Page 107 of No Capes

Fox is visibly unharmed from the battle, which Brynn chalks up to the strong Levine lineage. She and Fox and Jamie, all safe. Yet, she sighs, tired from it all.

“Did you know?” he asks, point blank.

She sips her coffee, which burns her lips. She’d known he’d ask this someday, but it amazes her that he could be so naïve.

“That they were helping Phil.” She nods. “And that they were sabotaging Meredith.” Brynn steadies her voice, to keep her inflection sympathetic and sad. That hint of sadness is key.

“Did you know they killed her?”

“No.” Another note of sadness.

They are the only customers at the cafe, and the barista is busy on his phone. The store is quiet for the middle of the week and Brynn is thankful for it. She needs to hear herself think.

Fox seems to accept her answer. “I can’t believe they would do that. I just can’t figure it out.”

“They were weak people,” says Brynn. “I always believed it was an accident. But when Golden Ace found that lighter at the crime scene and the autopsy came back…”

“The lighter didn’t matter after all,” says Fox. “They hydroplaned.”

“I guess it didn’t.”

“Mom and Dad didn’t smoke.”

“You’re right.”

They sit with their drinks. Fox leaves his untouched as he glances around the store, fidgety. Brynn can tell he has more questions.

“You were home with them that night,” asks Fox. “And Jamie?”

Fox should have been there too, but he wasn’t home yet. That was lucky, for all of them. “I saw the three of them leave. Mom and Dad were livid.”

“Mom left her wedding ring behind.” Fox nods at her hands. Brynn twists the ruby around her knuckle. She had left it, luckily for Brynn. It helps to remember them.

“She always took it off when she was mad.”

“Why was she mad?” asks Fox. He’s stopped glancing about the store, now studying his shoes.

“They might have been arguing about Meredith. How they would kill her. If they were going to.” Another hint of sadness. Steady, steady.

“Jamie says he heard nothing that night.” Fox is quiet, and Brynn softens. She can’t imagine his sadness, a sadness different from hers.

“Maybe he didn’t,” says Brynn.

Fox fixates on her with an intensity she’s never seen. “But you did.” He reaches for her hand. “It’s okay, you can tell me.”

He’s a wonderful actor. Brynn knows this, and she looks him over. His solitude, his need to seek her out, his need to connect.

“Brynn,” Fox’s voice cuts her. “Please tell me.”

She’s told no one. Not even Phil knows the truth about that night.

“Please,” her brother says. She hears how much he needs to know.

The smile behind her pupils fades. She doesn’t enjoy remembering, but she’ll doanythingfor her brothers.

“Dad wanted to.” Brynn speaks low, so the barista won’t hear. “And Mom didn’t. That’s why she took off her ring.”

“Didn’t want to what?” asks Fox. “Kill Mrs. Roberts?”