I WATCHED solemnly, hugging myself, as JJ carved out John B's name into the large tree before us that belonged on the property of the chateau. He worked in silence, creating the memorial for our best friend who a week ago had been declared dead.

Seven whole days without my best friend since I was eight.

168 hours without my neighbour.

10,080 minutes without my partner in crime.

604,800 seconds without my brother.

It hurt. Each day that passed was a sickening reminder that he was never coming back. It was a different type of pain — one I'd never experienced before and wished to never experience again. It didn't get better, in fact it got worse all the time. It was overwhelming — suffocating. I felt as if I was drowning in grief and I couldn't keep my head above the surface anymore .. it was pulling me under. Though the pain grew, the tears had dried. I had no more left to shed.

Stood next to me were my support beams and though I'd tried to distance myself from them — to push them away — they forced themselves back in because they knew I needed them. Pope and Kiara had become my therapists and I couldn't put into words how thankful I was to have them in my life, sticking by me when times were tough. When I tried to bail for some space they didn't allow it because they knew solitude was worse. I owed them so much.

Pope wrapped his arm around my shoulder and he hugged me close to his side. I dropped my head against his arm as we watched JJ work, remembering our friend, as he branded John B's name into the tree. I closed my eyes briefly and inhaled deeply as the foreign wind kissed my skin. Like this, I could imagine myself catching some waves as the sun set on another glorious day with JJ, Pope, Kie and John B. The smell of sea salt filtered through my nose softly and I welcomed the familiar aroma with open arms.

When I opened my eyes again I was forced back into reality — my reality.

JJ added the finishing touch to the memorial we'd created and when he stepped away and stood next to me I saw what it was that he'd carved.

P4L

Pogues for life.

He rose the flask into the air while saying solemnly, "To John B."

"And to Sarah." Kiara added weakly.

"To John B and Sarah." I spoke before I swallowed harshly and either side of me, Pope and JJ took a sip of their drinks. I wrapped my arms around myself tighter picturing my life had I not of strayed away from John B and Sarah when the Phantom capsized. Four could've very well of been three and they could of been mourning me as well. I clenched my jaw while fisting the sleeve of my grey knitted cardigan as Kiara stepped forwards with the small box we'd put together to bury. It held something each of us had that reminded us of our friend — an item that meant something to us.

Pope and JJ followed her and they all knelt down in front of the small hole Pope had dug in the earth as they buried the box, adding a white flower on the top of it. I couldn't bring myself to kneel down. I was frozen — immobilised under someone's spell. Instead, I could only watch as they covered the box completely in a deafening silence before they stood up again.

JJ moved slowly over to me and though I could feel his gaze burning I couldn't meet it. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the fresh dirt we'd just used to bury our cherished items that reminded us most of our dearest friend. It was too surreal and for the first time in four days I felt my eyes burn with the familiar sensation of tears. I tried to blink them away but they only doubled until a single tear rolled down my cheek.

JJ wrapped his arm around my waist and he pulled me into him, embracing me tightly. I still held my arms around myself as I turned my head and looked out across the marsh lands, my cheek resting against his chest. He pressed a firm kiss to my head as Pope and Kiara sat down on the hammock in silence and we stood there for what felt like an eternity. I pressed my lips together tightly to try and prevent myself from sobbing and I fought to keep my breaths controlled. This was just too surreal.

"It's okay, Mal." I heard JJ whisper into the wind faintly, "He's still with us .. watching."

I nodded my head into his chest as he rested his chin on top of my head and I closed my eyes momentarily while I took a deep breath through my nose. I held it for a second before I exhaled and opened my eyes again, tuning back into the world, "I know." I responded after a minute, "And I'm going to do everything I can to make sure he's not forever known as a murderer."

"He'll be proud."

"He'll be proud of us regardless." I mumbled in response.

JJ pressed a lasting kiss to my hairline before he guided me over to the lowest branch from the tree. The two of us climbed on silently and once JJ was settled I manoeuvred on to my back and laid down, resting my head in his lap while I crossed one leg over the other. I sat and watched the leaves softly brushing back and forth in the faint wind, I listened to the chirping of the cicadas — I appreciated the fact that I was still alive.

Eventually though the sun disappeared over the horizon and the darker colours began to roll in, washing away the serene orange hues the sun had left in its wake. The sky morphed into a darker shade of blue and stars illuminated it like lights would a busy city. For the first time in a few weeks I felt like I had finally caught up with time — that it had stopped running away from me. I'd caught it — me .. and how I'd managed to do it I had no idea. I knew that I'd savour it though because come tomorrow my head would be spinning again from how fast it could move.

