River’s face tensed. “I arrived in Rainy Daletryingto have an open mind.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes. But things drastically changed when I actually met Maxwell. From the moment we encountered each other, I could see how arrogant he was. Still, I tried to befriend him. I… I tried my very best to see who he really was deep down.” River sipped the water, wiping roughly at his chin when some dribbled down.
“But it didn’t work?”
“Oh, it worked. I was able to see exactly who he is. He’s a horrible man. A cold, uncaring monster. Just ask anyone in town what he’s like. Anyone can see he’s a self-centered jerk. It’s not just me who he insults every chance he gets. Surely you know that?”
Juan grimaced. “Dr. Thornton isn’t always… tactful, that is true.”
“Ha!” River chortled. “Understatement of the year.”
I scowled at his mocking tone. Even after all he’d put Max through, he seemed devoid of shame. I was glad I’d made the call to have Juan interview him instead of me. Being face-to-face with his callousness might have been hard to ignore. It would have been difficult to behave.
“Even if Dr. Thornton is sometimes… indelicate, that still doesn’t give you the right to kidnap him,” Juan said.
“I told you, I just wanted some answers.”
“You’re trying to play off what you did as no big deal, but you uprooted your life to come follow Dr. Thornton to Rainy Dale. Seems awfully extreme. Yousure all you wanted to do was talk? You sure it wasn’t revenge that you had on your mind all along?”
“He killed my sister,” hissed River, his composure slipping.
“So, you admit you wanted revenge?”
Scowling, River shook his head. “No. No. Don’t go putting words in my mouth. I… I just wanted him to tell the truth.”
“Come on, River, just admit your motive. You came to Rainy Dale to make Maxwell pay for what he’d done to your sister. Right? You bided your time, and then you pounced. You’re already in hot water; why sugarcoat it now?”
River’s face twitched. “You’re wrong. I… I came with an open mind. I’m a very forgiving person.” His hand clenched into a fist. “But Maxwell didn’t make it easy.”
“If you just wanted to talk to Dr. Thornton, surely there were other ways. You forcibly took him and held him against his will. That doesn’t sound very forgiving to me. Seems more like you wanted to punish him.”
“I’ve told you, I just needed him to admit to what he’d done.” River sighed. “But before I could get his confession, he escaped, and all hell broke loose. It’s notmyfault he fell down that sinkhole. He’d have been safe if he’d just stayed put.”
“Your actions led to his accident, River.”
“Oh, whatever,” he grumbled. “I don’t see what all the hoopla is about. Maxwell is back safe and sound. Why is everyone being so dramatic?”
“You sound pretty callous, River. You do realize Dr. Thornton was extremely lucky, right? He could easily have died when he fell into that hole. He couldhave been bitten by a rattler. All sorts of things could have happened to him,” Deputy Juan rasped.
River sat back, pushing his lip out in a pout. “If you can’t be impartial, I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”
“You don’t think I’m being impartial?” Deputy Juan sounded incredulous.
“No. You and Royce have your minds made up that I’m the bad guy.”
Anger simmered in my gut as I listened to River. I was doing my very best to stay neutral, to give him every opportunity to explain himself without judgment from me. So far, he wasn’t saying anything that convinced me he had any remorse. Was that because he was a sociopath or because he was so mentally ill he didn’t understand his actions were wrong?
“River, you were the aggressor here. I’m trying to understand why you did what you did to Dr. Thornton. I’m not judging you; I’m just getting your side of the story.”
“Hmmm.”
Juan gave a harsh bark of a laugh.
I knew Deputy Juan very well. He was an extremely even-keel guy. It took a lot to ruffle his feathers, but I could tell River was getting under his skin. I was relieved when Juan took a deep breath and seemed to settle himself.
“Look, we’re getting off in the weeds,” Juan said quietly. “Unless you’re done talking, I need to get your full statement. How about you start at the beginning? What happened after you drugged Dr. Thornton?”
