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“An attorney?”
Gnawing his lip, he shakes his head. “The public defender that one time. But he was in a hurry. Mom’s working on getting me one, but…”
But there’s no money in the bank? “Well, sorry, kiddo, but you sure need one. In this state, seventeen qualifies you as an adult when it comes to criminal offenses, so you can forget any daydreams about the juvenile system.”
His eyes expand.
“Now, this is your first rodeo, and judges generally try to throw a bone to guys like you. Keep in mind, though, that even if you plead and end up with a probated sentence, between fines and court costs, years of jumping through hoops for some probation officer, life ain’t gonna be pretty for a long time to come. College will be that much tougher, and if you mess up one time…”
He tosses out a word of the four-letter variety. I bet his mom would hate it, In this case? Can’t say I blame him. “But I didn’t do anything in the first place!”
“So you say, but the evidence is not in your favor. Now, if someone else put those drugs in your car—”
“They did!”
“—and it turns out you’re covering for them over some warped sense of loyalty…?”
He fixates on the windshield, hands clenching and unclenching on his sweatpants.
“If your girlfriend did something—”
He nearly comes off the seat. “Reagan didn’t do anything!”
I get close to his territory and jut my chin. “Then who did?”
“I told you. I don’t know!”
“You’re lying.”When you know, you know.
His chin comes up and he finds my eyes. “I don’t know who did it.”
I give him a chance to fill the silence with the truth. Disappointed, I lean a smidge closer and articulate clearly. “You’re a fool.”
Speaking of truth? I might be at risk for a fist in the face.
I retreat to my own space. “The financial hit alone from charges like this will crush you, and probably your mother, as well, because I have zero doubt you’ll be able to keep her from pitching in.”
His cheeks spasm. I’m not a fan of tears—but honestly, I might not hold one or two against the kid.
“But Reagan…she asked me not to say…”
And there it is.
“Say what?”
His chin wobbles. “It was Alex.”
“Her brother?”
A nod. “It had to be. He uses some, and runs with some really sketchy guys.”
“Tell me what happened, Jacob.”
I think he knows there’s no going back with me, plus, I also perceive a fragment of relief wash over him.
“It was the day before school started. Reagan wasn’t feeling great, so we were hanging out at her house. She went to go talk to Alex, and when she came back, she asked if he could borrow my car. Their mom had called and wanted him to run an errand for her, but he was out of gas and was short of cash. Reagan’s car was in the shop that day.”
“So you let Alex take yours?” Obviously.
