Broken Road

by Mari Beck

  ***

  It was Jon who found them and it was Jon who called the ambulance that took Riley away. After she watched the lights fade into the distance, she sat in his car wrapped in his coat, shivering and wet.

  “What will happen to him now?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she stared out at the falling rain. She had told Jon everything because she was tired of secrets, tired of pain and just plain tired. He had listened to her speak and hadn’t said a word even when she told him what Riley had done.

  “That depends. If what Meagan McGuinnis says is true and if there is a DoD investigation into what happened on that road. . .I don’t know, Brenda.”

  “I believe him when he said it was an accident.” She said and tried to keep from thinking back over the details of Shane’s final moments.

  “If it’s a friendly fire incident there will still be consequences for everyone involved. You need to prepare yourself for that. More questions, more media, more Meagan McGuinnis.”

  “Meagan said that Steve Rappaport took more pictures and that they might change everything.”

  “I’d hate for you to get your hopes up, Brenda. It could take a long time for that information to make it to the public and even then it might not be what you want.”

  “Riley could have killed those children, but Shane stopped him. How could Riley have known that Shane would tackle him, that he would get in the way? He couldn’t have and he tried to tell them, he tried to tell the truth but no one would listen and then he was too ashamed. Everyone wanted a hero. No one wanted the truth. It’s not fair, Jon.”

  “Life’s not always fair, Brenda.” Jon said sadly and she knew that he wasn’t just talking about Riley’s situation. Their eyes met and she could see the longing and pain that filled his eyes. She reached out and took his hand in hers one final time.

  “No, Jon.” She said softly. “It isn’t.”

  CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

  The Visitor

  The DoD shut Meagan McGuinnis down before she could flash one of her brilliant white smiles at anyone wearing four stars and a uniform. She didn’t learn this from Jon, whom she hadn’t seen since that night outside of the tv station, but from Meagan McGuinnis herself one day when she appeared at Brenda’s door three months later. Until then, Brenda had been sitting on pins and needles waiting for the interview to air but it never did. During that time,she’d wondered about Riley and tried to resume a normal life, if there was such a thing. The last time they spoke, the night that Jon had arranged for an ambulance to come for Riley, he had told her what she already knew, she had to step away and let things take their course. They all needed time to heal and they couldn’t do that if they were always reopening each other’s wounds. They needed to grieve the end of things if there were ever to be any new beginnings. Jon was right. Life wasn’t always fair. That’s exactly what went through her mind the moment she opened her door and found Meagan McGuinnis standing there.

  “Hello, Brenda. Is this a good time?” She flashed a smile and Brenda almost slammed the door in her face.

  “What do you want?” Brenda’s voice was hard and edgy. The last thing she needed was Meagan McGuinnis prowling around her life again. Things had been quiet, her mother had finally gone back home and her boys were back to their routines. Nothing was perfect but it was progressing.

  “Well, at least you didn’t slam the door in my face. Thank you for that.”

  “The thought crossed my mind. Why are you here? Are you out of other decent people’s lives to ruin so you thought you’d circle back around and take another shot at mine?” The reporter sighed.

  “Come on, Brenda. I thought we’d buried that hatchet.”

  “Hardly.” Brenda said as the memories of what Meagan McGuinnis’ ambitions had done to her life swept over her.

  “I’m here on a humanitarian mission. Honest.” The reporter looked sincere, but Brenda had no intention of trusting her ever again.

  “What is it?”

  “Can I come in?”

  “No.”

  “Brenda, please. I have something for you.”

  “I don’t want anything from you. Now, please, go away.” Brenda started to close the door when Meagan McGuinnis shoved her fingers through the door frame. They got caught in the door. The reporter cried out in pain.

  “Shit!” She cursed and stuck the two bruised fingers in her mouth. “ Dammit, Brenda, you almost broke my fingers. Aw, crap! I broke a nail!”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Brenda didn’t feel an ounce of remorse.

  “Fine. I get it. You’re mad. You’re pissed at me. But before you go slamming the door on my hand again, will you just give me 5 minutes to explain why I’ve come to see you?” Brenda glared at the woman who had made her life hell for the better part of a year.

  “Why should I?” Brenda demanded.

  “Because I promised him.”

  “Who?”

  “Riley Favreau.” Brenda stopped cold at the sound of his name. Could it be true? She debated whether to believe her or not.

  “5 minutes.” Brenda said opening the door so that the reporter could go inside.

  “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me. Just tell me what you have to say.”

  “Can we sit down?” Meagan McGuinnis asked still cradling her two bruised fingers in her other hand. Brenda pointed to the sofa in the family room nearby.

  “Son of a bitch!” The reporter cursed under her breath taking another look at her hand. She winced in pain.

  “So talk. You’re wasting time.” Brenda was impatient to know why Meagan McGuinnis had taken the trouble to come and see her on Riley’s behalf.

  “Look, Brenda. I didn’t want to come but I made a promise. Riley kept his end of the bargain. He gave me the interview.”

  “It hasn’t aired.”

