A Stranger on the Beach(99)

“No, in fact, he was careful not to say that. There’s no specific sentence in your plea agreement. As of right now, Caroline Stark is still on the lam, and you don’t even have anybody to testify against.”

“That’s good. I don’t actually want to testify against her.”

“It’s not good. Without testimony, you’re looking at twenty-five-to-life. For a crime you didn’t commit. Oh—and there’s no appeal from a guilty plea. It’s final. Do you understand that?”

“I understand, Lisa. You explained everything. You did a good job.”

“With this outcome? I don’t think so. If you insist on going through with the plea, I can’t represent you, Aidan. I’m sorry.”

“I know you don’t agree with what I’m doing. But you’ve been with me this far. I don’t want to start with some other lawyer now. Won’t you do this one last thing for me?”

“It’s not that simple. I can’t represent you. You allocute under penalty of perjury, and I can’t suborn perjury.”

“Can you talk like a human? I don’t understand.”

“You have to swear an oath on the Bible to tell the truth. Then the judge will ask what you did to commit the crime. If you say that you shot Jason Stark and helped dispose of his body, I’ll believe you’re lying. That’s why I can’t represent you. I can’t stand beside you and give my endorsement to false testimony.”

“You don’t know that I’m lying.”

“Come on, Aidan. We both know you are.”

They looked at each other. He let out a breath.

“All right. If that’s how you feel,” he said.

“There is another way.”

“What?”

“It’s not too late. You don’t have to plead guilty. You can go in there and tell the judge you changed your mind.”

“And let Tommy take the fall? No thanks.”

“I know you won’t listen to me. But maybe you’ll listen to him. Hold on.”

“What? No.”

But Lisa was already at the door, knocking on it. The guard unlocked it. Lisa consulted with him in a tone low enough that Aidan couldn’t make out the words. A moment later, Lisa left the room, and Tommy walked in.

Aidan watched as his brother lowered himself into the creaky metal chair. Tommy’s eyes were red. His face was puffy, and for the first time, Aidan noticed that Tommy was losing his hair. If Aidan pled guilty, his niece and nephew would grow up while he was in prison, and his brother and sister-in-law would grow old. He needed to be willing to pay that price. He needed to stay strong and do what he knew was right—for once in his life.

“Hey, bro,” he said.

“Kid.”

“Thanks for coming to see me. Big day. Nice to have family in the courtroom to support me. And thanks for paying for the lawyer. She’s a ballbreaker. It helped me so much to have her on my side,” Aidan said.

Tommy took in a big breath and let it out slowly, like he was playing for time.

“I don’t know where to start,” he said. “There’s so much to say, but the most important thing is this. Lisa Walters says you’re innocent. She knows what she’s doing, and she wouldn’t lie, so I have to believe it’s true. I can’t let you take a plea when you’re innocent.”

“Guilt and innocence. Who’s to say, right? It’s what people believe, and nobody ever believes me, Tom. They’re not about to start now. The prosecutor won’t believe me. The jury won’t. I’d go down and get nothing for it. This way, I get something I really care about. I get to make sure you don’t suffer because of me.”

“I can’t let you do this. Go to trial, Aidan. I’ll support you. And the jury will believe you. You’ll see.”

“At what cost? You losing your job? Wasting your kids’ college money on my defense, only to see me get convicted? No, it’s not worth it.”

“You think I’ll sleep at night, knowing you’re locked up because you tried to help me? Don’t sacrifice yourself for me. I can’t live with that.”

“After you sacrificed for me your whole life? It’s my turn now, Tommy.”

“I won’t let you.”

“My mind is made up.”

“It’s not just about what you want. There’s also the truth. And the truth is, I cut you loose that night even though I saw you break into Caroline Stark’s house. That was a dereliction of duty, a betrayal of my badge. I deserve to pay for it.”

“You’ve been paying for helping me as long as I can remember. Enough.”

“This woman is the one who should be taking the fall. From what I understand, they don’t know where she is or when they’ll find her. I could go look for her myself.”

“Ah, she’s probably in Mexico by now.”

“I can’t let her get away with this. She’s a grifter. I could smell it on her when I saw her in the bar that time. She was working you, and you were eating it up. You always did have terrible taste in women. I should’ve said something. I should’ve stopped you.”

“You said plenty, and I ignored you. Forget Caroline. Let me do this for you.”

“I favored my family. That’s not an excuse. It’s the problem. I’m going to tell them the truth about what I did. Then you won’t have any reason to fall on your sword for me.”