River & Revenge

06 | innocence at stake

A woman.

Ander recalled the speculations during the trial, some of the barflies in the parking lot had claimed they'd seen a mysterious woman lurking, but their word hadn't been the most reliable source; as high as a kite, they'd argued about the possibility of Satan too. But the involvement of a woman sounded like a shred of solid evidence. There wouldn't be a question of what if and what about. It would be as clear as day; River was innocent.

"Who has it, then?"

"I don't know," she looked away from him, and the slithering confidence of the otherwise woman made it pretty evident that she was lying.

Ander didn't blame her for not trusting him, but the frustration was still apparent on his face. He was ready to pour his heart out, the defeat of his missing best friend and the annoyance of not being able to do the one good thing he thought he would, but with the strange way she kept picking on her sweater, it hit him.

He knew what would make her feel better.

"If you can be honest with me, I promise I'll keep him away from you." It did pique her interest, and she met his eyes with uncertainty. "I don't know why he didn't approach you himself, but we can keep it this way." 

"He does what he wants. I doubt you can, Ander." 

It would be a lie if that didn't feel like a blow to his ego, but he couldn't deny the truth in it. It was an empty promise, to begin with. 

"I can try," he shrugged, finding the awkward silence demeaning to the friendship they used to have. Jamie may not have been his favourite person, but he did share a good bond with her once, and as a homage to that, he desperately hoped she'd agree to communicate with him without any more baseless promises. "Alright, fine. I'm not asking you where it is, but. . . answer this for me. Why did you testify against him?"

"My father's reputation was at stake. It was bad enough his hospital was associated with murder but to have his daughter dating and shielding a criminal? I had to fix things." 

"So, you framed him?" 

She was the one frustrated now, speaking through her teeth and physically uncomfortable in the small space of the bakery. 

"Ander, I say this as nicely as possible. Your brother is a damn sociopath." She seethed, and he was starting to see how she was losing her patience. It still didn't answer his questions; River had his quirks, but lying about murder still didn't morally sit right with him. 

"Jamie—"

"Two days before his trial, I was losing my mind trying to find something that'd help him. He then showed up out of nowhere, a dried blood-covered blade in his hand, and he said someone left it on his doorstep." Ander didn't dare interrupt her; it was new information for him. He was aware of how River's anger and impulsiveness brought out the worst in him, but to hear about it from her evoked a sense of protectiveness. "He was drunk, and he kept blabbing about how he was going to get caught."

"Caught?"

"He wasn't talking about the hospital case." It was too much for his tired mind. He was stunned enough to not inquire more, and on cue, she continued, "Some guy from his hometown, the one who wanted to buy your Mom's business? Apparently, River killed him."

He did remember a particular man from the past. His parents had been in the middle of a financial crisis, and they planned on selling his mother's hardwood business, but the deal was cancelled when the buyer had unexpectedly backed out, with the reason being the large sum of acquired debt.

His mother soon found another client, willing to provide a much large sum of money, leading to their comfortable retirement, and the deal was all cancelled and forgotten, but now, to Ander's surprise, the agreement wasn't the only thing that died.

"Why would he kill him?" He whispered. The early morning didn't invite a lot of customers, and Ander was careful not to attract the attention of the old owner or any of her sons.

"I don't know, but he was freaking out. He said he killed that guy with the same blade he was holding and now, someone knew about it. He wanted me to hide it." She breathed in, and eventually, she shook her head. "I was scared, okay? I was trying to prove him innocent but that really put a stop to it. . . I should go." 

"Jamie, wait!" 

Ignoring him, she stood in her place, picking her purse off the table, and Ander's heart dropped. He didn't get the answers he wanted and ended up learning something unanticipated. 

What the fuck am I supposed to do now? Asking River would be a fool's move. Jamie was his only hope. 

"Sorry, Ms Pam! See you next time," she quickly waved at the saddened owner. When she turned to him, he knew he wouldn't be able to make her stay, "I don't expect you to understand why I don't want him free. . . but there's nothing I can do for you, Ander. I'm sorry."

He was too dazed to run after her.