”
“Do you think he could have killed them?”
Dane sighed. How long had he been wrestling with that thought? How many times had be been on the verge of telling Kayla just that, only stopping himself because he couldn’t bear to see her face if he turned on her. Because that’s how she’d see it, he was sure.
In the end, he gave Quinn the answer that had always been his bottom line, even as he realized it stemmed more from his love for his own parents and an inability to relate to the idea of parental murder, than a real belief in Chad’s innocence.
“He had no reason to. They were good people. They loved him.”
“The police seem pretty certain. He was their only real suspect.”
“I know. After he ran, I don’t think they ever really focused on anyone else.”
“They’re a small department, overloaded, and they labeled the case cold fairly quickly. Not their fault—they just don’t have the manpower.”
“Kayla keeps pushing them, but...”
“They’re down to wanted posters and flyers and the occasional search of criminal databases, probably spurred by her pushing.”
“And everything is still focused on Chad.”
“Yes.”
“But Kayla’s right about the fact that there’s an innocent explanation for all the