“What are we going to do, Charlie?” Julia sounded angry. “Kanesha will probably think Justin killed Godfrey. But he didn’t. The idea is totally ridiculous. I’m not going to let anyone treat my son like a vicious killer.”

“No, I didn’t kill anybody.” Justin hugged Diesel to him. He eyed his mother warily, it seemed to me.

“I believe you,” I said, putting as much conviction into my voice as I could. “I mean, what motive would you have?”

Justin shifted in his chair, and Diesel protested. He rubbed the cat’s head, but then he lifted Diesel and set him on the floor. Diesel chirped before stalking off to the utility room.

“Sorry,” Justin looked straight at me. “We did have an argument, and I guess I kind of yelled at him.” He paused and turned to his mother.

Julia sighed. “Godfrey wanted Justin to go back to California with him, stay a few months. But he didn’t want to go. Godfrey . . . well, you know what he was like when he didn’t get his way. As if I’d let him take Justin to California anyway.”

“I remember only too well.” I remembered Godfrey’s rages when he was thwarted. “He could be extremely unpleasant.”

“He was,” Justin said, his eyes sad. “He kinda calmed down after I yelled back. But I could tell he was still mad. So I left.”

“And when Justin went back, Godfrey was dead.” The horror in Julia’s voice brought the nasty scene back to mind.

I squirmed in my chair. It would be a long time before I could get that vision out of my head.

I sipped at my tea, hoping to settle my stomach a bit. “You’ll have to tell all this to Deputy Berry.”

Justin looked mutinous, and Julia was none too happy, either.

“I know you don’t want to,” I said. “I’d like to keep Justin out of this too, but I don’t think we can.”

“If you don’t say anything, they’re not going to know Justin was there.” Julia looked ready to throw the teapot at me. She intended to protect Justin at all costs, it seemed. She wasn’t being rational.

“Show some sense.” I had just about had it with both of them. I had tried to buy Justin a little time to recover, but there was no way I was going to lie any further about his presence at the hotel. “They have his cell phone, and they’ll probably find his fingerprints all over the place. How are you going to explain that away?”

“I suppose you’re right,” Julia said after a moment’s silence. “Honey, we have to be truthful. They need to find out who really did this, and if we lie to them, it only makes things more difficult.”

“Is it okay if I go up to my room now?” Justin stood up. “I’m really tired.”