Page 54 of Inside Silence

“Tell me he’s talking out of his ass.”

With all my heart I was hoping Jeff Sanchuk was yanking my chain, but one look at the expression on my father’s face is enough.

“Oh my God, Dad. Seriously?”

I waited for Warren to escort Sanchuk inside the station so he can be booked for the night, and as soon as the door closed behind them, I turned to my father, who’d already been exiting his truck.

I can’t believe we’re having this showdown in the department parking lot, but Dad is the one who chose to ignore my suggestion he go home and followed me back instead.

“Let me explain, Toots,” he pleads, lifting his hands in an effort to settle me down, but I’m afraid it’s already too late for that.

“Don’t Toots me. Not fucking now.” I press my eyes closed and inhale through my nose in an effort to regain some control. “Let me see if I can get this straight. You didn’t like who I was hanging out with, and you got your lackey to put the thumbscrews on Nate and chase him out of town.”

“It wasn’t like that.”

I laugh bitterly at his response.

“Wasn’t it, Dad? For someone who spent his entire adult life proudly representing this badge and upholding the law, I find it rather ironic to discover you were so willing to defy that badge and break your precious law to get rid of an innocent man, whose only crime was loving your daughter.”

He looks genuinely shocked at my diatribe as he shakes his head.

“What? That’s not…I never?—”

“Oh, come on,” I yell in his face, feeling out of control. “You threatened to throw him in jail over something he didn’t do. How can you even justify that to yourself?”

“Savvy,” Dad starts in a placating tone. “As far as I knew, Nathan stole a total of seventeen thousand dollars in jewelry and cash. He already had a juvenile record and would’ve gone to jail for a substantial amount of time.”

“Except you were wrong; Nate didn’t steal anything.”

He shakes his head and stares at the building behind me. He looks old, sad, and tired, but I’m having a hard time right now conjuring up much sympathy. I’m too angry, it’s boiling my blood and making me sick at the same time.

I love my dad—worship him—he’s been my rock and my mainstay for so long, this sense of betrayal is almost too painful to bear. The disappointment I feel cuts deep on so many levels.

“I believed he did, Savvy,” Dad explains softly. “I was trying to keep him from landing in jail and you throwing your life away, pining for him. Sanchuk said he had him dead to rights. I should’ve asked to see the evidence, but I had no reason to doubt Jeff at the time.”

“And pegging Nate as the bad guy fit your narrative better,” I add bitterly.

“Look, I’m sorry. I screwed up.”

“Yeah, you did. Big time. What was done to Nate is beyond unfair, and for what? Why the hell does Sanchuk have such a hard-on for him? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Have you asked Gaines?”

My temper sparks and I fix angry eyes on my father.

“His name is Nathan, and no, not specifically. I haven’t spoken to him since finding out Sanchuk wasn’t acting alone.”

However, I will be speaking with him as soon as he’s sufficiently recovered, and I’ve had a chance to question Jeff Sanchuk. Sober.

But first I need a break: a meal, and hopefully some sleep.

I turn to head back to my vehicle when a thought strikes me, and I turn to look at my father over my shoulder.

“You know what’s funny though, Dad? Nate never once mentioned your name.”

Nate

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