“I’m willing to forget that you tried to break my skull if you talk to me about these men. That boy. I don’t want to put that on you. You help me and I’ll help you.”

Eddy looked away from the pictures. At his initial appearance before that prick Hildebrand, no one had said a goddamn word about a bunch of dead bodies floating in the river. “Charity know about this?”

“About the bodies? No, Eddy, she doesn’t,” Deputy Reynosa said, crossing her arms. “No one does, not yet. Not officially. But we can’t keep it quiet much longer.”

His attorney looked up, adding, “They only booked you on the assault on Deputy Ford, and the small amount of drugs in the trailer . . .”

Eddy cut him off. “That was personal-use shit. That was . . .”

Paez continued, as if Eddy hadn’t opened his mouth. “They can, and will, make an argument that it was not, if they have to. It’s leverage, Eddy. You sell drugs, that’s what you do. They’ll find fifty people who’ll say that’s all you do. As Deputy Ford pointed out, even without that, the assault itself is serious enough, given your prior record. They’re still processing the scene with the murder victims. You haven’t been charged with that. I saw an opportunity for you to help yourself before that happened. Your only opportunity. That’s why we’re all here.”

“No, these two here saw an opportunity to fuck me,” Eddy said, pointing at Danny and Deputy Reynosa. “And you’re helping ’em. God knows why. You’re supposed to be helping me.”

Danny tapped the table, getting Eddy’s attention. He leaned in close, right into Eddy’s face. His voice was low, somehow incredibly loud at the same time. “The sheriff has held the newspapers off, but he won’t be able to much longer. Whoever you’ve been working with is going to know. If Charity’s been involved with them, she’s going to know, too. Soon, everyone will. Then you’re no good to us, and then maybe Charity’s in danger. Someone’s going to want some answers, and if they can’t get to you, they sure in the hell will get to her.”

Eddy slumped back in his chair. “I think I hurt her the other day . . . Charity, I mean. It wasn’t her goddamn fault. I didn’t mean to do it, you know? Shit just gets fuzzy, all jumbled up sometimes. Like my head’s full of broken glass.”

Danny looked right at him. “Yeah, I get that, Eddy, I do.” And in that moment, Eddy believed him. Eddy could read him and knew it was true.

“But this has got to get clear, quick. If not for you, then for Charity. Don’t hurt her again,” Danny finished.