Camille
AFTER THE ALIBI
The doorbell rings and Hank gets up from his makeshift desk on the kitchen table.
We're at his house and he'll work from here the next few days while I'm recuperating on his sofa a few feet away.
I was released from the hospital this afternoon to Hank's care and he offered for us to stay at my house, thinking I'd be more comfortable in my own bed, but when I said I was never going back there, I meant it.
In fact, I told him to put it up for sale the second Ben's estate is settled.
Hank has gone above and beyond to make sure I feel not only comfortable but safe, and I'd be blind not to notice his feelings run deeper than friendship.
But that's not a conversation or a situation I'm ready for, and he seems to understand that as well.
He knows I need a friend more than anything else and he seems happy to fill that role.
Hank comes back in the room with Silas right behind him.
"How's the patient?" Silas sits in the chair next to the couch and hands me a white paper bag. "Brought you some of those macaroons you like."
"Thank you. I'm just glad to be out of the hospital. Hank is an excellent nurse even if he's following those protocols a little too closely."
Hank laughs. "You're not getting any extra screen time no matter how bratty you act."
Silas tries to smile but it doesn't reach his eyes. He looks stressed.
"What happened?"
He takes a deep breath and runs a hand over his face.
"There was an incident today at Aubrey's.
It's just about to hit the news so I wanted to come over and tell you both about what happened.
" He looks pointedly at Hank. "Do we need to sign some shit to make it formal so this is covered under attorney-client privilege?"
"I think we're pretty far past that. To make it official, you're my newest client. Welcome to Bayliss and Landry Law Firm. Consider yourself covered."
He nods, then says, "Detective Sullivan is dead. Deacon killed him protecting Aubrey."
"What!" I sit up so fast a sharp pain slashes through my head.
Hank moves next to me on the couch. "No sudden movements like that. Lean back."
Once he gets me settled again, he looks at Silas. "Start at the beginning."
And he does. Hank and I are speechless as we take in everything Silas tells us. By the time he's done, Hank is slumped next to me as if the weight of what he just learned is too heavy to bear.
"You didn't know Sullivan back then?" I ask.
"No, but I was only there a couple of times since I spent most of the summer working on that ranch in Texas."
"You really think you can pin Aubrey's parents' deaths on him?"
"Hank, you know the only thing stopping one side from winning a case is the fight the other side puts up. The other side isn't gonna put up a fight on this one.
Represent Deacon and make the case Sullivan was driving Paul's truck that night, and Sullivan's recent actions were the result of trying to stop the truth from coming out.
You will win. And that should pave the way for Paul's appeal. "
"Sullivan's death is going to send shock waves through town, especially when it comes out he was the one who killed Ben," I say.
"Yeah, we're all going to have to weather the storm.
Going to talk to Dad after I leave here, and I don't imagine it's going to be an easy conversation.
With Foster and Sullivan dead, it's time for things to change.
I'm going to suggest he take a step back and let me take over.
He's going to put up a helluva fight, but if he doesn't agree, I'm walking away from the business. He won't let that happen."
Hank's forehead creases. "Does you taking over mean you're going straight?"
Silas shrugs. "Straighter. It's gonna get a little dirty before we're clean.
Just like with this Sullivan business. He may not have killed the Prices but he did kill Ben, so in my opinion, I don't have a problem with him being guilty of both.
Aubrey wants Deacon's freedom, as well as Paul's, and this is the easiest path for both. "
"What does Aubrey know?" I can't imagine what she's going through right now.
"Mostly everything. Sullivan told her Margaret was the driver. Didn't think she needed to know any more than that."
Hank runs a hand across his face. "This is going to be a nightmare for the firm. The media is already unrelenting and this is only going to add more fuel to that fire. They're never going to stop talking about Ben."
"That asshole is actually going to look pretty good by the time it's all done," Silas says, shaking his head. Then in a high-pitched whiny voice, he adds, "Poor Ben was just trying to free an innocent man from prison until the dirty cop killed him."
I lean my head back against the couch and close my eyes. "Silas. Please. This is so wrong on so many levels."
Silas shrugs. "Honestly, this is the first time things have felt right."
We all sit quietly for a moment while we digest everything that's happened. Hank will struggle with this in his own way, but I know going forward, the firm will be better having him in charge.
I turn to Hank. "Can I have a few minutes alone with my brother?"
Hank stands up immediately. "Of course. I'll be outside if you need me." He's probably more than happy to get away.
There are a couple of things I need to talk to him about so I start with the easiest one first. "I'm going to buy that house Aubrey lives in and make some repairs.
I drove by it before I approached her that first time and it's in pretty rough shape.
I'll get Hank to draw up the paperwork for me to gift it to her.
She can sell it if she wants or stay there and collect the rent from the others…
her choice, but at least it will give her some options. "
Silas's head tilts to the side as he considers what I'm saying. "Let me pay for the repairs."
I nod. We both need to make reparations to her for what our family has done.
And now for the harder part of this conversation.
"Have you found Margaret?" I ask.
He tenses at my question. "Not yet."
"What are you going to do?"
"Camille, you've gotten a glimpse behind the curtain, but I promise, you don't want to pull it all the way back. You need to let me handle this my way."
"I don't want you to do something you're going to regret."
Silas laughs but it sounds sad. "I have so many regrets I'd never be able to count them all.
For ten years I thought I was a murderer who got away with my crime while someone else paid the price.
I've lived with that guilt. I've stuck close to Dad, not because I wanted to be like him but so I could get in front of another incident like that one.
I knew I couldn't go back and change anything, but I could stop it from happening again.
Sacrificed my life because I thought I deserved it.
I've done the time, Camille, so I may as well be guilty of the crime. "
His words make me sad, because even though Silas has tried his hardest, he's already turned into exactly the person our father groomed him to be.