I almost felt at peace as the water lapped gently against the grass around us and the cicadas chirped away busily. It was liberating — especially with the breeze against my skin. It was almost too good to be true.

"Mally, sweetheart?"

I cringed inwardly when I heard my dad's voice echo around the land and I closed my eyes in disappointment and sighed.

It was too good to be true..

"Mal, come on. Your mom is here."

Unwillingly I sat up and I swung my legs around and hopped off the low branch before pulling the legs of my shorts down. I looked over at Pope and Kie lounging together on the hammock and tried to offer them a small smile but I failed miserably before I replied glumly, "Bye guys."

"Bye, Mal." Pope said to me.

Kie waved at me, "See 'ya."

I turned on my heel and looked at JJ as he sat on the tree still, carving away at a stick with his pocket knife. Was he ignoring the fact that I was leaving or did he not realise? Either way, I called his name softly and I watched through the dark as he looked up at me.

"I'll be over later." He said to me in reassurance, "I've crowded you guys enough lately. You need some time with your mom."

I wanted to insist that he wasn't crowding us but I had a feeling there would be no arguing with him. Besides, maybe he wanted to spend some time with Kie and Pope?

Wordlessly I nodded in response before I left my two friends to make the short journey across the grass to my house. My dad was stood waiting for me at the bottom of the porch and the old light provided enough light for me to see him offer me a small smile. I tried to reciprocate his smile but I just couldn't and he knew that.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and guided me up the porch steps, closing the front door behind us while I headed into our open plan house. I saw my mom sat on the sofa and I walked over into the living room as she smiled at me.

"Hello, sweetheart."

"Hi, mom." I responded quietly as I picked up the cushion on the old love seat and sat down crossed-legged, pulling the cushion into me and cuddling it.

"How are you?" She asked me tentatively as my dad settled down on the other side of the sofa.

I shrugged, "I've been better." I responded honestly, "We made a memorial for John B today."

A soft sigh tumbled from her lips as she gave me a sympathetic smile, "Oh, honey."

I shook my head as I looked to my hands in my lap, "It's fine."

"It's not fine, Mally." My dad said to me gently then, concern lacing his words, "You need to stop forcing a brave face on all the time. It's okay to grieve."

"I have." I mumbled in response, "I don't want to think about it because every time I do I always end back up wondering what's so special about me .. why I survived and him and Sarah didn't."

Survivors guilt..

"Mal you can't carry on putting this on yourself." My mom said to me, "As horrible as it sounds, what happened happened. There's nothing we can change about it now as much as we wish we could."

I nodded as I stared at the floor, "It's just hard."

"Sweetheart, we know—"

"No you don't." I interrupted my dad quietly, "You have no idea what it feels like to be the one who survived. To have people stare at you as you walk through town. To hear them whispering about how you were the lucky one when you don't feel the slightest bit luckily because your friends still—still died."

I hadn't even noticed I'd stared crying until I felt a tear drop on to my knee. That was the first time I'd said that aloud — that John B and Sarah had died and the words pierced my heart painfully. I wiped away the tears that followed furiously. I refused to cry about this again. If anyone had seen how many times I'd truly cried about the loss of John B and Sarah they'd be standing before me rolling their eyes, instilling upon me how pathetic I was.

So because of that the rest of the tears were forced back as I swallowed thickly. I composed myself before I looked at my parents again, facing their expressions of concern and sympathy.

"Mally, this isn't healthy." My dad said to me softly.

"Life isn't healthy." Was my response, "It's poisonous."

My mom released a short breath before she shared a fleeting glance with my dad. I did wonder why she was here. She hadn't said anything yet though since I was found by the coast guards she had the tendency to drop by for a few hours to see how I was. I was sure she was afraid that if she didn't I'd disappear again. It was almost like she needed the reassurance that I had been found and that she wasn't stuck in the same re-occurring dream.

The silence that circled us was uncomfortable and I clicked my tongue off the roof of my mouth before pursing my lips, "So .. what's new?"

My dad shook his head to himself slightly.

"It's Peterkin's funeral tomorrow." My mom said to me.

I nodded slowly, "I know."

My mom ran her hand through her hair, "I think you should come with me."

"You must be mad." I said to her in disbelief then, "Why would I go to the funeral of the woman everyone thinks I helped murder?"

"But you didn't murder her Mal." My dad said, "You're innocent."

"That's not what everyone on this island thinks."

"It doesn't matter what they think." My mom reminded me, "What matters is what we know .. the people closest to you and we know you're innocent."

I relaxed back in my seat, "So you want me to face the Camerons knowing what they did?"

