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Natalie

With the help of the FriendFinder app, Natalie locates her mother in the tiny park on Exchange Street. She’s sitting on a bench, holding a cup from Bard Coffee and talking to a stranger in a denim skirt and big owl-shaped glasses.

Natalie walks up to their bench and drops her yoga bag onto the bricks.

Her mother does a double take. “ Natalie . What are you doing here?”

“Surprise, Mom. Your favorite app works both ways.”

“Oh.” Her mother looks so startled. Almost guilty. “Is anything wrong?”

Except literally everything? Natalie gives her head a shake. “Who’s your friend?”

The woman on the bench smiles.

Her mother takes a breath and says, “Natalie, this is Martha Bean, a criminal lawyer. I was just asking her a few questions to see if she’s able to help with Harrison’s case.”

No way! “Can you get him out of there?”

“Impossible to say at this point.” Martha Bean rises from the bench. “But my son’s karate lesson ends in”—she checks her watch—“three minutes. Feel free to email me tonight if you want me to step in. I could visit him tomorrow. My job doesn’t respect weekends.”

“Thank you.” Her mother stands and shakes the lawyer’s hand.

Natalie waits to speak until the lawyer walks away. But just barely. “What’s going on? Are you hiring her for dad?”

Her mother sinks back down onto the bench. “Sit. We have some things to discuss.”

Natalie sits, her heart racing.

“I went to see him this morning. At the prison.”

“You did ?” She’s so surprised, she forgets to bury her enthusiasm. “Is he okay?”

Her mother’s lips form a straight line, like she’s not sure how to answer. “He told me to tell you he’s fine, and that he’s sorry.”

Natalie suddenly has trouble swallowing. “But did he seem okay? Why did you go? Is something wrong that you’re not telling me?”

A shake of her head. “No, I swear. I went because I wanted to hear the health stuff he’d mentioned. But also.” Her mother swallows hard, too. “Because he is your family whether I like it or not. And I thought it was only fair to look him in the eye and ask him what happened.”

“You mean, to Tim?” Natalie nabs the cup out of her mother’s hand and finishes the coffee in one gulp.

“Right.” She sighs. “He says he doesn’t have a clue. He never met Tim.”

“And you believe him, right?” The question sounds desperate to her own ears, but there’s no helping it.

“I think so,” her mother says softly. “Which is why I called the lawyer. She’s willing to represent him at the hearing on Tuesday. It’s not cheap, though.”

“I’ll pay,” Natalie says quickly. “I’ll get a summer job.”

Her mother’s eyes redden. “He wouldn’t want you to do that.”

“Doesn’t it matter what I want? We can’t let him go to jail for something he didn’t do.”

Her mom gives Natalie’s knee a brief squeeze. “I’ll hire the lawyer to attend his hearing, okay? One step at a time. If they actually charge him for murder, though, we’ll have to regroup. That’s a much bigger deal and a really expensive defense. And I’m told the police wouldn’t charge him unless...”

“Unless they can prove it,” Natalie whispers. An idea so terrifying that she hasn’t really allowed herself to think it. Not really.

“In the meantime, we have an errand to run. Come on.” Her mother stands up. “We’ll need the car.”