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Bend sat down across from Jamie and Raven took the empty space on the couch. Ophelia paced the floor then stopped. Worry left creases around her eyes. “Tell them everything. I swear, you better not leave anything out,” she warned her brother.
Finally, after a long hesitation, he raised his chin. His eyes were bloodshot and inky circles lined them, “Don’t be mad at me, O. I can take anything but you being mad at me,” he simpered.
“I’m not angry,” she said in a softer tone. “I just want you to get help.”
“Whatever it is, son, we can’t help unless we know what happened,” Bend said.
“If I tell you I’ll be arrested.” Jamie grabbed his knees. His knuckles were white under his skin. He looked like a cornered rabbit.
“Not necessarily,” Bend assured him. “How about you let me be the judge of that.” The oldest Ryder brother was good at keeping his cool, but Raven could see the telltale sign of irritation by the clicking in Bend’s jaw.
“For heaven’s sake!” Ophelia moaned, throwing up her hands. “He told me his friend, the one who lives out on Cherokee Fort, Casp Hyles, is involved in the attacks on Shelby and Farrah, and the bomb that hurt Dean.”
“I said I think he is,” Jamie whined. Anger surfaced in his features.
“What makes youthinkhe is?” Raven asked, getting anxious.
“He was talking about those ladies. He thought they acted like they were too good for him and it made him angry.”
“Come on, Jamie. We wouldn’t be here unless you knew something solid. Right?” Bend said evenly.
“This ain’t easy,” he moaned.
“Sure, but it’s best to get it off your chest.”
“He took…well, he took something as souvenirs,” he blurted.
Raven braced his elbows on his bent knees. “What did he take?”
“A necklace and a hair tie. He didn’t tell me he did it. I saw them.” The kid buried his face in the palms of his hands as if he’d reached a mental limit.
“Son, stick with us a bit longer,” Bend said, some of the patience in his voice disappeared. “What else can you tell us?”
Jamie brought his face up. A hardness had entered his jaw. “He’s fascinated with bombs. If you check his computer you’ll see. He said he wanted to take some people down. Blow them up.”
“Did he say who exactly?” Raven asked.
With a frantic shake of his head, he cried out, “That’s all I know. I swear.”
Bend stood and motioned for Raven to join him outside.
Raven reluctantly stood and followed Bend out onto the porch. “We should continue interrogating him.”
Bend sighed. “I have an idea.”
“Yeah? Outside of questioning the kid?” Raven slammed his hands to his hips.
“Watch,” Bend whispered, jutting his chin at the window. Ophelia was sitting next to Jamie who was sobbing. Now Raven understood. Jamie respected his siblings and if anyone could get him to talk it would be Ophelia.
Less than a minute later, she stood and waved for Bend and Raven to come back inside.
Jamie looked like he’d been through hell and back. Through his tears, he said, “Casp made a list of things he needed from the feed store and I bought them. How was I supposed to know he was planning to blow stuff up?”
Bend and Raven glanced at each other.
“The car bomb that exploded and hurt Dean?” Bend asked.
He gave his head a loose shake. “No. This is another one.”
