The Thrashers(98)

“No.” She watched his brows furrow. “No, thank you. If that were true, I think you wouldn’t have slept with Lucy sophomore year, you wouldn’t have hooked up with that German girl last summer, you wouldn’t have pursued Kiera or any of the others. I think … I just told you I wasn’t going to lie for you anymore, and you decided you had feelings for me—”

“That’s not what I’m doing. I promise you, Jo. I … If you don’t think we should try now, then that’s fine.”

She pressed her lips together, not bothering to correct his assumption that “no” meant “not now.”

“Zack, I don’t want you to go to jail. But I’m not perjuring myself, or whatever, if they ask me something under oath. Not for anyone.” She watched his jaw click. “The Millses are actually really nice. You should consider telling the truth and letting them forgive you.”

His mind was running as she stepped around him and headed out of the pool house. His footsteps followed her solemnly as she walked straight into the Thrasher house, turned right at the doorway, and knocked on the office she’d so rarely been inside.

“What are you doing?” Zack said behind her, as his father asked, “Yes?”

Jodi turned to look at Zack. His eyes were wide and scared.

“I told you,” she said, “I’m telling the truth now.”

Zack reached for her as she pushed open the door and greeted Greg.

“I have information for Zack’s lawyer. For everyone’s lawyer, actually,” she said. “How should I get that to them?”

Greg clicked his pen and set it down. “What kind of information?”

“The journal the police have is a fake. And I can prove it.”

His brows lifted up to his hairline. She knew if she turned, she’d find Zack’s doing the same.

“How’s that?” Greg prompted.

“Well, I know for a fact that the glass bottle incident didn’t happen to Emily.”

“How?”

Her knees wobbled, but she stood her ground.

“Because it happened to me.”





Chapter Twenty-Eight





By the end of the day, she’d told the story three times—once to Greg, once to Zack’s attorney, and once to Lucy’s. Tomorrow she’d write a sworn statement that would be disseminated to all four lawyers. It would say that on March 1, 2024, Hank Dillon had gotten drunk and thrown a bottle at his daughter, resulting in a contusion on her shoulder. Jodi would swear that the only person who knew about this until now was Emily Mills, who asked intimate details about the event. Tomorrow, each of the defense teams would submit a request for a search warrant of the Millses’ home to discover the journal in the upstairs bathroom.

And then there would be nothing to do but wait.

When Jodi had finished telling it the first time, she’d ignored Zack’s presence behind her in the doorway and focused on Greg. Her voice had wobbled, but she’d gotten it out.

Greg had stared at her over steepled fingers, and then said, “Does your father get violent with you often?”

“Not often, but Zack can verify that I have—um, felt unsafe before. So can Julian. And probably Oliver Burns.” She’d thought it was important to give as many witnesses as possible. As many people who could corroborate.

But Greg had nodded and asked softly, “And where are you living now?”

It wasn’t until she’d responded “With my aunt and grandma” that she realized Greg wasn’t asking questions as a lawyer, but as a father. Her eyes had welled with tears, and she’d sniffed them back.

He’d explained that because she was eighteen, there wouldn’t be any involvement from Child Protective Services, but she would need to prepare for the real possibility that her father would face legal action after this came out.

Jodi was still ruminating on that as Greg drove her to Rosa’s. Zack had offered, but she’d asked Greg instead. She needed space from him, and his silent presence during her confession to Greg felt like it was drowning her.

Her leg was bouncing as they pulled into Rosa’s driveway. “Will my dad go to jail?” Her voice was thin and scratchy.

“Not necessarily. He could be fined or receive probation. If you’d like to pursue jail time for him, I can assist—”

“No. I don’t want him to go to jail. I didn’t want any of this.” She looked down at her hands. “I just needed to tell the truth about a few things…”

She realized that almost every person she cared about was facing jail time at this moment. Rubbing her forehead, she thanked Greg for the ride and promised to call him if she needed anything.

Rosa was ranting before she’d even opened the front door. Jodi apologized for staying out all night and all day and then asked her to sit down.

“We have to talk about my dad.”



* * *



Rosa screamed and cried for an hour. Jodi made her promise she wouldn’t attack her dad when she saw him. They drove to the motel he was staying at while they figured out what to do with the house. When he opened the door, he smiled so big it almost broke Jodi’s heart in two.

“Jo, hey,” he said. “This is a nice visit.” He glanced behind her to Rosa, her arms crossed and her eyes boring holes into him. “Rosa.”