"That's exactly what I want you to do." My mom nodded, "At the minute it's our word—your—word against theirs. When you and John B went missing Ward thought he was going to get away with it all. I'm not going to let him, Mally. He needs to know that we're going to fight him until the very last straw. He won't expect to see you there. It'll rattle him."

Ever the lawyer. She never did truly switch off. Her mind worked in ways I aspired mine to but I couldn't deny that she wasn't wrong though her reasoning wasn't right.

"I'm not going to the Sheriffs funeral just to rattle Ward Cameron." I said to my mom, "I'm not going to get under his skin. If I go to her funeral I'm going to pay my respects because I'd probably be dead in the bottom of the marsh if it wasn't for her."

My moms eye twitched and her head tilted to the side, "What?"

I shook my head in response. She wasn't stupid.

"Mally?" My dad pried then.

"I can't talk about it." I mumbled sharply, "Just forget about it."

My mom sighed heavily but she didn't say anything on the matter. Instead, she swallowed and looked back at me, "I've left a dress in your room for you if you decide you want to come. The service starts at twelve. I'll be round at half eleven."

I nodded as I looked at the ground before I brought my eyes back up to look at my dad, "Are you going?"

"If you want to go I'll be by your side." He nodded.

I pursed my lips as I contemplated it. As much as I hated the idea of it I had to step out into the world again. I couldn't hide away forever. I was innocent and everyone needed to know it.

"Okay." I finally nodded, "I'll go."

• • •

Come half eleven the following morning I was a nervous wreck. I couldn't stop my hands from trembling and I couldn't get rid of the knot in my stomach. I was scared to face the world and I wanted nothing more than to crawl under my covers and never come back out again. I wanted to hide away forever though I knew that was impossible.

I fumbled with the zipper on the back of the black formal dress though because of my shaking digits I couldn't grasp it tight enough to pull up. I fought with it for minutes, mumbling to myself in frustration as a thin layer of sweat collected on my forehead from the thick humidity in my room. My fingers kept on slipping however and I snapped in frustration, leaving the zipper all together and leaning over on to my dressing table.

I hung my head low as my heart thumped loudly in my chest and I took deep breaths. I was a mess. I couldn't do this.

Slowly I felt the zip of my dress rise and the material tightened around my body. I lifted my head to see JJ stood behind me in a pair of shorts with sopping wet hair. I reminded quiet whilst watching him and when he'd fastened me in he met my gaze through the mirror before he pressed a light kiss to the back of my head while running his hands lightly down the sides of my body, "Fits like a glove." He mumbled.

I nodded meekly, "I think my mom has my measurements stowed away somewhere."

Through the mirror I saw him press his lips together, "You don't have to do this Mally." He said to me, "You can say no."

His words stirred something within me. Saying no was the easy way out. It was me hiding away forever and allowing Ward and Rafe to continue thinking that they'd won — destroying my life in the process.

"I want a life JJ." I mumbled, "I shouldn't have to suffer while Ward and Rafe get to carry on living like nothing happened."

JJ sighed in defeat as he twirled a lock of my naturally wavy hair in his fingers. He seemed conflicted and his brows had a slight furrow to them. I didn't know what was going through his mind but I was curious to find out. Never in my life had I known JJ to be this quiet and reserved. He was always the boisterous one yet since the Phantom had capsized I'd never seen him more .. afraid.

I turned in his arms and ran my fingers through his tresses delicately, "JJ .. talk to me, what's going on?"

He swallowed thickly and I noticed his Adam's apple bob up and down as he hesitated. I waited patiently for him to respond to me and as his lips parted I held his gaze solidly, "I.." Though his voice failed him and he shook his head slightly before he managed to say, "I just don't want to lose you."

His words struck me like a bullet out of a gun and my breath hitched in my throat. Lose me? He really thought I was going to disappear from his life again? I didn't know how to feel about it but it struck me deep. I was at a loss for words but I figured no matter what I said it wouldn't help put him at ease.

"I .. I'm not going anywhere." I mumbled quietly.

"You can't say that." He replied as his eyes narrowed. 

I ran my tongue across my bottom lip, "I don't understand where this is coming from."

"I don't want you to get arrested, I don't want you to die, I don't want you to run away .. I don't want to lose you, Mally." He said to me honestly.

"You won't." I reassured him strongly as my eyes widened, "I'm not going anywhere, I swear."

He bit his bottom lip while he shook his head to himself fractionally and as I was about to question him on it my mothers voice echoed throughout my room as she shouted from somewhere within the house.

"Mal, c'mon, we're going to be late if we don't leave now."

