She let go of the chair and turned away a moment. When she faced me again she seemed to have regained her composure. Behind me, Diesel moved restlessly on the windowsill. He muttered in that peculiar way of his, and I knew he was unsettled by the tension emanating from Kanesha.

I felt at a loss, because I had never seen her this vulnerable. In my way I was as uncomfortable as Diesel. My normal response would have been to go to her, give her a hug or at least a friendly shoulder squeeze, but Kanesha and I didn’t have that kind of relationship. My heart went out to her, because I could imagine how painful all this was for her.

Kanesha resumed her seat. “One day nearly ten years ago, Johnny went to the bank with a couple of his so-called friends. What they didn’t tell him was they were planning to rob the bank.”

“Oh, no.” The words slipped out before I could stop myself. I could see the scene unfolding in my mind, and I didn’t like the picture.

Kanesha didn’t appear to have heard my comment. “When they reached the bank, one of the men pulled a gun and told Johnny he was going to help them. Johnny tried to get away, but he was terrified they would shoot him. So he went into the bank with friend number one while number two waited in the car.” She paused for a couple of deep breaths. “Johnny wasn’t too coordinated, always dropping things, stumbling, and the idiot with him made him take a gun. He was terrified of them. Johnny said he was shaking so hard he dropped the gun three times.”

“What happened when they made it into the bank?”

“Stupidity, that’s what happened.” Kanesha’s tone turned vicious. “Idiot number one was trigger-happy and ended up shooting one of the tellers and pistol-whipping a customer.”

“Oh, my Lord,” I said, appalled. “Did the teller die?”

“No, thankfully,” Kanesha replied. “It could have been worse in so many ways, if Johnny’s so-called friend wasn’t so inept. Johnny stumbled all over the place, and it was his bad luck he tripped and fell onto another customer. Vera Cassity. Knocked her down and she banged her head on the floor. At the trial she claimed he threatened her with his gun. Said he’d kill her if she made a sound.”

Kanesha slumped back in the chair, eyes closed. “The police arrived in less than two minutes. Caught them still inside the bank. Johnny was sentenced to thirty years in the state pen. Wasn’t eligible for parole because he was convicted for armed robbery. Might have received a lighter sentence—not that it mattered in the long run—but Vera Cassity, egged on by the prosecutor, made it sound like the only reason she wasn’t killed was because the police arrived so quickly.” She opened her eyes and stared at me, though I wasn’t sure she actually saw me. “Johnny insisted he dropped the gun right after he entered the bank, but nobody could attest to that. With Vera swearing he threatened her with it, nobody believed him.”