Broken Road (43 page)

“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.

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 that 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.”

“But they’ve got these.” Brenda insisted.

“There’s protocol that has to be followed. You know that, you were married to the Army for a while, remember?”

“What if they don’t care and they decide these don’t matter. He’ll tell them what he
thinks
happened.”

“Yes, and they’ll take that into account along with everything else, including these pictures.”

“How can you be so sure? Your source could be wrong and he. . .” Brenda was feeling desperate but the reporter interrupted her.

“Brenda, breathe. Breathe, okay? It’s true. I don’t know exactly what will happen but I trust this source. I would never have come here if I didn’t think there was some truth to all of this.” She pointed to the spread of pictures. Brenda nodded in agreement.

“Have you talked to him?” Meagan McGuinnis asked and Brenda looked up in surprise.

“Not since that night at the station. Have you?” That was the truth and though she had fought every impulse to call him, she had agreed to walk away with the stipulation that Jon would call Louis Montgomery and that
he
would let her know how Riley was doing when the time was right. Three months had passed without a word.

“I check up on him but not directly.” The reporter smiled and Brenda felt it was almost sincere.

“How is he?”

“My source tells me that he’s getting the help he needs.”
 

“That’s good.” Brenda was relieved and disappointed. Meagan McGuinnis didn’t seem like she was willing to share any additional information.

“I wanted you to know the truth, Brenda. I think I’ve done what I came here to do.” The reporter got up holding her bruised fingers and started for the door.

“Wait, what about the photographs?” Brenda lifted one of the pictures up from the table.

“I’ve got copies.” Meagan McGuinnis flashed her the smile she was known for. Of course she had copies, probably for that special report or exclusive interview she was hoping for sometime in the distant future. The ambitious newswoman was back but what she said next took Brenda by surprise. The reporter turned and smiled, her eyes moist.
 

“As for the pictures, keep them, Brenda, or burn them whatever will bring you the most peace.” With that the reporter opened the door and left.
 

Brenda sat in silence staring at the photographs spread out on the coffee table. Meagan McGuinnis had hit her with a whirlwind of information and she felt dizzy. She’d wanted to know the truth and she thought she’d gotten it when Riley had confessed that he’d killed Shane by accident on that road outside of Baghdad.
 
Riley
thought
he’d shot Shane after he aimed his gun at someone he’d
thought
was an insurgent, only to find out it was a young boy holding out his injured sister in an effort to seek help. The guilt and shame of it all had been eating away at him for so long that he had attempted to take his own life not once, but twice. Now, these pictures told a different story and while the ending was sadly the same, it proved that Riley had no weapon and that Shane had been shot by the enemy. Shane had sacrificed himself to save Riley’s life and that of the children and photojournalist Steve Rappaport had gotten it all on film.