Page 47 of Hunting the Crossbow Killer

“Well, of course I don’t expect you to believe it,” Aidan bit out. “I never expected, or wanted, anyone to believe it. It was horrific, awful. Can you imagine the pain, the absolute misery my wife felt, how desperate she was to end her suffering that she would actually convince her own child to pull the plug, knowing how that could mess him up later in life, knowing he was responsible for her death?”

He shoved his hand through his hair and tugged his other hand free from Grace to rest his forearms on top of the table. “Elly was miserable. All she asked me to do was let her go, let her die. And I was too selfish to grant her that end to her suffering. Instead, my five-year-old son did what I couldn’t. He ended her pain.”

The DA started to say something, but Perry stopped him. “Mr. O’Brien, if what you’re saying is true, everyone in here, I’m sure, can agree that law enforcement wouldn’t have done anything to punish your son. He certainly wouldn’t have been prosecuted. So why did you confess to your wife’s murder? What was the point?”

Aidan stared at him incredulously. “The point? Did you not hear what I said? He was a little boy. If the world heard that he’d unplugged that machine, that knowledge would have followed him the rest of his life. People can be cruel, horrible to eachother. Parents would have talked. Their children would have heard. They’d have teased and bullied him at school. As it is, his grandparents had to move several hours away to raise him because of kids teasing him over his father killing his mother. I made a split-second decision to protect my son, choosing the lesser of evils. I believed it was far better for him to grow up thinking his father was an evil monster than to realize he’d inadvertently killed his own mother. That’s why I confessed. To try to spare him that kind of pain. But even more than that, I was, in my own misguided way, trying to protect Elly, and the Larsens.”

“Your wife and her parents?” Perry asked. “Please explain what you mean by that.”

A single tear slid down Aidan’s cheek. He angrily wiped it away. “Elly loved Niall more than anything. He was her world. If she’d been in her right frame of mind, not blinded by the agony of a life she couldn’t accept, she never would have tricked him into doing what he did. She wouldn’t want that guilt later in life to eat at his soul. And I didn’t want her parents or friends to ever know that she’d done something that would have shamed her. So, as strange as it may seem to someone not in that situation, yes, I confessed to protect both my wife’s reputation and my son. At the time, I felt my life was over anyway. And that because I refused to help her, I deserved my fate. Prison. But after seeing what’s become of Niall, how tortured he was to discover his father confessed to his mother’s murder, I wonder if he’d have been better off knowing the truth from the beginning.”

“That brings us to those mitigating circumstances,” Perry said. “If we take what you just said as fact—”

“There’s no proof,” the DA said, looking extremely skeptical.

“Assume it’s a fact for now. What the Larsens told us earlier is that when five year-old Niall was told that his mother was dead, that he’d never see her again, he shut down. He wasnever able to answer questions about anything he saw that day because his mind blanked out his memories. But it must have simmered below the surface because he suffered night terrors for years. And he acted out, had all kinds of behavioral issues. His grandparents became desperate to help him. They’d kept in touch with one of his nurses, Stella Simmons, who is now Stella Holman, because they’d grown close in the months that Stella helped care for their daughter. When they asked for recommendations, Stella helped them find a child psychiatrist. And she took him to his sessions whenever the Larsens couldn’t.”

Perry looked around the table as if to make sure that everyone was paying attention. “Let’s skip ahead to the year before Mr. O’Brien’s parole hearing. The Larsens said that Niall as a fifteen-year-old at the time became curious to learn about his father. It didn’t take much internet searching to find out everything that the media had reported. He believed his father killed his mother. And it ate at him. He sent Mr. O’Brien hate mail and in response, Mr. O’Brien had his lawyer contact them to let them know that Niall needed help.”

Barnes spoke up to add a lawyer’s viewpoint to the discussion. “Obviously, Niall O’Brien has been through trauma in his young life even if he’s never had a clear memory of what happened. Finding out disturbing things about his father sent him over the edge. He came up with a plan to have his father sent back to prison where he felt he belonged. He’d heard about the Crossbow Killer on the news and decided to try to frame Aidan as the killer. An adult, especially those of us in law enforcement, would of course know that framing someone isn’t nearly as easy as Niall thought it would be. When his actions didn’t achieve the results he wanted, he became desperate, doing what he could to hurt his father. But I contend that he wasn’t specifically trying to hurt anyone else. He only wanted to hurt Mr. O’Brien.”

“Hold it, hold it,” the DA said. “I’m one of the ones who didn’t hear from Mrs. Holman in the meetings you’ve been having, or from the Larsens. What exactly did they testify to at the parole hearing that you mentioned earlier? If it’s more of this unsubstantiated new story that O’Brien is putting forth, I don’t see where any of that is relevant and will help the younger O’Brien avoid the charges I’m inclined to levy against him.”

“They found out the truth,” Aidan said, his voice gruff with anger. “They testified that they knew that Niall had pulled the plug, not me. I didn’t ask them to speak on my behalf. I didn’t want them to. But they did.”

“Sounds convenient.”

Aidan glared at him. “Convenient? Why the hell do you think my wife’s parents would lie to a parole board? You think they’d want their daughter’s killer out of prison? If you think that, you’re an idiot.”

The DA pointed at Aidan. “Now you listen here—”

“Don’t you dare speak to him that way.” Stella stood, her expression one of loathing as she addressed the district attorney. “Youlisten. All of you. Aidan didn’t come here today willingly to tell his story. He came because his parole officer ordered him to, and because all of you asked him. Enough people know bits and pieces about the truth to have pieced it together even though he has tried for years to keep it quiet. As to whether what he’s saying is true or not, I’ve got proof that it is. I brought a recording I’d like to play for all of you that—”

“Stella,” Aidan rasped. “Don’t. Leave it alone.”

“I’m sorry, Aidan. But Grace was right when she said this has been a poison in your soul, and that it’s poison to Niall as well, whether he realizes it or not. The only antidote to that poison is the truth.”

He shoved to his feet. “Then you’ll do it without me.” He strode out the door.

“Aiden, wait.” Grace followed him into the hallway and shut the door behind her.

He turned and she wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tight. Unable to stop himself, even though he knew he should, he hugged her tighter and rested his cheek on the top of her head. Some of the pain and anger inside him melted away at the feel of her in his arms. She was the embodiment of kindness, of empathy, of caring. And he selfishly drew strength from her, even at the risk of someone seeing them.

The convict and the FBI agent.

A father with a murderous son and a woman dedicated to justice.

It could never work.

And even if, by some miracle, there was some way for them to be together, he’d made a mess of things with his son. Niall had to be his first priority now. Somehow he had to fix the damage he’d caused by trying to cover everything up in the first place.

Regret ate at him as he pulled away. “Go back inside. I’m sure they’re waiting for you.”

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“To see the Larsens. They deserve to know the truth before someone else tells them.”

“Do you want me to go with you?”

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