Page 83 of Homecoming

“Anything for you, love. Anything at all.”

“You didn’t sign on for this…”

“It’s fine. I live for this shit. It’s all good.”

“Don’t get shot or stabbed or anything else like that, you hear me?”

He laughed. “I hear you.”

Kara got out of the car, retrieved the two grocery bags from the back seat and went into the house as the reporters called out questions to her about her brothers.

That wouldn’t do.

When the inside door closed behind her, Dan got out of the car to face the same barrage of questions.

“Simmer down, and I’ll give you a statement.” He waited for them to go quiet. “First of all, hear me on this… My wife has nothing to do with the case against her brothers. If y’all start hassling her, reporting about her or anything else with her, you won’t get another word out of me. Are we clear on that?”

A murmur of agreement went through the twenty or so reporters. Half were TV reporters holding cameras, while the other half looked like they’d just rolled out of bed. He tagged them as newspaper people.

“My wife is off-limits. We’re here because my in-laws asked me to represent their sons. Keith has declined representation, so I’m focused entirely on Kirby’s case.”

“Why did Keith decline?”

“You’d have to ask him that. I believe this entire case is a rush to judgment based on the fact that Keith was seen with the victim during the evening preceding her death. Kirby’s only involvement was responding to a call from his brother asking for a ride home. Kirby never spoke with Tanya Sorenson. All he did was ask Keith if she needed a ride home. She declined the offer and was alive and well when they left her standing on the sidewalk in town. Those are the facts of this case, and we believe the police have arrested the wrong men and should be considering other suspects.”

“What about reports that Keith’s DNA was found on the victim?”

“He doesn’t deny having had contact with her. He danced with her. He didn’t murder her, and Kirby has never met her or exchanged a single word with her.”

“What about the eyewitness who claims to have seen the brothers with her?”

“Have you looked into his history with the Ballard family? If not, you should.”

“Can you elaborate?”

“Do your own research. You’ll find an interesting story there. Also, I’m wondering if the police have looked into the difficult breakup Tanya had with a boyfriend last winter. It’s documented on her Instagram account. Something about the guy not being able to move on from her. I’d imagine that’s an angle that’d be worth investigating as well.”

As he watched the reporters take furious notes, he was pleased with how he’d managed to take control of the narrativeand looked forward to seeing the headlines in tomorrow’s papers and on the news that night.

“Will you continue to represent Kirby Ballard if the case goes to trial?”

“We’re a long way from a trial, but I’ll be here for as long as Kirby needs me. That’s all for now. Do me a favor and clear the street. People live here, and they need to be able to get to their homes. Please don’t come back here again.”

Dan turned and walked toward the house.

“What’s in this for you, Torrington?”

Surprised by the rancor in the man’s tone, Dan schooled his expression and turned back to address the question. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. What’s in it for you?”

“Nothing other than stepping up for a family member who needs me and being there for my wife during this difficult time.”

“Your wife is estranged from her family, is she not?”

“We’re here, aren’t we?”

“Hasn’t it been years since she was here?”

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