“Steven, I want you to talk to Ms. Lindt. She can explain what I’m talking about.”
Wes handed Rebecca the phone, and she took it with a shaking hand. “Steven.”
“Ms. Lindt.” The hoarse voice was broken with tears. “I’m so sorry. This wasn’t… I didn’t plan. I was only going to come home and pack, and he came home early and caught… I thought he was going to kill me.” He sobbed for a moment, his breath coming out in choked bursts. “I don’t know what to do. They’re never going to believe me.”
“Steven,” she said, surprised to hear the calm in her voice. “Take a breath and listen to me, okay? I’m here for you. If you shot your father because you feared for your life, we will make sure everyone knows that. I am not going to let anyone steamroll over you because your father’s a cop or because you’re young. I believe you. I know you didn’t want to hurt anyone, and I know you don’t want to hurt yourself.”
There was a rustling sound on the line as he moved around. “Maybe that’s for the best, though. If I just end it. What the hell am I going to do now? Even if I don’t get thrown in jail for good, who would want to take in a kid who shot someone? I don’t have anyone. I have nothing. What’s the point?”
“The point is,” she said, his anguished tone cutting into her like tiny shards of ice, “that you aren’t alone. You have people in your life who care whether you’re here or not. You’re Chef G’s star student. Who else is he going to geek out with over old recipes?”
Steven sniffled.
“And think about your friends in the class. Lola will be pissed, Steven. Pissed. Xavier and Keisha will be gutted. And when we open The Burnt Cheeseball and are the first food truck in town to be run by teenagers, you’re going to miss out. Your food will not be on the menu. Your talent will die with you. And I know that I don’t know you that well yet, but I’ve lost a lot of people in my life.” She glanced at the cops who were listening in on headsets and turned her face away, trying to block them out and just talk one-on-one.
“I was a Long Acre High survivor. I saw friends and classmates lose their lives before they could even figure out who they were supposed to be in this world, before they ever got a chance. I don’t want your friends to go through that. And I don’t want to lose someone else. Please don’t make me lose you, too.”
She could hear him crying softly now. “But they’re going to take it all away from me. I know what they’re saying to you. You’re just telling me what I want to hear. They’re going to put me in jail. This is all a trick.”
She swallowed hard. “Do you think I would lie to you, Steven?”
“I don’t know, but I know you’re surrounded by cops. I know they’re hearing everything we say. I know you’ll probably tell me anything to get me out.”
She took a deep breath and glanced at Wes. “If I come in there and look you in the face and tell you all this with no one else there, will you believe me?”
Two cops were staring at her. One started shaking his head, and the other was waving her hands, calling Rebecca off.
“Yes,” Steven said. “Please. I need… Yes. Just you. No cops.”
Wes was looking at her with wide eyes.
“Okay, give me a minute, and let me see what I can do,” she said quickly, her mind already working. “I just need you to promise that if I come in there, you will not hurt me or yourself.”
“I wouldn’t hurt you. I swear,” Steven said fervently.
“I know,” she said with a nod. “I believe you.”
Rebecca handed the phone back to the cop.
Wes leaned forward, his head already shaking. “Bec, you can’t do this.”
“He’s not going to hurt me,” she said, her voice oddly steady.
“You don’t know that for sure. He’s on the edge,” Wes protested. “I don’t think he’ll hurt you on purpose, but he could still hurt himself. And what if…” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “What if it triggers stuff for you? I won’t be there to help.”
She wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans, her heart pounding. “I can handle this. I don’t blame him for not believing me. I know if I look him in the face and tell him what I can do for him, he’ll listen.”
“Ma’am,” the male officer said, “we can’t let you go in there. He’s not stable. It’s too dangerous.”
Rebecca stood. “I’ll relieve the department of any liability, sign whatever you need me to. This kid is terrified and needs a friendly face. He’s not going to hurt me. And he’s not going to come out until he believes that he has a chance not to get locked up in jail. I know I can give him that chance, and he’ll see that truth on my face. It’s the best shot we have. I will go in acting as his lawyer.”
Wes got to his feet next to her. “Bec…”
The two cops looked at each other. Rebecca could tell they didn’t like it, but that they were out of options. The next steps would involve more force and had a much higher likelihood of someone getting hurt. The female officer sighed. “He could take her as a hostage.”
Wes frowned, worry etched into every inch of his handsome face. “Bec…”
She took Wes’s hands in hers and squeezed them. “I can do this. He’s not going to hurt me. You know that. You know him.”