  “No and it probably won’t. The DoD shut it down. Something to do with their investigation.” Brenda could tell that Meagan McGuinnis was clearly disappointed but she herself felt nothing but relief. She couldn’t bear the thought of watching Riley recount the horror of that day on the road for millions of people to see.

  “Why would you keep your promise?” Brenda watched closely as Meagan McGuinnis looked down at her hands and exhaled.

  “I know what you must think of me. . .” She said and Brenda interrupted her.

  “You have no idea.”

  “I guess I don’t blame you. Anyway, the bottom line is that I keep my promises.” She managed a slight smile.

  “You said you had something for me. What it is it?” Brenda wanted the conversation to be over as soon as possible.

  Meagan McGuinnis hesitated for a moment before she reached into her purse with her good hand and pulled out a manilla envelope.

  “Before you take a look at this, I want to make sure you understand that I’m here to help. When he came in for the interview I had plans. I won’t lie. I was thinking ratings. career opportunities, but after I heard his story. . .” Brenda observed Meagan McGuinnis for a moment. The pretty blonde with the heavy makeup and the Hollywood smile seemed almost normal, almost human. Were those tears in her eyes? Brenda frowned. Maybe it was all an act. The reporter cleared her throat and smiled.

  “What’s in the envelope?” Brenda asked.

  “Pictures.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Do you remember when I told you and Riley that I had a source that had access to Steve Rappaport’s pictures?” Brenda felt her heart constrict. Of course she remembered, it was the night Meagan McGuinnis had shown up at the farmhouse and threatened to expose her secret to Riley if she didn’t give the reporter what she wanted or convince Riley to give her an exclusive interview.

  “I remember you threatened us.”

  “Could we get past that tidbit for a moment to the part where I told you I had a source? That source came through and I promised Riley that when they did you’d be the first to know the truth.”

  �
�But I know the truth. He told me himself.”

  “No, I don’t think you do. He told me the story too. I believed him. How could I not believe him? He was convinced that it happened exactly the way he remembered it.”

  “What are you saying?” Brenda held her breath.

  “Memory can be tricky, especially in a high stress, high risk situation like the one Riley and your husband found themselves.”

  “Riley didn’t lie and if you really know what happened then you know it was an accident.” Brenda could feel the tears in her eyes threatening to spill over.

  “I agree. He didn’t lie, but it wasn’t an accident. I wouldn’t ask you to look at these except that I did make a promise and I don’t break my promises. And I think you deserve to know the truth.” Meagan McGuinnis pushed the manilla envelope across the coffee table toward Brenda. Her hands shook as she reached for the envelope. Slowly, she picked it up and pulled at the metal tab until the flap opened. Brenda took a deep breath, reached in and took out the thin stack of pictures.

  CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX

  Consequences

  She shut her eyes. How could she look at them? She’d worked so diligently over the last few months to move forward. They’d started family grief counseling and Brenda was seeing a therapist as well to work through everything that had happened. She needed to heal and that meant starting at the beginning when everything began to unravel. That meant sifting through the remains of her former life before and after Shane’s death including her affair with Jon and her time with Riley. It was hard and painful but necessary.

  “Brenda?” The reporter’s voice brought her back to the pictures in her hand. Brenda opened her eyes and met Meagan McGuinnis’ gaze.“You need to look at the pictures.”

  “I don’t know if I can.” Brenda whispered.

  “You’ve gone through a lot to get to the truth. Here it is. Right in front of you. Look at the pictures, Brenda.”

  Brenda slowly lowered her eyes until they fell on the images. The reporter had taken the pictures from her and spread them out across the coffee table.

  “What. . .what am I looking at?” Brenda asked in a trembling voice. Her mouth felt dry and it was hard to swallow.

  “This is the picture we’ve all seen.” Meagan McGuinnis’ French manicured index finger pointed to the photo that had been burned into Brenda’s memory and seared into her heart. There was Riley, his face contorted into a scream as he ran from the smoke and debris that filled the frame. He was carrying the little girl in one arm and dragging Shane with the other. Shane. She took her finger and traced the slumped, battered and bloodied shape. The tears came slow and hot.

  “I’m sorry this is hard.” The reporter’s voice softened. Brenda’s wiped her eyes and willed them to move onto the other images. She was surprised at how sharp and in focus the images were despite the dark smoke that seemed to permeate each shot. Her eyes fell on the next set of images and she tried to understand what she was seeing.

  “This picture and this one, they came before didn’t they?” She asked and Meagan McGuinnis nodded.

  “Yes, they all came before. The picture that everyone saw was actually the last one taken before Steve Rappaport lost his camera in the explosion.”

  “Is. . .is that Shane coming out of that house?”

  “I think so and do you see who he has with him?”

  “There are two children!”

  “You noticed that too.”

  “But where’s Riley?” Brenda asked.

  “Probably where he told you he was, chasing the man he thought was responsible for the manual detonation of the IED that hit the convoy.” Brenda looked up at the reporter.

