Zach stared at me, the color draining from his face. “What?”

I flapped a hand through the air, watched it like it wasn’t actually a part of my body. “I mean, it’s possible he didn’t actually do it. But he was involved in it.”

“Who?” The question came out on a limp puff of air.

“Cal,” I said, forcing the word from my throat.

Zach’s whole face scrunched up, blank with incomprehension. “Your brother? But he’s a cop.”

“I’m aware,” I said, impatient with this part of it. I wanted to fast-forward through all the how? what? why? questions. The truth was, I didn’t have answers to any of them. And Jimmy Ray had been right. When it came down to it, I didn’t care about the why. I only cared about the who. “I’m going to talk to him. Do you want to come with me?”

“Me . . . what . . . what about the cops? The other cops. Shouldn’t we be calling Land right now?” He turned toward the kitchen, and I grabbed at his arm.

“No. We’re not telling anyone. Not yet.”

“What are you talking about?” Zach’s voice was rising with each word, and I pushed down with my hand, trying to silence him.

“Calm down,” I said. “We’ll tell them soon. But I want to talk to him first. He’s my brother. I want to hear what he has to say before Land and a bunch of lawyers get in the middle of it.”

Zach forced out a laugh, ran a hand through his hair, leaving it standing up in uneven tufts. “What, you’re going to go all vigilante on his ass? Is that your big plan?”

“I didn’t say anything about going after him. I just want to talk,” I said again. “I think I’m allowed that much.”

“I don’t . . .” He sank down onto the bench near the front door. I stayed quiet, let him work through it for a second. “It seems like a really bad idea, Eve,” he said finally.

“Maybe,” I admitted. A noise in the hall caught my attention, the whisper-light sound of a footstep. But when I turned, no one was there.

“What if he hurts you?”

I turned back to Zach. “I don’t think he will.” Of course, before today I would have bet anything, risked anything, on the idea that Cal would never hurt Junie. That he’d take a bullet before he’d harm a hair on her head. So it was entirely possible that I was wrong. The thing was, I didn’t much care. “Look, I didn’t come here for your permission or your blessing. But you were her father. I thought you had a right to know, and I wanted to give you the chance to come with me.”

Zach stared into his coffee mug like the right answer might be hidden in its depths. “I don’t think so,” he said. “This isn’t me, Eve. It’s not how I handle things. I won’t say anything to Land. Or Jenny. At least not yet. But I won’t go with you, either.”