Page 45 of Tango
“I see the weight you’re carrying,” she says, cutting straight to the point of why she followed me out here.
I turn toward her, surprised. Jules and I have always gotten along—she’s great—but we’ve never really had any in-depth conversations. She’s far too guarded for that.
“Forgive me for overstepping; I just notice it because I recognize the same look in your eyes that my grandfather had in his for a long, long time.” She smiles softly.
After she was kidnapped and assaulted, she turned to alcohol to cope and ended up in and out of rehab. Her grandfather stood at her side through all of it though, even as he didn’t know the truth about what happened to her until right before he died.
“He’ll see it someday too,” she says. “If he doesn’t already.”
“I just wish I could get him to see that his life didn’t end in that jail cell.”
Jules reaches out and gently touches my shoulder. “He will. But you can’t do what my grandfather did, Tucker—don’t let Dylan’s pain keep you from being happy. You can take care of yourself even as you care for him too. Put your oxygen mask on first and all that.”
“Thanks, Jules.” The burning in my throat intensifies as I fight to keep the pain at bay. It wasn’t me who suffered, but my heart and soul broke that day all the same. And the truth is, oxygen mask included, I’d put Dylan before myself every single moment of every day. Just as I know he’d do for me, which is why he can never know the vow I made to myself.
“You’re welcome. I’m going to go get some banana pudding. I just wanted to check on you.” She heads toward the door.
“Hey, Jules?”
“Yeah?” She turns toward me, one hand on the door handle.
“I’m thankful God brought you into our family. And that Riley wasn’t stubborn enough to mess it up.”
She laughs. “I thank Him every day for bringing me here too.”
“That was the best dinner I’ve had in ages.” Alice takes a seat behind her computer.
I step up beside her and watch as she unlocks her computer. “Yeah. It was good.”
She glances over her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
No. “Fine. Just ready to see if you managed to crack this video wide open.” I force a smile. What if she didn’t? What if I’m wrong? How long can I keep looking for the truth when the evidence is staring me right in the face?
“Same.” She opens the program, and all of my hopes go up in flames. “It’s not possible.” Alice scrolls through the results, but they’re right there—right in front of my face.
Valid.
The video is valid.
It was not tampered with.
Alice turns toward me. “Tucker, I promise, that is not me in that video.”
“We’ve run it through every program we have, Alice.” I cross my arms. “I think it’s time you start telling me the truth.”
“I am telling you the truth! Put it up on your screen.”
“Alice—”
“Just do it, okay? If you still don’t believe me, I’ll call the sheriff myself.”
Cheeks red, she’s staring at me with such conviction in her eyes, I just don’t see how she could be lying.
So without arguing further, I cross over toward my computer and log in, then turn on the projector and send the image onto the large screen on my wall. I play it, watching the murder play out right in front of me.
“Pause it,” she says.
I do.
