“Are you saying he didn’t participate?”
“Oh, no. He participated. He just seemed like more of a follower than the other two, you know what I mean?”
“How did you feel about the fact that he brought you food?”
How did I feel? I had no idea where she was going. “What, you mean I was supposed to have some kind of affection for him because he fed me?”
She shook her head. “Of course not. But he is the one who fed you.”
I closed my eyes and exhaled. “He fed me slop, Doc. It wasn’t fit for pigs most of the time. But I was starving, so I ate it.”
“I see.”
But did she really see? She kept a noncommittal look on her face the entire time. I couldn’t read her at all. Not that I was any good at reading people.
“I’m sorry you—”
I stood abruptly. “His toe.”
“What do you mean?”
“I remembered something recently about the third guy, the one who brought my food. He’s missing his little toe on his left foot.”
“Really? So we have one guy with a phoenix tattoo on— Which forearm?”
“The left.” I sat back down and rubbed my temples.
“Okay. So he has a phoenix tattoo on his left forearm and he has brown eyes. And one of the others has a low voice, at least as you remember it, and the third is missing his little toe on his left foot, correct?”
I nodded.
“Talon, have you ever thought of trying to catch these men and bring them to justice?”
“My brothers have mentioned it from time to time. But Doc, I don’t ever want to see them again. I wouldn’t recognize them if they walked by me on the street anyway. They were always wearing masks. And honestly, if we did catch them. I’d just as soon dole out my own kind of justice.”
“I certainly understand that feeling. But you do know that doling out your own kind of justice would land you in prison for life.”
“Of course I know that. I’m not an idiot.”
“I didn’t mean to imply that you were. But I do know that sometimes the need for revenge can overwhelm a person.”
“It doesn’t really matter anyway. We’ll never catch the guys. If they had any sense, they’d be long gone by now.”
“Yes, they probably are.”
“My older brother, Joe, he’d like to hire somebody to try to find them. I’ve always told him no.”
“Why?”
“Because I just don’t want to open it all up again.”
“Isn’t that what we’re doing now?”
“Yes, but this is for me to heal, isn’t it?”
“You’re exactly right. You need to heal whether those men are caught or not. And I guess that’s my point.”
I sighed. “I don’t think there’s a chance in hell we’d ever be able to find them, Doc. They worked this area twenty-five years ago, abducted seven of us, and I was the only one to make it out alive.”