  “He was very forthcoming in his interview. He didn’t hold anything back.” Meagan McGuinnis said and Brenda wondered how she’d react if she knew he hadn’t told her everything. At least that’s what Riley had led her to believe but the reporter had agreed that what happened hadn’t been an accident. Were they talking about the same thing? If not, to what was she referring? Brenda went back to the photographs.

  “What’s this one? Riley’s in it but he’s not near Shane or the children. He’s looking at something.”

  “Or at someone. Look over here in the far corner, what do you see?”

  “There’s someone crouching back there and he’s got a gun!”

  “Yes, and he’s not one of ours.”

  “Riley said he went after someone, that’s why he left the convoy. But. ..”

  “There’s something missing here, Brenda. Look at the next picture.”

  “ It’s Shane and he’s running toward Riley.”

  “That’s right. Why do you think he would do something like that?” Meagan McGuinnis asked pointing to Riley. Brenda stared at the picture and suddenly it hit her. She gasped and turned back to the reporter.

  “He doesn’t have a gun!”

  “No, he doesn’t.”

  “But I don’t understand, Riley said that he shot. . .”

  “He didn’t shoot anybody because he lost his weapon in the first explosion.”

  “How can that be right? He remembers. . .”

  “Brenda, he was knocked out by the first explosion. Riley remembers that, and according to my source Steve Rappaport confirms that he saw Riley get thrown by the first explosion. He also remembers that Riley didn’t have a weapon when he got up. That’s when this picture was taken. Riley stood up just as Shane came out of the house with those kids. Shane saw that someone was getting ready to take Riley out.” Brenda was confused. Riley was so certain that he’d pointed his weapon at the children-at Shane.

  “I don’t understand. He was so sure.”

  “The immediate injuries Riley sustained after those blasts would have made it almost impossible for him to remember everything exactly the way it happened, Brenda. He was lucky to be able to stand at that point.”

  “Shane tackled him because Riley was going to shoot those kids.” Brenda said the words under her breath.

  “What?” Meagan McGuinnis seemed shocked by the confession. Brenda closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She’d spoken Riley’s secret out loud in front of the reporter without thinking about the consequences.

  “Is that what he told you?” Brenda wanted to kick herself for speaking at all but she couldn’t deny what her eyes were seeing and what the reporter was saying. Riley didn’t have a weapon. How was that possible?

  “Brenda, what did Riley tell you?” the young woman’s voice was full of urgency. Brenda wondered if this is what Riley had failed to tell the reporter in the interview. Was it really her place to reveal Riley’s secret any more than she already had?

  “He told me the same thing he told you.” Brenda insisted.

  “No. He never said anything about almost shooting any children.”

  “But that’s how Shane. . .” There was a catch in Brenda’s throat. “That’s when he. . .” She couldn’t seem to finish the sentence.

  “Oh my God.” Meagan McGuinnis said covering her mouth. “That’s what Riley meant when he said he got Captain Jenner killed. I thought he meant it was his fault because he left the convoy to chase someone and Shane followed.” Brenda swallowed and willed herself to tell the truth.

  “He couldn’t see through the smoke. Riley said he pointed his gun, he took a shot in the direction of the children and Shane tackled him.” Brenda let the words tumble out. What was the point of having secrets anymore? Meagan McGuinnis shook her head and pointed at another picture.

  “It wasn’t Riley who took the shot. Brenda, don’t you see? It wasn’t Riley!”

  “He remembers looking in the direction of the children, Meagan.”

  “He did because Shane probably yelled for him to get down. Your husband saw the shooter, Brenda. Riley turned in the direction of the children because that’s where Shane was coming from but the pictures prove that Riley didn’t have a weapon. If Riley told you he was the one that shot Shane then he was wrong. The pictures clearly show t
hat he didn’t have a weapon, that there was a separate shooter, and that your husband tackled Riley to save his life. He sacrificed himself. This wasn’t a case of friendly fire it was enemy fire.”

  Brenda could hardly believe what she was hearing. Her eyes jumped from one photograph to the next trying to piece it all together. Meagan McGuinnis was right! The grief and relief she felt at the same time was overwhelming. She felt more tears but this time she made no effort to wipe them away.

  “Riley said Shane mentioned the boy. If Shane brought the children out of the house to keep them safe then he wanted Riley to know so that he could go back for them. He said the boy kept trying to give him the little girl until Riley finally took her. The boy ran into the house and then, there was another explosion.”

  “He mentioned the second explosion. I only knew that Riley took the little girl with him not that the boy gave her to him or that the child went back into the house.” The reporter’s voice broke.

  “What do you think happened to the children?” Brenda asked sadly.

  “What usually happens to children caught in the middle of a war?” The reporter cleared her throat and dabbed at the corner of her eyes with a tissue from her purse.

  “It breaks my heart to think they didn’t survive.” Brenda touched the two small figures crouched in a corner of the frame. So what happens now that there are photographs?”

  “You mean with the investigation?”

  “Yeah. Will Riley be able to go home? Will they leave him alone?”

  “Eventually. Once the investigation runs its course and they have all the information they need to clear him.”