She moves back. “I came to suggest that you do drop the matter.”
I stare at her. Then I burst out laughing.
She has the grace to flinch at that laugh. “What I’m trying to say, Casey, is that it’s a moot point. Whoever shot Oliver Brady did not kill an innocent man. In fact, I’d say they did—”
I surge forward, and she backpedals so fast she smacks into the wall.
I advance on her. “If you are about to say they did me a favor, I’d remind you that I’ve had zero sleep in forty-eight hours.”
Petra straightens, her features setting in a look that, a week ago, would have surprised me. It is hard, and it is unflinching, and it warns me to step the hell back—now.
I stay in her face, waiting.
“I was going to say that whoever did this made the right move,” she says. “The move that you, understandably, could not. I would also remind you that Oliver Brady wasn’t the only person to die in that clearing. And I didn’t pull that trigger.”
“No, you did not. The difference is that I killed a direct threat to Eric. Oliver Brady was in custody, and no threat to anyone.”
“No threat?”
“If you’re saying he could have escaped again—”
“No, I’m saying he didn’t need to escape to be a threat. What would have happened if you brought him back alive?”
“Phil would have taken him into custody, on behalf of the council.”
“Exactly. The council would have whisked Oliver Brady away. And Rockton doesn’t trust the council. I’m sorry, Casey, but you and Eric—and others—have made sure of that.”
“Excuse me?”
She sidesteps past me and walks farther into the room. “You have reason to mistrust them. The situation here has been mismanaged. No one is arguing that. But the upshot is that the town trusts you, and they do not trust the council. People wouldn’t trust them to properly handle Brady.”
“Whatever issues we have with the council, we don’t broadcast those to the town.”
“You don’t need to.” She sits on the edge of the desk. “Your contempt is clear.”
“That’s—”
“Fine. Forget contempt for the council. Forget mistrust of the council. Forget paranoia of the council. Let’s pretend people trust the council to take Brady back to face justice. The fact remains that Oliver Brady hated us. He had every reason to want to destroy Rockton and all it stood for. What was to stop him from doing exactly that once he left here? He could not be allowed to leave.”
“If you believe that, then say so. Just don’t tell me that you acted alone, spurred by your conscience to kill a man for the greater good.”
“Would that be so wrong?”
“Not wrong, just very unlikely, especially given your impassioned defense of the council.”
The door opens, cutting off Petra’s reply. Sam slips inside and stops.
“Is this, uh, a bad time?”
“No,” I say. “It’s perfect timing.” I glance at Petra. “You want to see the difference between what you did and what I did?” I turn to Sam. “I shot Val.”
“Okay…” he says.
“She had a gun on Eric,” I continue. “She would have killed him. I couldn’t see another solution. So I shot her.”
He nods. “Okay.”
I appreciate that Sam will never see me in a worse light for what I’ve done. But that nod tells me Sam has never had to kill anyone. And I hope he never needs to.