Page 115 of The Fighter
Khan had tucked his hands under his armpits and stood with a grave expression on his face. “For years I’ve resented and hated the man I thought was my dad. If I’d known what demons he was battling, maybe I would have felt differently.”
“I did what I thought was best,” Erika defended herself. If you want to punish me, do it. I never meant to harm Dina, and that’s the truth.”
Pearl moved over to stand in front of me. “Leo, you’re a policeman. What do you say? Based on Erika’s confession to the truth of what happened to Dina, do you see a need to arrest her?”
“Leo doesn’t get to do shit without my approval. I may be crippled but he still ranks under me.”
Pearl stood strong and looked back over her shoulder at Magni. “No one should be above the law.”
“He’s not sending my mom to prison. That’s for damn sure.”
“No, I hope we can all agree that sending Erika to prison won’t help anything.” Pearl met my eyes. “But what does the law say?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but was overpowered by Erika’s outburst, “People will call me a murderer no matter what.” Her shoulders bobbed again and she sniffled.
“If what you’re saying is true, Erika, and you didn’t push Dina out the window, then I’m not seeing any reason to arrest you at this point. This all happened more than thirty years ago but there’s no statute of limitation on murder, so I have to ask you, Erika, did you have anything to do with the killing of Henry and his friend?”
“No. Marcus didn’t share that sort of thing with me.”
“So, you weren’t aware of any plans to kill Dina’s husband or his friend?”
“No.”
“In that case, I’ll conclude that the killing of Henry and his friend were orchestrated by Marcus and not you. What about the nine hundred thousand dollars? Did you take part in stealing that from Henry and Dina?”
Erika dried her tears away. “No. I didn’t even know how much financial trouble we were in until Dina began calling me. Marcus didn’t want me to worry.”
I gave Raven a sideways glance. “I’d say that with Marcus being deceased, there’s no reason to investigate this case further. What do you think?”
Raven gave a solemn nod. “I agree. Dina’s death was an accident and the two murders were the responsibility of Marcus. Let’s close this case.”
Mila crouched down to hug Erika. “Did you hear that? You’re not going to jail.”
“It doesn’t matter. If Khan tells what happened, everyone will say that I killed my own daughter. People are ruthless and small-minded.”
Laura bit her lip. “You’re right about that, Erika. But we’ll know the truth and if anyone asks, we’ll tell them it was an accident, and that you were trying to protect your family. Most Northlanders will understand that.”
Erika stared at Laura. “You think so?”
In a fluent movement, Laura sat down on the edge of Magni’s bed and pulled one leg under her. “Don’t expect Motlanders to understand, though. They judge Magni and Khan for killing people who were plotting to overthrow us. Remember when Mr. Zobel and the others were executed for treason back in the thirties? The council made a big deal about it being barbaric and a violation of basic human rights.”
“I remember.”
“But we Northlanders never judged them for it because we knew Khan and Magni were doing it to keep us all safe.”
“Laura, you’re not helping. No one should have to kill anyone.” Pearl rubbed her face. “I can’t even imagine the burden on your souls.”
“My soul is fine.”
“Is it, Magni?” Pearl stared at him. “And is this kind of life what you want for your sons?”
Magni looked at Solo, who had kept in his seat the whole time. “It’s a man’s duty to be a fierce protector of his country and family. I wouldn’t hesitate to kill anyone who broke through that door and threatened my kin, and I expect my sons to do the same. We don’t kill for joy, we kill for honor and to protect the ones we love.”
Solo gave Magni a nod as a silent promise that he could count on him.
Khan nodded. “Yes, I agree. Now, Pearl, Mila, and Laura, would you take our mother to her room? Magni and I have a decision to make.”
Solo, Raven, and I began exiting the room too when Khan stopped me with a hand to my shoulder. “Leo, can I have a word?”
