High Treason by John Gilstrap

they knew Deeshy was talking to me. I mean, they had his cell phone and I called a couple of times right before he was killed. Maybe I was just convenient.”
    A minute or two passed in silence. “Maybe you should just go to the police and turn yourself in.”
    “That’s crazy. I didn’t do anything.”
    Becky cocked her head to the side. “Well, David, no offense, but that’s what every guilty person says. I mean, I believe you—if I didn’t, you wouldn’t be here—but once this story hits the news tomorrow morning, the act of remaining a fugitive just drives home the fact of your guilt to the police.”
    “Innocent until proven guilty,” David said.
    “Oh, come on, David. You’re not that naïve. You’re the rich son of a fabulously rich father, and you’re a reporter wanted for murder. This has Today show written all over it. If it’s not the featured story on the morning broadcasts tomorrow, then it certainly will be the next day. By the time they finish milking the angle that you didn’t step forward to let justice take its course, you’ll be ruined. Even if a court finds you not guilty, you’ll be famous as the rich kid whose money let him skip a murder charge.”
    He felt light-headed. “Jesus, Becky. And you’re the optimist?”
    “I’m just saying—”
    “I know what you’re just saying. And I also know that you’re right. But you forgot the part about what a crackpot I’ll sound like when I start talking about some giant conspiracy.”
    “I don’t suppose you recorded any of DeShawn’s panicky phone calls.”
    “Of course not. But if this whole thing is being run by the Secret Service or even the DC Police, the last thing I’m going to do is just walk into a police station and let them determine my future.”
    “What’s the alternative?”
    “Not doing that. That’s the first step. Steps two through three thousand are a little fuzzy. But I’m not going to do the one thing that will guarantee spending the rest of my life in prison. Even if everything you predict comes true, the result will be the same, so what’s the sense in stepping forward now?”
    Becky took some time to think about that. “Well, you’ve got a much better chance of survival if you walk in to be arrested than you do if you wait till some SWAT team crashes the doors to take you the hard way.”
    David faked a smile. “Yeah, but the SWAT scenario is way more interesting.”
    “That’s not funny.”
    He let it go and guzzled the rest of his tea. He stood. He had to stand. If he didn’t move, he’d go crazy.
    There had to be a thread to pull. He refused to accept that there were no alternatives to a ruined life. He hadn’t been the nicest guy over the years, but he deserved better than this.
    He pressed his hands against the sides of his head to keep it from exploding.
    “Here’s the problem,” he said. “I don’t know how to untangle this without either being visible to the world or leaving an electronic trail a mile wide. Not that I know where to find answers, but even if I did, I couldn’t go there to look.”
    “Don’t you have a lot of police sources?”
    “I do, but I can’t call them. Not when the crime under investigation is a murder of one of their own.”
    “I’d think they’d want justice.”
    “Right now, they apparently think that hauling my ass in is the definition of justice. I can’t risk it.” His eyes narrowed as he focused in on Becky. “What about you? Are you willing to do some detective work?”
    She blanched. “I do society pieces. I don’t know anyone among the police. And if I called your sources, all your concerns would inure to me. That’s not a solution. Can you think of anyone else?”
    Hearing the question asked that directly made the answer seem ridiculously obvious. When he told her, she laughed.
    “You’re kidding, right?” she said.
    David smiled and shrugged. “Can you think of a better solution?”
    She stewed on it. “Not at the moment,” she