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Noah stared into his lap. Was he trying to conjure up some sort of lie? He couldn’t meet Nick’s gaze, but his eyes settled somewhere around his shoulder. “I was at the Lucky Star.”
Kennedy had never heard of the place but could tell how painful it was for Noah to admit. She tried to gauge Nick’s reaction.
“I wasn’t going there to get picked up or anything,” Noah added hastily. “I was looking for somebody, and I ...” He cut himself off. “Maybe I should start from the beginning.”
Kennedy wished he would.
Nick remained silent.
Noah took a deep breath. “Ok, so earlier tonight, I got a text from my friend, Dayton. He was at the Lucky Star and someone was making him uncomfortable, and he asked me to go get him.”
Kennedy remembered Noah’s reaction when he got a text in the Lindgrens’ kitchen. Was it this Dayton guy he’d been talking to?
“So I headed to the Lucky Star, and I didn’t see Dayton where he said he’d meet me outside, so I had to park and go in. I hadn’t ever been there before, I swear it.” He stared at Nick with earnest eyes. “And I went in, and ...” He swallowed loudly. Kennedy thought back to how good Nick had been comforting Jodie earlier and wished there was a sink up here so she could offer Noah a glass of water.
“So I went in,” he began again, “and Dayton was backed into this corner getting harassed by this guy. That’s why I don’t go to those places, you know? And I thought they must have bouncers or security guards or something to take care of things like that, but nobody was doing anything. I mean, this punk was all over him, and everyone was just dancing and drinking like it didn’t matter.
“And so I went up and tried to act natural and just told Dayton something like, ‘Hey, we need to get going, it’s late,’ but at first the guy wouldn’t let him go. Said something about how Dayton owed him a favor since he’d risked getting in trouble buying drinks for someone underage, you know? And he was really pushing it, so finally I kind of flagged down this bartender guy. I’d seen him watching us. I think he was catching on that something wasn’t right, so I made eye contact and sort of gave him this get us out of here signal, so he came over and said something to Dayton like, ‘All right, now, you’ve had too much to drink already, and if you don’t want me to take a closer look at that fake ID you came in with, I’d get out of here if I were you.’ So he was kind of pretending to kick Dayton and me out of the club, but the whole time he was sizing up this other dude, so that’s how we finally got out of there.”
Kennedy had heard her roommate Willow complain from time to time about jerks who harassed her when she went clubbing with her theater friends. Kennedy’s dad drilled her about the dangers of date rape at least twice a month. She’d never thought of a boy like Noah having to worry about predators as well.
“Anyway, so Dayton and I finally get out of the club, and all I’m thinking is my dad’s gonna kill me if I don’t get the car home by midnight, and we’re making our way to where I parked when this skinhead-looking dude just jumps us. I mean, no warning, nothing. Starts whaling on Dayton, calling him a flaming fag and a homo, and we’re far enough from the Lucky Star now that there’s no way the bartender or anyone else’s gonna be able to hear us over the music and stuff.
“So he’s beating on Dayton, and Dayton’s too startled I think to fight back, but I get this skinhead off my friend and then I don’t know what happened.” Noah stared at his hands. “I really don’t. I sort of blacked out. I remember throwing him off Dayton, and he landed on the sidewalk on his back, and I was leaning over him, and I seriously don’t know what happened. Next thing I know, Dayton’s pulling me off him shouting about cops, and the guy’s lying there bleeding, and I ...”
Noah clutched his stomach. Kennedy worried he was about to throw up all over the patio furniture.
“I don’t know what came over me. Dayton started running, so I started running, and I honestly don’t even know if the guy’s ok. What if I ... I mean, I might have ...”
He leaned down. Kennedy had just enough time to move her shoes out of the way.
An offensively rancid moment later, he straightened up, never raising his eyes past the level of the patio table. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s ok.” Nick stood. “I’ll just run and grab some paper towels. It’s not a problem. Really.” He seemed a little too eager to go. “I’ll be right back,” he called, already halfway to the stairwell.
Noah blinked. Kennedy strummed her fingers on her knee. That stupid chorus from the Babylon Eunuchs was stuck in her head.
