“Yup.”
When that was all he said, she shook her head. “Why? Why are you leaving me with my memories.”
“Because they’re yours.”
“Then why did you take them in the first place?”
“I thought it was the right thing to do. It wasn’t. And I’m sorry.”
Erika looked away. Looked back. “You’ve told me nothing really. You’ve explained nothing.”
“Which is why you’re free to go. The less you know, the more freedom you have and the less danger you’re in.”
Provided he could keep that demon away from her.
As they both fell silent, a siren flared somewhere down the street. And then there were a couple of shouts, but they were off in the distance.
He held out the car keys. “It’s a ten-year-old Honda. Silver, black interior. Do you know how to drive a stick?”
“Yes,” she answered absently.
“It’s right out in front, just a block away. I’ll watch you until you get into it.” With a sense of profound regret, he looked over her face, well aware it would be the last time he saw her. “Goodbye, Erika—”
“I’m going to come after you, you realize.” She cleared her throat and squared her shoulders. “I still have a job to do, and you’re on the wrong side of the law. None of what happened tonight will change the reality of what I have to do.”
“I know. And listen, not that this matters much, but you know those watches?”
“The ones from the Commodore?”
“Yeah. Well, I did steal them from that guy, and I did take them to that dealer’s trailer. I left with five thousand seven hundred seventy-four dollars. I took the cash down to St. Roche’s animal shelter. Call them and ask them about the bag that was left on the desk of their administrator, Wanda Trumain. She’d have seen it as soon as she walked into her office the morning after the theft. She’ll remember it for a lot of reasons, but mostly because she’ll swear that she locked her door the night before and she can’t figure out how anybody could have gotten in there, especially as they have night staff roaming the halls.”
“So you’re saying you’re Robin Hood?”
“No, I’m telling you that I stole from a rich asshole who cheated on his wife and treated her like a piece of art he could acquire and then hang up and forget about. And then I gave the cash that I would have gotten on the black market to an animal shelter that’s trying to take care of mistreated or abandoned dogs and cats.”
“Just like Robin Hood.”
“I’m not ever going to feel bad about it.”
Erika cleared her throat again. Like it was a nervous tic. “How many times have you done that?”
“Since I came to Caldwell? Or over the course of my life?”
“Either. Both.” She pushed some flyaways out of her face. “I don’t know.”
“It’s what I do. I’ve got a knack for getting into places that people try to keep others out of, and I have to do something with what I take. I don’t need the shit.”
“So it’s a game to you?”
“It’s just a way to keep up my skills. And not everybody can have six fucking watches that are worth, collectively, more than a lot of people’s houses.” He shook his head. “Like I said, I am never going to apologize for what I’ve done.”
“And you’re not going to stop, are you.”
“Nope. The proceeds always go to places that need it more.”
He met her right in the eye, but not aggressively. More so that it was clear he was telling his truth, and she was free to judge.
“You know,” she said in a lowered voice, like all her CPD colleagues might be listening in on a wiretap, “I wouldn’t feel bad if I were you, either.”
Balz smiled a little. “Thanks for understanding.”
Her boss-voice came back online. “It’s still illegal. And assuming the things you take are insured, it’s not a victimless crime even if the owners get reimbursed.”
“Still not sorry.”
“It’s wrong.”
“I don’t care. It feeds people or animals who are hungry. It gives unfortunates a place to sleep when they have none. And it keeps those who are desperately afraid safe.”
“True virtue doesn’t come with an asterisk.”
“And thieves can have morals—hey, is this our first fight?”
She blinked—and then seemed to be trying not to smile. “I’d call it more of an argument than a fight.” Then her brows twitched into a frown. “And you’re seriously just going to let me go? What about your buddies?”
“Don’t worry about them. They won’t come after you. And neither will I, Erika. You can trust me on that.”
She opened her mouth, but he went back into her brain one final time. Leaving her memories alone, he instead gave her a gift: He inserted the very clear cognition that it was in her best interests to never, ever come near him or this garage, and never, ever do any further investigating into any part of what she had seen, heard, or done tonight…