Michael

My lawyer had been right.

It had taken hours, but the judge had listened to the maintenance man’s story, looked at the rest of the evidence, and, after my lawyer made a motion, dismissed the indictment.

His word alone hadn’t been enough to sway her, but taken together with some other interesting evidence we had uncovered about Gerald, including the fact that he had purchased a large amount of the same type of accelerant that was used to burn down M. Hotel and Lounge, she’d been convinced.

The prosecutor had been furious, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if those charges came back, but at least for today, I was free. I took what felt like my first breath in days, and my heart soared as I thought of this chance to be with Eden.

Patrick had taken her away earlier, and as I left the courtroom, I saw the maintenance man standing outside the building.

I walked toward him, assessing, trying to figure out if he had an angle.

“Why did you do that?” I asked.

He froze, probably at my tone, then twisted his hands.

“It’s the truth,” he said.

“That’s not an answer,” I replied.

He looked at me, studying me now, before he finally spoke.

“Do you remember Trudy?” he asked.

I thought back until I identified the person who belonged to that name. “The old lady in housekeeping?”

When I had first taken over the hotel, the ancient woman had been the head of the housekeeping department. It took her the entire day to finish one room, and in addition to being inefficient as hell, an old lady doing that kind of labor was something I hadn’t liked.

“Yeah,” the man said. “By the time you came in, she wasn’t fit to do much more than fold towels.”

“And?” I asked, trying not to be impatient, but not clear why any of that mattered.

“And you kept her on. Let her come in every day even though she wasn’t doing anything.”

“That was Eden’s idea,” I said.

“Yeah. But you remember that new equipment we got? Made work so much easier. And then those health plans. More than a handful of us were finally able to get our kids braces,” he said.

“That was also Eden’s idea. Nothing that would compel you to help me. It’s not like I was particularly nice to any of you,” I said.

The man chuckled, his face lit with amusement before he sobered.

“That’s true, but nice doesn’t pay the bills. Eden is a lovely woman, so it might have been her ideas, but it was your money. You were decent to us, something most folks aren’t,” he said.

I looked at him, disbelieving. “So you came to open court, risked contempt because of a dental plan?” I asked incredulously, not quite believing it.

He shrugged. “You reap what you sow, right?”

I was still thinking about what the man had said when I got into the waiting SUV.

“You ready to go to Patrick’s?” Sean asked.

“I need to make a stop first,” I said.

We arrived at my mother’s facility a little more than half an hour later.

Sean stayed in the car, something that didn’t surprise me at all, as I made my way to the side entrance.

We were at her facility, but I wasn’t coming to see her. About fifteen minutes after I arrived, Aengus emerged from the entrance, just as I had expected him to.

“I guess it’s no coincidence that you’re here, right?” I asked.

Aengus grinned. “The minute you get your freedom, you run directly to your mommy. Can’t say I’m surprised,” he said.

“That’s where you’re mistaken, Aengus. I came here to see you,” I said.

He looked surprised. “Am I hallucinating? One of my ungrateful little bastards is thanking me?” he said.

“No,” I said, “I didn’t come to thank you. I came to deliver a message.” I walked forward, met his eyes. “Aengus. Listen to me. Listen well.”

I didn’t move until he acknowledged me. “I’m listening, I’m listening,” he said.

I waited a moment longer before I spoke. “If any harm comes to that man…any at all…” I trailed off, knowing Aengus would fill in the blanks.

“Are you talking about that witness that miraculously came to your rescue?” he said.

“You know exactly who I’m talking about. You’d better wish him a long life of good health. Because if anything happens to him, I’m taking it out on your ass,” I said.

“I thought you made a promise. Aren’t you a man of your word?” he said, throwing my promise in my face.

“I am, Aengus, but promises can be broken,” I said, holding his gaze. “Not a single hair,” I said.

A moment later, I turned and left.