Page 43 of Defend Me

“My name is Siobhan Everton,” I begin.

“You’re pretty!” the little girl pipes up.

“Um, thank you,” I say. “Mr. Forrester, I’m a lawyer representing Noah Patterson.”

His wife’s eyes widen. I see a flicker of pain, or maybe shame, in Mr. Forrester’s eyes.

“Gina, take your sister and go play on the iPad,” his wife says, handing the toddler off to the little girl.

“But Momma?—”

“Now,” the woman says firmly, and the two kids toddle off. She whirls on me. “You’ve got some nerve coming here.”

“Alice, please,” Patrick says. He looks at me wearily. “I saw he was arrested in the paper.”

“He is innocent, Mr. Forrester,” I say. “And I believe you hold the key to proving that.”

“Please, call me Patrick.”

“What are you talking about?” Alice demands. “Pat, what’s she talking about?”

Patrick turns and lowers himself into a wicker chair by the door, rubbing his temples. “This is about him following me, right?”

My heart flips in my chest. “That’s right.”

“No,” Alice says, shaking her head. “We don’t want to talk about this.”

“It’s all right, sweetheart,” he says, reaching for her hand. He turns his gaze back to me. “He followed me a lot back then. Every damn weekend for probably a year. I’m an alcoholic,” he says. “Been sober for five years, two months, and ten days.”

I’m not sure what to say to that—congratulations? “That’s very specific.”

He chuckles. “Not something you forget. My last drink was around two o’clock in the morning on the twenty-second of June, five years ago. That was the morning I came home and Alice had had enough. She threatened to leave me if I didn’t get help.”

Alice’s face tightens, confirming this story.

My pulse kicks into a sprint. “How can you be so certain of the date?”

“That was the day of my first AA meeting.”

“Do you remember seeing Noah following you that morning?”

“He followed me every Sunday,” Patrick says. “Every single one. The twenty-second was no exception. But it was the last time.” He sighs heavily. “I will carry the burden of what I did to that poor man’s parents for the rest of my life. I remember he offered to drive me home once. He tried tohelpme. After everything I took from him, he tried to help me.” He shakes his head. “And I tried to hit him.”

“You’ve changed,” Alice says, rubbing his shoulder. “You’re not the same person.”

My fingers tingle. We’re almost there. This could prove Noahis innocent. “Patrick, would you be willing to testify to this in court?”

Alice’s head snaps up and she takes a threatening step toward me. “Absolutely not,” she says. “You think he’s going to embarrass our family? Bring up those terrible years after we’ve worked so hard to put it all behind us? No way.”

“Alice, please,” Patrick says, getting to his feet. “This is a man’s life we’re talking about. And not just any man. This is my chance to fulfill Step 8. To make amends. It’s the least I can do.” He turns to me. “Of course I’ll testify.”

A great whoosh of relief runs through me.

“But—” Alice begins but Patrick silences her with a faint smile.

“I’m not ashamed of my past,” he says. “I accept it, as I accept all parts of myself. I have to do this, darling.”

She gazes at him with such fierce love. Her lips press into a thin line. Then she nods.

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