“Reelection.”
“Funny.”
“Will he take the case capital?”
“Death penalty. Life in prison. Do you really think it matters?”
“Yeah.” Beckett bought another Coke. “Damn straight.” Beckett handed over the bottle, then bent for his change to buy time. When he straightened, the decision was made. “I can make her talk.”
“Channing? I seriously doubt it.”
“Do you want to know what happened in the basement or not?”
“Of course, I want to know.”
“Give me five minutes alone with her.” Beckett sipped from the bottle, and his eyes were flat. “The kid will fucking talk.”
*
When Beckett walked into the interview room, the girl sat alone at a metal table. He sat across from her, empty-handed. Channing kept her head down, but Beckett saw a pearl of blood at the quick of her nail, the places she’d chewed her bottom lip raw. “I’m Detective Beckett. I’m Elizabeth’s partner.” She stirred at the name, but kept her eyes down. “I know you’re Liz’s friend. I know you care. I’m her friend, too.” Beckett put his elbows on the table. “Do you believe me?”
“I believe you’re her friend.”
“That’s good. Thank you for that. Do you understand that there’s an arrest warrant with her name on it?”
“Yes.”
“That she’s charged with double homicide for what happened in the basement?”
The girl nodded.
“That means she could go to prison for life and might be executed. Do you understand that, too?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think that’s fair?”
Nothing.
Stillness.
“What if she gets hurt when they arrest her? There’re a dozen state patrolmen in the county looking just for her. Every cop in the state has her picture. What if she gets shot or wrecks a car or hurts somebody trying to elude arrest? What happens to her, then? Life on the run? Life with nothing? You understand that North Carolina is a death-penalty state?”
“She told me not to say anything.”
“I know she did. And I know why, too.” The girl looked up at that. “It’s okay. I know what happened.”
“She told you?”
“I’m a cop. I figured it out. Others will, too.” The girl looked away, and Beckett waited for her to look back. “Does the name Billy Bell mean anything to you?” It did. He saw it in the twitch of her hands, and in the sudden flush he knew was shame. “He works as a gardener for your parents. I spoke to him this morning.”
“So?”
She was on the edge, and Beckett made his voice hard because on the edge meant nothing. He needed her broken.
“Billy bought drugs for your mother. Mostly, he bought them from Brandon and Titus Monroe. Pills. Cocaine. That went on for years. That’s fact. But you knew that, didn’t you? That your mother’s a user. That your gardener had a connection. You wanted to meet that connection. You and your friends. You wanted to be bad. You wanted the thrill.” Channing tensed, a moment of terror in her eyes. That’s when Beckett knew he was right. “Do you know what an affidavit is?”
“Maybe.”
“It’s a sworn statement, admissible in court. Billy Bell signed one this morning. Would you like to read it?”
“No.”
Beckett withdrew a folded paper from his pocket and placed it on the table. “You would have never been in that basement if you and your friends hadn’t wanted to walk on the wild side. But that’s what happened, isn’t it? You bought drugs from the Monroe brothers, and they came back and they took you. It wasn’t random. They didn’t find you on the street.”
“It was just the once. Please. We just wanted to try it.”
“Drugs?”
“Marijuana. Just the once.”
“And they came back for you.”
She nodded, small.
“What happened in that basement was your fault.” Beckett leaned forward and challenged her with every ounce of cop he had. “What happened to Liz was your fault, too. I’ve seen her wrists. I see how she’s falling apart.”
A sound escaped the girl’s throat.
“It’s time to tell the truth, Channing. To take responsibility for what happened in that basement.”
“What happens to Elizabeth if I do?”
He leaned back in the chair. “Liz walks free. Her life goes on.” The girl turned her head, but Beckett wasn’t finished. “Looking away is the easy part,” he said. “It always has been. The only real question is if you’ll let Liz die with a needle in her arm because you and your friends decided to get high. You okay with that? Look at me. This is your chance to do what’s right. Right here. Right now.”
The girl took her time. He let her have it.
“Does Liz know you’re doing this?”
“I told her I wouldn’t.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because I look out for people I love, no matter the cost.”
“You love her?” Channing asked.
“Other than my wife she’s the best friend I’ve ever had.”
Channing considered his words for another long minute, and Beckett saw the instant she broke. “I’ll do it on one condition.”