I hastened to start cleaning up, but then remembered Stubby still all alone at the FBI offices. “Are you going to go help Stubby?” I asked when Donny continued to stand there and look around at the mess in the kitchen.
His gaze moved to me, and something in his eyes hardened. “Maddie, sit down for a minute, okay? Let’s talk.”
Obediently, I moved to the kitchen table and took a seat. Donny took up the chair across from me, and for a long moment he simply stared intently at me. “I need to ask you something that I know is going to upset you, but before you answer, I need you to really think about it. Because if I’m going to represent Stubby, then I need to know what I’m up against, do you understand?”
My brow furrowed. I couldn’t imagine what he was about to ask me. “Okay,” I said.
Donny took a deep breath. “Are you positive that Stubby didn’t have anything to do with either Tevon Tibbolt or Payton Wyly’s murder?”
I was so stunned that for nearly a full minute I could barely form words. “Are you kidding?” I finally managed. Donny knew Stubby. He knew how kind and sweet he was, how awkward and geeky, too. Stubby didn’t have a mean bone in his body. And he certainly could never torture and kill two kids.
But Donny’s face was dead serious. “Did Stubby know about your notebook?”
I blinked. “Yes.”
“So…think about it, Maddie,” he said softly.
“Think about what, Donny?” I demanded. “Stubby couldn’t hurt a fly! You know he would never intentionally hurt anyone!”
Donny inhaled deeply again and sat back in his chair, still looking doubtful. “Maybe you don’t know Stubby as well as you think you do.”
I shook my head, staring at him in disbelief. “Why would you think he could have anything to do with this?”
Donny tapped the tabletop with his index finger. “Because you’re the perfect foil,” he said simply. I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about until he started to explain. “If I were a kid as smart as Stubby—but with a screw loose—and I knew you and what you could do, I could take advantage of it. You say that some other kid is about to die on such and such date, and maybe that kid’s going to die of natural causes or in a car accident, but I get to him or her first. Maybe I make sure they die on that date, and maybe I make sure lots of stuff points back to you. Maybe when the heat comes down I start to say that you did it. I tell the feds about your notebook. I tell them that you’re the sick one.”
I began to shake my head, slowly at first then more vigorously. “How can you say that?” I whispered. “Donny, you know Stubby! And you also know Faraday was lying! Stubby would never accuse me!”
But Donny only frowned and dropped his gaze to the table. “I haven’t talked to him yet, Maddie,” he reminded me. “And you’re right, I do think Faraday was lying. But I also know the law, and that’s why I don’t honestly think it’s a good idea for me to represent Stubby.”
“What?” I nearly shouted. “Donny! You have to help him!”
Donny sighed and drew a small circle on the table with his finger. “Hear me out for a second, will ya?” he asked. I glared at him, refusing to answer. He continued anyway. “Anybody who’s ever watched a crime show could figure out that this scenario sets up a solid case for reasonable doubt. It could turn into a classic case of he said/she said. I could head over there right now, sit with Stubby while he’s interviewed by the feds, and during that whole time I would advise him not to say much of anything. Even less than I’ve let you say, actually. And then I could leave, and the second I’m gone he could start blabbing. He could tell the feds that he’s waiving his right to counsel and that he wants to confess. He could say that you’re the crazy one. You’re the one who kept notebooks on when people were going to die. You’re the one who told Tevon’s mother that her kid was going to be murdered. You’re the one who said she saw the date when Payton Wyly was going to die. You’re the one who came up with the plan to send Stubby to talk to her and tell her that she was going to die on her birthday. And guess what, Maddie? The second he points the finger at you, I won’t be able to help you. I could recuse myself from representing Stubby, sure, but I’d be barred from representing you—because the courts would view it as a conflict of interest—having already represented the guy who’s now accusing my niece. They’d say that I had inside information or knowledge that might make Stubby’s defense vulnerable.”
I was shaking my head, hard. “Stubby wouldn’t do that!” I insisted. “Donny, please! You gotta trust me! He’s my best friend in the whole world. He’s the most loyal, honest, sweet, kind person on the planet! He couldn’t hurt anybody, and besides, he liked Payton. He was trying to save her. And he was the one who made me call Tevon’s mom before he went missing to try and get her to listen. He even told me that he’d wished he’d called her himself to vouch for me! It bothered him so much that her kid might die, that he was willing to do anything to try and save him!”
Donny’s expression became alarmed. “Did he contact Mrs. Tibbolt directly?” he asked.
I shook my head, but then I stopped and realized we’d called her on his phone. “No, but it might look like he did.”
“Explain,” Donny ordered.
“He looked up her information on his phone, and we called her on his cell,” I confessed.
Donny pressed his lips together and shook his head. “So he had her information?” he asked. I nodded. “Then he knew where Tevon lived.”