Page 26 of Break My Fall

“Do you want one?”

“No. I’m good.” He pointed to the thermos on his desk.

“Coffee? For supper? How do you sleep?”

“It’s water. I don’t drink coffee after two p.m. Well, not usually anyway. And I sleep just fine, thank you very much.” It was true. Sleep had never been his issue. His nightmares usually found him while he was wide awake.

She opened the bottle of water, took a sip, and flounced into the chair. “Good to know.” She took another sip, then put the lid back on the bottle. “Look, I’m not sure if I have the answers you want. But I’ve been thinking about it today, and I might know how to find them.”

Gray didn’t like where this was going, but he knew Meredith. He had no chance of stopping her unless he heard her out. “I’m listening.”

Meredith handed him another piece of paper from her bag. “After we talked last night, I decided it would make our time more efficient if I organized my thoughts. So I wrote this up at lunch today. I wouldn’t recommend letting anyone see it.”

Gray scanned the page. He was only two lines in before he stopped and looked at Meredith. “You heard this?”

“I did. And now that you know, you can understand why I won’t discuss it with my family. I won’t put them at risk any more than they already are by association with me. If it got out that they knew?”

Gray pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes. And I agree. Let’s start at the beginning.”

Meredith glanced behind her at the closed door. “Can anyone hear us?”

“No.”

“Okay. Fine. For context, as I mentioned before, the Neeson church opens their doors for me, mainly so I can use the facilities. I was inside one day, and before I came out, I heard voices in the hallway. Deep voices. I didn’t recognize them. I assumed they were a couple of dads, although I typically see the moms. Not a lot of dads bring their kids to the dentist.”

Gray fought to keep an impassive expression on his face. But the thought of her alone in an empty building, even if that building was a church, sent a shiver of terror across his skin.

“I heard the first guy say, ‘Kirby’s ours. You don’t have to worry about that.’ Then the other guy said, ‘What about Nichols? He’s a straight arrow.’ And the first guy said, ‘We have a plan for him.’ And then the other guy said, ‘Really? Because I don’t think we can turn him.’”

Meredith swallowed hard, and her expression was grief-stricken when she continued. “The first guy used a few curse words and then he said, ‘The only kind of man who can’t be turned is a man who has nothing to lose. A man like Nichols has a lot to lose.’”

“There’s a Nichols on Neeson’s police force. Do you think that’s who they were talking about?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what they have on him?”

She shook her head. “No, but I might be able to get it.”

He wasn’t touching that. Not yet. “Do you know who the other two men were?”

She nodded.

“How do you know?”

“They were still talking when I came outside. I didn’t think they saw me, but it’s possible they did. And given what happened with my van, I’m leaning more toward the idea that they think I overheard them.”

“Who are they, Meredith?”

She looked at the paper she’d handed him. A paper that didn’t have any names on it. “Does it change anything if I tell you?”

“It might.” When she continued to hesitate, he asked, “Why don’t you want to tell me?”

“What if I’m wrong?” She threw out her hands. “I don’t think I am, but what I’m accusing them of is serious. I could ruin their lives. I won’t swear under oath about this. Hearsay is inadmissible. And this is all hearsay.”

“I’m not going to try to get a warrant based on what you tell me. And I promise to keep an open mind.”

She leaned toward him. “Trace Ledbetter and Winston Hardaway.”

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