Gwyn squeezed his hand, resting her head against his arm. Understanding his grief. Not begrudging him a single memory of his first love. Gwyn was kind too, he thought. Under her sarcastic, prickly cactus exterior, she was a marshmallow. He had the sudden certainty that Sherri would have totally approved.
‘You and Sherri went inside with your key,’ Colt went on, ‘and a few seconds later Gil Segal came out, all wild-eyed and covered in blood. He looked around and I thought he’d see me, but he didn’t. He tossed a knife into a bush about five feet from the one I was hiding behind, then threw the brick . . . far. I don’t know how far away exactly, but it landed in the parking lot. Split into pieces.’
Thorne frowned. ‘That would have been close to a hundred feet.’
Colt shrugged. ‘I heard it hit. I was surprised too, when I was getting my thoughts together for this morning, but I also remembered that Gil was on the track team in college. He did shot-put. A brick weighs only about a third of what a shot weighs in college. He was big. And really strong. He fucking terrified me that day. Literally was huffing like a bull.’
‘The police never found the brick,’ Jamie said from behind them. ‘They did find the knife, though. What happened next?’
‘Gil stood there huffing, like I said. And then he just went still. Again, I thought he’d seen me, but he pulled a cell phone from his pocket. It was the same kind Richard had. It might have been Richard’s. He called 911 and reported intruders in the school. Said he could hear screams. Said for the cops to hurry. Then he hung up and ran away. Not like Chandler and Darian had done. He didn’t tear out of there like a bat out of hell. He just jogged to his pickup truck and drove off.’
Thorne sucked in a breath. ‘Pickup truck? Fucking hell. He killed Sherri and her father? Gil Segal, who’s now a fucking judge?’
Colt looked tired. ‘I don’t know for sure. Probably.’
Gwyn was pressing her forehead against Thorne’s arm and Jamie clutched his other shoulder. Supporting him.
‘Okay,’ Thorne breathed. ‘Okay.’ He closed his eyes because they were stinging with tears. I walked away. Allowed a killer to go free. I’m sorry, Sherri. I’m so damn sorry. He drew a breath, let it out. ‘What about the key ring?’
Colt looked ill. He opened his mouth, then sighed. ‘God.’
‘Just tell them,’ his sister urged. ‘It’ll all be over with.’
Colt’s nod was shaky. ‘It was the evening after we beat you up. We’d gone to Richard’s house because he had the best video game system and his parents had an unlocked bar. They weren’t home that night, the parents. Patricia came down to get some vodka and I remember thinking, “What the hell?” She was only fifteen.’ His lips twisted bitterly. ‘Richard poured her a drink and Patricia took it upstairs. Later, when we were all pretty drunk, Richard took out the key ring and dangled it in front of us. We were like, you drilled a hole in your medal, are you insane? He said it was his special good luck charm, not that he needed luck. He showed us a little baggie filled with powder. Called it his “yes dust”. Said it made them all say yes. Or at least not say no. Then he went upstairs. Came back down a little while later looking relaxed. Like he’d just gotten laid. Chandler and Darian were cheering him on. He gave them the key. Told them to go for it.’
Thorne swallowed back the bile that burned his throat. ‘He had a key to Patricia’s room?’
Colt nodded. ‘I . . . I left. Ran home. Threw up in the bushes on my way. I didn’t know what to do with the information. I started to tell my father when I got home, but he was going off about how you, Tommy, were a troublemaker. How I should stay away from thugs like you and stick with “guys with class”, like Richard. That making those friends in high school would pave the way when I got older. All I could think of was Richard dangling that key in front of us.’ He shook his head, his self-loathing written all over his face. ‘The next day at school, Richard and the others gave me hell for running away the night before. Questioned my masculinity again. When they decided to break into the school on Sunday night, I went with them. I actually had the thought that I could get that key away from Richard and throw it in the river. But Gil Segal must have found it first, because it ended up in Richard’s body.’
Thorne’s eyebrows shot up. ‘How did you know about that?’
‘I caught up with Darian and Chandler after they ran from the school. We met up at Darian’s house. The Hinmans didn’t have an unlocked bar, but they did have a fridge full of expensive beer. We got drunk again, and Darian and Chandler told me. They’d seen Gil shove the key in Richard’s gut after he sliced him open. Which was after he’d beaten his face in with the brick. We made a pact never to tell. Then I got home and heard that Sherri had been killed in a car accident. A hit-and-run. With a truck. I knew Gil had done it. I knew he’d kill me too if I said a word. So I didn’t. I let a killer walk free.’
His sister cleared her throat. ‘To be fair, Colt had a breakdown after that. He was catatonic. My mother called me. I was out of college and living on my own by then. I came straight home and Colt was in his room, rocking back and forth, mute.’
Like Gwyn, Thorne thought. After Evan.
‘You were hospitalized?’ Jamie asked Colt.
‘Yes. I was put on a seventy-two-hour suicide hold. When I got out, my father sent me to a private clinic. I was allowed out to testify in Thorne’s trial. I never told anyone at the clinic what had happened. Maybe I would have healed faster if I had. I did heal, though, enough to be on my own. I was scared to go home. Scared to run into Darian or Chandler or, worse, Gil. One thing that did come out of therapy was me.’ He made a face. ‘My parents were less than enthusiastic. Cut me off financially. I decided to make a break of it and change my name. I got into a decent school and took on loans for med school, payable with service in disadvantaged communities. I paid off my financial obligations years ago, but I stayed.’
‘Penance,’ Thorne murmured.
‘Yes,’ Colt confirmed. He spread his hands on the table. ‘That’s all. I hope it helps.’
Joseph and Hyatt shared a glance. ‘We can get warrants now,’ Joseph said.
Hyatt nodded. ‘This together with Eileen Gilson’s testimony can get us a warrant for Linden Senior’s financial records.’
‘And for his house?’ Gwyn asked, startling them. She hadn’t spoken a word since they’d entered the room. ‘Because if Richard had a key back then, someone put a lock on Patricia’s door. And if someone put the lock there, they knew she had reason to need to protect herself.’
‘Her parents,’ Colt said grimly. ‘One or both of them knew she was being molested by Richard.’
‘Or at a minimum that he’d assaulted others, or had a predilection,’ Gwyn said. ‘They knew the significance of that key. They paid Kirby Gilson for it before Richard’s body was autopsied. If the key became public, they’d have to acknowledge that they were harboring a sexual predator.’
‘You’re right,’ Thorne murmured. He hadn’t thought of that. ‘Thank you.’
A kiss to his biceps was her answer.
‘What about Segal?’ JD asked. ‘He knew too. He murdered Richard and then covered it up. We need to get a warrant for his arrest too.’
‘We can bring him in for a chat,’ Joseph said. ‘I’d like to hear about his tie to Tavilla.’
‘I’ll ask him to come in,’ Hyatt said. ‘They have the viewing today, but it doesn’t start for a few hours.’
Everyone started to move, but Frederick and Jamie both lifted their hands. ‘Excuse us,’ Frederick said. ‘But as Thorne’s attorneys, we want to clearly state that we expect a statement from the BPD and the FBI formally clearing him of any and all suspicion. Dr Colt wouldn’t be here today were it not for Thorne’s request. His businesses and his integrity have been hit hard by these blatant attempts to frame him.’
Thorne had to swallow again, this time out of gratitude. His guys had his back.