Page 16 of I Did Something Bad
Tyler’s head re-straightens, but there’s a deepVbetween his brows. “What do you mean,do we have proof?I… saw it. You can tell them what happened before I showed up, and then I can pick it up from there.”
A tiny, almost-muted splash makes us both jump. My body locks up, but Tyler peeks back over his shoulder, sighs with relief, and shakes his head at me. “I think it was fish,” he says. “The b—” I wince at just the start of the word, and he catches himself. “Itisn’t moving. But as I was saying, look, we’ll explain that it was self-defense.”
I nod my head up and down slowly, then shake it side to side, the weight of the puzzle I’m trying to mentally solve bogging it down. “I don’t have proof of what happened before you showed up.” I make a wide, sweeping gesture with one hand. “There are no cameras. No one else was around. You only caught the last, what, three minutes? You can’t testify to what happened before that.”
“I—”
“I’m a journalist, Tyler,” I say.
“What? What the hell does that mean?”
“It means I know the importance of evidence!” I yell in a sandpaper voice. “And right now, we don’t have any.Idon’t have any.” As I slot in the last piece of the puzzle, I know what we have to do. Or more precisely, what we have tonotdo. “We can’t call the authorities,” I say.
Tyler blinks and moves back like I’ve suggested we retrieve the body, chop it up, and invite everyone over for a barbecue. “Whywouldn’twe call the authorities? That’s literally what you do when you witness a murder!”
“When youwitnessa murder,” I say, emphasizing each word. My annoyance breaks my trance, and briefly, I wish I had another pen so I could stabhim,too, just a little bit. “We didn’t witness a murder. Wecommittedone.”
The fact that he’s as unperturbed and calm as ever makes me feel something akin to anger. “It was self-defense,” he says. “We can explain that that was self-defense. Everyone will understand. I’ll back you up on that.”
“It doesn’t work like that.” I give a dark laugh, blinking more rapidly as I shake my head in disbelief. Is hereallythis ignorant and isolated in his little Hollywood bubble? “Tyler, we killed a man. Awhiteman. We both know what happens to Brown people who killwhitepeople. Anywhere in the world. Even in this country.”
“It was self-defense,” he repeats, although his tone is more strained. I can’t believe what he’s suggesting, just like he can’t believe what I’m suggesting.
For the sole reason that he stopped me from potentially (almost definitely) getting killed tonight, Idon’troll my eyes and switch over to a patronizing tone like I’m explaining basic math to a child. Instead, through gritted teeth, I say, “It won’tmatter. Whatever country that scumbag is from, their embassy will demand someone pay for this. And guess what? One of us doesn’t have an army of the best lawyers money can buy on speed dial. One of us didn’t have dinner at the fucking White House last Christmas.”
“We’llbothget lawyers,” he starts, and for a second, I want to laugh at his naïveté. Call it collateral damage from the job, but I’ve covered one too many stories where the discrepancy between how a society’s laws should work and how they actually work was several dark, twisted miles apart.
We’re running out of time but what he’s saying is beyond the realm of possibility. My knees cave and I fall back down on my ass.“It’s not just about the lawyers! Nobody can touch someone like you! People will bend over backwards to make sure nothing happens to you,” I say, raking my hand through my hair and gripping the roots so I can havesomethingto hold on to in lieu of patience and general sanity. How is he not getting this? How do Imakehim get this? “You’reyou. And I’m… not.” If I were in a better state of mind, I’d be able to phrase it more eloquently, but then again, thatisthe crux of it.
Sitting down in front of me, Tyler ducks his head so he can see my face. “Khin,” he says softly even while I teeter on the edge of hyperventilation. “So, what? We don’t tell anyone? Ever?”
“No, never. We can’t,” I say, and the way his face crumples makes it clear that he was certain that that wouldn’t be my answer. “Look.” Despite the hysteria pumping through me at full force, I take a deep breath, because I have to calm down, because Ihave toget him to see this from my point of view. This only works if we’re both on the same page. “Say, somehow, wedoultimately get acquitted. But this trial will go on for months, probably over a year. And during that time, our faces will be everywhere. Our lives will never be the same. My career will be over. And there’ll be a serious dent in yours, too. Starting with this movie, for example.” I point over his shoulder in the direction of the set. “This movie will be shut downimmediately.”
There’s that mouth twitch, and I know I’ve got him. It’s that moment in the middle of tug-of-war when you manage to pull the rope an inch closer to your side and you catch the flash of panic in the other person’s eyes.
I keep pulling.
“This has been in the works foryears. This would ruin more than just the two of us. Think of what this will do to May. The studio, the rest of the cast and crew.” I remember him going out of his way to greet everyone on set, and I press on that. “How will we explain thisto all ofthem? And the fans? Movies like this don’t get green-lit every day, I know you know that.”
Say what you will about Tyler Tun, but the man is dedicated to his job. Or maybe to May. Or his fans. Regardless, it’s working in my favor.
“Okay,” he says at last with an air of defeat, like he’s run through every single scenario in his head, and he has to conclude that I’m right every time. “We need a plan, then.” He presses his lips into a tight line; another forms between his brows as he thinks. “I’m just taking a stab here—”
“Heh.”
“Wh—” He lets out a groan. “Okay, that wasn’t intentional.”
“Still funny.”
He smiles. “You don’t happen to know how long it takes for a body to sink, do you? I’d google it, but no cell service. Also, we probably shouldn’t have that kind of thing in our search history.”
“Actually.” I sniffle. “Soon. It’ll start sinking soon.”
With a quick, dry laugh, he asks, “Do I want to know how you know that?”
I return a meek smile. “I watch a lot ofSVU.” I swallow and continue, “But it’ll resurface quickly. Maybe a few days. Bodies stay submerged longer in cold water, but because of the heat, this one won’t stay under for too long.”
Tyler nods. “But this is a public park. Hundreds of people come here every day. By the time it resurfaces, it’ll be impossible to track down anyone. The water will wash away any DNA. The fish will probably start nibbling, too.”
