Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 145402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
Traffic around the stadium was bumper-to-bumper, so the Foxes' cars got separated as they edged into traffic. Matt beat them to the dorm. By the time the others caught up, Aaron was long gone. Neil watched Andrew usher Kevin and Nicky into their room before heading to his own. Matt followed Neil, and Neil tried to be surprised that the girls were right behind him.
The soft buzz of his phone distracted him, and Neil tugged it out of his pocket. There was a new message in his inbox. He didn't recognize the number or the area code. He understood the message even less: "49". Neil gave it a minute, but nothing else was forthcoming. He deleted the text and put his phone away.
"Neil," Dan said, and waited until Neil was looking at her to continue. "Thank you. For the truth, I mean. I know that's not all of it, but I know you didn't let us in by choice. We're ready to listen when you're ready to talk. You know that, right?"
"I know," Neil said.
She squeezed his shoulder in silent but fierce support. "And thank you for... well, whatever you're doing with Andrew and Aaron. I'm not entirely sure I understand what happened tonight but I know it was important."
"Important?" Matt echoed. "Are we going to talk about the fact that Andrew killed their mother? I thought she died in a car accident. That's what everyone's always said."
"She did die in a car wreck," Neil said.
"I said accident," Matt said, with emphasis. Neil gazed calmly back and said nothing else, so Matt asked, "How did you find out?"
"Nicky told me months ago," Neil said.
"Just like that," Matt said dubiously. "You've always known what he's capable of, but you said he's never given you a real reason to be afraid of him. What the hell are your parents into, if you can glide past murder like it's no big deal and get in Riko's face all the time?"
Neil shook his head and was saved by Renee's gentle, "Perhaps Neil trusts Andrew's reasons. Andrew admitted to murder, yes, but he also said he did it for his brother's sake."
"It was premeditated," Dan said. "That isn't defense. He could have called the police or social services or gotten Nicky's parents involved."
"People with our backgrounds are not inclined to trust the police," Renee said. "It probably never occurred to Andrew that they were a viable option."
"And look at what happened last November," Neil added. "Andrew's always known Luther wouldn't protect Aaron."
Dan looked between them, disbelieving. "You condone this?"
Renee spread her hands and gave her friend a reassuring smile. "We cannot understand the situation entirely, Dan. We will never know Andrew's frame of mind at the time or how bad life with her was for them. All we can do is make a choice: believe that he was protecting Aaron or condemn him for taking the most extreme path. I would rather go with the former. Wouldn't you? It is encouraging and comforting to think he wasn't acting out of malice."
"Next you'll say it's sweet," Allison mocked her.
"Please don't," Dan said, with a small grimace. "My stomach's weak enough as it is right now."
Neil waited to make sure that was it, then said, "I'm going to bed."
None of them tried to stop him. Neil shut himself in the bedroom, changed out, and crawled into bed. His thoughts threatened to tug him down to dark places, so Neil silently counted as high as he could in every language he knew. It did nothing to help him sleep, but it at least kept the demons at bay for a little longer.
CHAPTER NINE
When the sun came up Neil gave up pretending to sleep and got out of bed again. He went for a run along Perimeter Road and pointed his feet toward the Foxhole Court when the turnoff came. The usual security guards were making their rounds. Neil trusted them less today than he had yesterday, now that he knew how easy it was to get past them, and made a wide loop around them. He let himself in with his keys and flicked on the lights as he headed to the changing room.
He pushed open the door, already rolling up the sleeves of his sweatshirt, and hesitated halfway into the room. The mess was gone, and the floor was spotless. Neil looked over his shoulder, but the place had been dark when he'd shown up. He was the only one here. He crossed the room to his locker and tugged the lock undone. His locker was clean and empty.
It was half past seven, which meant Wymack had been up for hours. Neil straddled one of the benches and called him. Wymack answered on the second ring by saying, "I don't know what amazes me more: that your phone is actually turned on or that you're awake this early on a Saturday morning."
"Coach, the changing room is clean."
"Yeah, I know. Abby and I took care of it last night after you left."
"I'm sorry," Neil said. "I was going to clean it this morning."
"Didn't I tell you not to worry about it?" Wymack demanded.
"You told me not to deal with it yesterday," Neil said.
"Whatever," Wymack said. "You can make it up to me later. Actually, what are you doing now that I've ruined your morning plans? Nothing?" He waited for Neil's affirmative and said, "You can sort through files with me instead. I'll lug them over and grab breakfast on the way. Or did you eat already?"
"Not yet," Neil said. "I'll wait here."
Wymack hung up. Neil looked at his open locker again, then migrated to the lounge to wait. He walked the length of the walls, studying the photographs Dan had put up over the years. Neil never saw Dan add to it, but the collection had grown to include a couple dozen shots from this year. The majority were of the upperclassmen, since Dan rarely had a chance to catch her younger teammates off the court, but Neil spotted several from Halloween and a couple stray pictures of their team dinners in November and December.