“I drove him to the store. What I didn’t know was that Abel didn’t have any money for beer or anything else. What he did have was a loaded gun. And a kid coming any day.”

“Oh God. He robbed the store.”

“He tried. But the clerk had a gun too and he was a lot faster. I don’t think Abel had any plans to shoot him or anyone else. He’d never been violent before. He was just scared and desperate and had chugged some beers for liquid courage. He thought he could get a couple hundred bucks from that register and give it to his girlfriend, so she didn’t look at him like he was a worthless piece of shit.” I shook my head. “Meanwhile, I was out in the car looking through that stupid catalog when I heard the shots. Abel came staggering out, his hand on his chest… The blood. God, so much blood. The clerk was at the door, yelling and waving his gun around and I didn’t know what the fuck had just happened. All I knew was that Abel needed a hospital. I threw him in the car, and I drove like a bat out of hell, all the while Abel is just gurgling and making these awful sounds.”

“Tuck. It wasn’t your fault.”

“I was there. I drove him to the store, and I drove him to the hospital even if he was dead by the time we arrived.”

Emily grimaced, shutting her eyes briefly. “You were convicted for…what? Being the getaway car?”

“Accessory to armed robbery.”

“But you didn’t even know.”