Laina Turner - Presley Thurman 08 - Vows & Victims by Laina Turner Page A

table and grabbed her shoulders. “Listen to me. Tobey and I just talked to Dirt.”
    ”What!” she exclaimed again and I hated putting all this on her.
    “He followed us to Clermont and we talked to him.” I paused and took a deep breath. “He says he’s innocent and wants us to meet him tonight at the bridge we used to hang out at.”
    She wrinkled her forehead. “Is that even still there? I thought it caught on fire.”
    “I still have no idea what bridge you’re talking about,” Tobey said.
    “Who cares about the damn bridge!” I practically yelled. Why was Tobey so worried about the damn bridge?
    “Dirt said for me and Tobey, you and Chris to meet him so he could explain. That’s why you have to put your differences aside. At least long enough for us to talk to Dirt.”
    As Katy processed what I was saying, I could feel her weakening. She walked to the couch, slid onto it, and looked up at me. “Do you believe him?”
    “Yeah. I kind of do. I’m willing at least to listen to what he has to say.”
    “What if he’s trying to lure us all there to kill us?” Tobey said.
    “Tobey, he’s not going to kill us. I mean, come on, did he look today like some homicidal maniac?”
    “Well, no, but…”
    “Trust me. I don’t think we have any reason to fear him. Trust him, maybe not, but fear him? I don’t think so.”
    A phone rang. It was Tobey’s.
    “Is it Chris?” I asked.
    He nodded and answered, walking into the kitchen.
    “Why would he admit to a crime he didn’t commit, Presley?” Katy asked.
    “I have no idea, but I want to find out.”
    “Did you call Cooper and tell him?”
    I had thought about it. Immediately after Dirt told us. And I knew I should. However, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. “No.”
    “You need to! Oh my God, Presley, this was his best friend. If he’s innocent…If you don’t want to call him, I will.”
    “I’m not sure where the hell he’s at right now, but he said he would be here in an hour,” Tobey said, walking back into the room.
    “Call him,” Katy demanded.
    Tobey looked at us.
    “I’m telling her she needs to call Cooper.”
    “OK, OK, I will.” As I got out my phone, my biggest fear was that he wouldn’t answer. I mean, he couldn’t know why I was calling, and what if he just sent me to voicemail or something? Which could, of course, happen under any circumstances, but still, I couldn’t help but worry. Since we were now on a break.
    “Cooper,” I said when he answered. “I wouldn’t call you if it wasn’t important,” I said in a rush.
    “It’s OK, King,” he said, referring to me by my nickname, which made me feel so good inside and made me feel less anxious about calling him.
    “What’s up?”
    “It’s Dirt.”
    “I know he escaped from prison. The police called me right after you did.”
    “It’s more than that. He followed me and Tobey into Clermont today and he said he was innocent.”
    There was a long silence. I knew he was thinking, so I just kept quiet until he felt like talking.
    Finally, he started again. “Did he say why?”
    “No. He said he could explain everything to us tonight.” And I proceeded to tell him about meeting Dirt at 10:00 p.m. “Cooper, I kind of believe him.”
    Cooper and Dirt had been close growing up and had enlisted in the military together where they then had a falling out. I still didn’t completely understand what had happened. Neither of them cared to talk about it much. Regardless, Cooper had still been shocked and hurt when Dirt was convicted of murder. I wasn’t sure how this turn of events would make him feel.
    “Presley, I’m not sure I can rearrange my trip to get there.”
    “I wasn’t calling because I expected you to do that. I just thought you should know. Well, Katy did, too. She pushed me to call you.”
    “You need to tell the police about him contacting you.”
    This was the Cooper I knew and loved. Always wanting to do the right thing.
    “I know, I know.