Suzanne pulled her chair up closer to Jimmy. She looked at the unopened Pepsi can in her hand as though wondering where it came from, then set it on the table. We heard Casey close the upstairs door, and then Jimmy spoke up. “You keep telling me you’ll protect me,” he said, “but I keep wondering why I should trust you. I don’t know why you would care what happens to me.” “I told Marlon Shades I wouldn’t talk,” I said, “and I went to jail to keep my word. That’s why you should trust me.” I leaned in toward him a little. “But I never said I’ll protect you. What I keep telling you is I’ll do my best to keep you out of this if I can. And that’s what I’ll do … my best.” I popped the top of my own Pepsi. “Why do I care? I guess it’s really why I don’t care. I know what you were doing that night and I still don’t see any reason for you to go to jail—not now—or lose your disability benefits because of a conviction. For what purpose? Justice? The law?
