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“I’ll get you some,” Jack said. “Tell us what happened that night, Kevin. Tell us all of it. I can make the felony battery charge go away. I can get you out of here and connect you with a great rehab center. Totally private. No one would even know you’re there or be able to find you there. Not even your father.”
“Like I said, you don’t know my father.”
“Sure I do,” Jack said. “I know a thousand guys just like him. My name has some weight to it. I can give you my word that you can check in and do what’s best for your health. Maybe figure out what you want to do with your life before you waste it. We’re only given one.”
Kevin started to cry—great gasping sobs into his hands.
“I loved her,” he finally said. “Cami. Since we were undergrads. She was a sweet girl from a small town and she was way out of her depth. You should have seen her when she first got to KGU. You almost felt sorry for her. I was a couple of years older than she was, but I was trying to figure some stuff out so we graduated at the same time. Applied to law school at the same time. Just like the other guys.
“But she never paid me any attention in that way. She was always so focused on school. And then John kind of moved in out of nowhere and swept her off her feet. I hated him for that because I knew he didn’t really care about her. But you’ve met John. Not many people can say no to him.”
“When did your affair start with her?” Jack asked softly.
“A couple of months ago,” he said. “Like I told you, Cami overheard John and his father having a conversation and that kind of did it for her. She said John didn’t bother to defend her. He just agreed with his father that she was no better than a piece of trash and told him he’d take some woman named Cici Monroe to the event. Cami was pretty devastated. But being clerk to a federal judge toughens your skin real fast, and you start thinking outside the box. Cami decided what John needed most was a little of his own medicine. That’s when she came to me.”
“She just presented a proposition?” Jack asked, arching a brow.
“Yeah, pretty much,” he said. “I was insulted at first. Kind of pissed too. Here’s this girl that I’ve wanted for forever and she’s offering herself to me just so she can get back at her boyfriend. I wasn’t flattered.”
“I can see why,” Jack said commiseratively.
“Then she told me about the conversation between John and his father. And then she just kind of leaned forward and kissed me. That was all it took. I would have done anything she’d asked from that point on.”
Jack tapped on the bars to get the deputy’s attention. “Hey, Rook,” he said. “Bring me a black coffee and four aspirin.”
I heard Kevin whimper in relief.
“She was wild and reckless,” Kevin said. “She wanted John to catch us. I didn’t care if Thea caught us. It was a dream and a nightmare all at the same time. But then things started to change a few weeks ago. She wasn’t as angry, and she told John she had too much to focus on to be his booty call whenever he had an itch to scratch. I don’t think he liked that very much, because that’s pretty much what she’d been to him and he was used to the convenience. We started stealing these moments together, you know what I mean? We’d schedule time to meet up somewhere for dinner where we knew no one would see us. I’d skip out on Thea at the bar. Cami would meet me during her lunch break at the townhouse my father owns on Dupont Circle.
“Thea tells people that’s where she and I were going to move, but that’s not true. I’d already asked Cami if she wanted to move there with me. Both of us get away from all the drama here and kind of start over in our own space.”
“Anyone know about that arrangement?” Jack asked.
“No,” he said. “We didn’t tell anyone. We thought no one even knew about our relationship except Toby. But like I told you, Cami was wild and reckless at the beginning. It could have just as easily been John walking in on us in that copy room rather than Toby. I was almost sick to my stomach afterward, thinking Toby had told John or maybe he’d heard us. The one thing John hates most in life is to lose. He didn’t want Cami, but he sure as hell wouldn’t have wanted to lose her to me.”
“Would it have made him mad enough to kill her?” Jack asked.
“No…I don’t know,” he said. “Listen, I can’t imagine anyone killing her. We’ve all known each other for a long time. Everyone has their quirks and vices, but I wouldn’t say anyone had the capability to kill anyone.”
“I guess it just depends on the reason,” Jack said.
The guard came back with the coffee and aspirin, and Kevin looked up hopefully.
“What really happened the morning Cami died?” Jack asked.
Kevin sighed and closed the eye that wasn’t swollen shut. Jack walked over and handed him the coffee and aspirin, and Kevin muttered, “Thanks,” as he took them. And then he looked up at Jack. “I’m sorry I punched you.”
“I appreciate it,” Jack said. “But I’m not sorry you’re in here. This is a good wake-up call. We’ll help you if you let us.”
“Maybe,” he said, knocking back the aspirin and wincing as the hot coffee touched his tongue.
“Tell me about the morning Cami died,” Jack repeated.
Kevin sat back on his bunk and pulled his knees up, wrapping his arms around them. “It was like you said. I went to the bar with Thea like usual. The only reason I go is because she gives me free drinks. My dad watches my bank statements and I’m not supposed to be in bars anymore.”
“Thea seems to think your relationship is pretty serious,” Jack said.
“Thea is an opportunist,” he said. “I know that. I’ve just never cared. She’s just trying to get a leg up in the world, you know. She grew up in poverty, so she’s coming at it from a different angle. And the sex was pretty great, so I wasn’t going to rock the boat. It’s not like I was going to marry her. And as far as I know she didn’t want to marry me either. And weirdly enough, my parents like her okay. But I think my dad sees everything from a political standpoint. Like it’s a good thing I’m hanging out with someone who grew up like Thea did.”