Peace washes over me. Peace washes over me.
Who could expect peace at a time like this? When had the world turned so violent? Why did everyone hate each other so much?
Peace washes over me. Peace washes over me.
Had she ever felt that peace? That rush of comfort from the Holy Spirit that Christians were always talking about? What about Noah? Where was that peace when he and his friend were being harassed in that bar? Where was that peace when some skinhead jumped them without any provocation? She could see how upset Noah was about what he’d done, but he’d been defending his friend. Wasn’t that a valid reason to ...
She frowned. “What happened to Dayton? Is he ok?”
Noah gave a little start. Had he forgotten she was there?
“Was he hurt?” she asked.
He squirmed in his chair. Maybe she shouldn’t have brought it up. Maybe it was all too distressing.
He shook his head. “No, he was all right. We umm, well, I dropped him off at his home. He got a black eye and some bruises, but he’ll be ok.”
Kennedy wished Nick would hurry up. Even if she read every single book he owned on youth ministry, she knew she’d feel just as awkward and unprepared as she did right now.
She wasn’t about to make matters worse by trying to say anything else. She’d just wait for Nick to get back. Wait and pray. It was obvious now that Noah was innocent regarding his father. The bar they were at could vouch for him. The bartender who kicked him and Dayton out to rescue them from the aggressive predator would remember their faces. Give Noah an alibi. Besides, a boy that distraught over a fistfight in the street could never lift his hand to actually murder anybody.
Noah lowered his head. “I really screwed up. I shouldn’t have gone to get Dayton in the first place.”
“You were trying to help a friend,” Kennedy offered. She was still trying to figure out who Dayton was and exactly how his relationship with Noah worked. Were they friends? Boyfriends? Was it really any of her business?
“I’d told my parents we didn’t hang out anymore. I wasn’t supposed to go anywhere with him.” Noah groaned. “My dad’s gonna kill me when he finds out.”
Kennedy’s heart lodged itself halfway up her throat. What was she supposed to do? What was she supposed to say?
Noah was staring at her now. Apparently her attempt to keep her expression neutral had failed.
“What is it?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”
Kennedy glanced around. Where was Nick? It would be the perfect time for a director to yell cut so the actors could review their script again and get back into the right story.
“What’s going on?” Fear laced his words.
Kennedy stared at the patio umbrella just behind him. Nick was on his way. He would be here any minute. There was a reason he was the youth pastor and she was just the college sophomore. She couldn’t handle something like this. Not alone. Not even if she had ten years to prepare.
“Why are you looking at me like that? What happened?”
The door to the stairwell opened. Kennedy let out her breath. Nick was back. He would know how to handle Noah’s questions. He would know what to say. How to say it. Kennedy didn’t realize she’d been gripping the armrests of her patio chair until one of her finger muscles cramped.
The door banged shut. Kennedy turned around expectantly.
Gratefully.
It was Nick, but he wasn’t alone. In front of him, Detective Drisklay held out a pair of handcuffs.
“Noah, I need you to come with me, son.”
Noah jumped up from his seat. Glanced behind him as if he might find a magic escape route off the rooftop. “Wait, I didn’t do it on purpose. I thought he was ...”
“I wouldn’t say anything else if I were you.” Drisklay’s voice was even. Void of any emotion. Kennedy had the impression he could get his arm sawed off and wouldn’t change his expression.
“Wait, am I under arrest?” Noah glanced from Nick to Kennedy and back to the detective. His eyes were pleading. Fearful. “I wasn’t trying to hurt him, I swear. I just wanted to find out ...”
Nick came over to his side and put his arm on Noah’s back. “This isn’t about that,” Kennedy heard him whisper.
Noah’s face clouded over with confusion. She wished she could shut her ears. Look away so she didn’t have to witness this next scene, the part in the drama where any doubts whether it’s a tragedy or a comedy are put to rest.
For good.
Noah didn’t resist as Drisklay cuffed his hands behind his back.
“Your father’s been murdered, and we have some questions for you. I strongly suggest you don’t say another word until your lawyer shows up.”