I froze. Was I really trying to convince myself to let an innocent woman face the death penalty for something I knew she didn’t do?

I glanced at the box beneath the lamp table for a split second, then looked back to Tucker. He leaned forward, staring at me with visible concern.

“Mrs. Miller, we know this has been a terrible shock. Would you like us to give you a moment? We do have a few questions we’d like to ask you.”

“Me?”

“Sofie Rhodes told us a fanciful tale about your brother harassing them,” Johnson said, his tone suggesting he was embarrassed to even repeat the accusation. “She’s adamant that Henry was lying about the night he saw her husband in your home. To be truthful, Mrs. Miller, I don’t put much stock in what those Germans do or don’t say. But I figured we’d come and have a chat with you anyway, just to do our due diligence.”

I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate. There had to be a way to fix this. I couldn’t do anything to undo what Henry had already done, but there had to be a way to save him from prison, to save Sofie Rhodes for her children…

Maybe I sat there a moment too long, because when I opened my eyes, both officers were staring at me, their gazes narrow.

“Mrs. Miller?” Tucker said slowly. “Is there anything you want to tell us?”

For the first time in years, I thought about my mother and the conversation she and I shared beneath the stars about Henry and Daddy, and strong minds and weaker spirits.

You get the brain you’re given, and it seems to me that those of us who are strong have an obligation to care for others when they aren’t.

My gaze drifted again to the box of evidence in the corner of the room.

I had to protect Henry. I had to help Sofie Rhodes.

I let my gaze linger on the box—long enough that the silence stretched.

After a moment, Johnson rose and walked across the room to the lamp table. He lifted the box up onto the table, peered inside, then looked at me in disbelief.

“Care to explain all this, Mrs. Miller?” he said.

“No,” I whispered hoarsely. “No, I don’t think I will.”

The interrogation room was small, with stark white walls and a large clock over the door. I guessed I’d need a lawyer but I didn’t know what I’d say to him, so I hadn’t asked to call one. Johnson and Tucker were throwing rapid-fire questions at me. I knew all of the answers, but I hadn’t said a word since we arrived at the station.