I released a short sigh as I looked at JJ but he didn't meet my gaze. He just stared at the ground underneath our feet and slowly his hand slipped off my shoulder, "Go." He said to me quietly, "I'll see you after work."

I nodded curtly but before I left him I pressed a short kiss to his cheek and walked out of my room. I could feel him staring at my back as I walked away but I didn't turn back. Instead I tucked my hair behind my ear and continued on into the living room listening to the sound of the black heels clicking against the wooden floor underneath me.

My mom and dad turned to me and I looked at them without saying a word. The air was thick and nothing could be said to make it better. The situation was sad and what I was doing was bold. It was a bad combination — incredibly risky and was I prepared for it? Not in the slightest. I was petrified. 

"Let's get going." My dad said as he broke the silence, "We're going to be late."

I nodded and followed my parents outside, closing the front door behind me and walking down the porch steps to my mom's brand new Range Rover. The three of us climbed inside and we held our silence the entire way to the service. The closer we got to the church the more invested I became with my hands. I twisted the rings on my fingers and cracked my knuckles in nervousness, trying to control the horrific summersaults my stomach was preforming.

I hadn't even noticed we'd arrived until my dad was opening the car door for me. He met my eyes with a supportive yet pressed smile and I swallowed thickly in return as I slipped out of the sleek car. He wove his arm around my back supportively as my mom laced her hand in mine and together we joined the sea of black as we walked into the church yard.

I wanted nothing more than to be invisible. I could feel a million eyes on me, I could hear the murmurs of the opinionated — did she do it, did she not? How dare she turn up here when she helped kill the sheriff? That poor girl, lost at sea for three days. A prime example of a pogue, right there .. no consideration. I had to swallow my feelings and I had to lift my head impossibly high because I knew the truth. The whispers of the Kooks around me didn't matter because they wouldn't be the ones who charged me with being an accessory to murder or cleared me. I had to ignore them because I knew that I was innocent and that John B was innocent too.

I knew how it looked — Natalie Thornton was supporting her daughter and Natalie Thornton never lied. She wasn't attending with her husband and his son, she was attending with her daughter and her ex-husband so surely there was some truth somewhere, that's what they were thinking, because if Natalie believed her daughter to be a murderer she'd be nowhere near her — blood or not.

We found a spot to stand in which so happened to be directly opposite the Camerons on the other side of the dug up earth that was to become Peterkin's grave. I didn't shy away. I held myself and with each passing second the nerves disappeared. I looked over at the family of manipulators and I clenched my jaw somewhat while I looked between Ward and Rafe as they spoke in what appeared to be hushed tones. It was Rafe who was whispering ferociously to his father while Ward looked around and when he caught my gaze he held it in shock.

I didn't look away. Why would I? I wanted him to know that I wasn't afraid of him — that I was going to fight him every single step of the way. My presence seemed to shake him and that brought me satisfaction because now he looked guilty — you could see the fear and panic oozing out of him and it was something that both Rafe and Rose noticed. The two of them followed Ward's eye line and they looked over to me and my parents. I saw Rose's breath hitch and she hurried to look away, saying something to Ward while Rafe glared at me.

His jaw was tight and I could see the muscle ticking away while he dug his hands further into the pockets of his suit trousers. He looked like he was about to combust and yet I didn't break eye contact. I wouldn't be the one to do it.

And I wasn't.

It was Ward who forced Rafe to look away from me as he grabbed the back of his neck and turned his head to meet his gaze. I looked to my mom then, "Did you see that?"

She didn't meet my gaze, rather she kept her scrutinising eye on the Cameron's and she nodded, "Every second of it."

"Ward's terrified." I murmured lowly as a family passed us.

"He is." My mom nodded, "He can't stand under the pressure."

"Are you two really threatening two murderers at a funeral?" My dad asked us in disbelief under his breath.

"We're not threatening anyone." My mom responded quietly, "Simply observing."

I nodded in agreement as I wrapped my arms in a folded position behind my back. Silence fell between my parents and I and no one had time to initiate another conversation as the priest signalled for silence.

The air was thick but not from the humidity that coated the island. It was filled with sadness and sorrow as a series of trumpets began to play a tune I didn't recognise. As the funeral began everyone turned to see the police force as they carried Peterkin's coffin with pride.

The service was fitting — a beautiful send off for a woman who was so invested in this island. Peterkin was one of the only cops on this island who wasn't corrupted by the Kooks and their money. She didn't see us Pogues and assume that we were in the wrong, she always gave us a fair chance and I believed that was because she grew up as a Pogue.

After the service had finished the groups of people gathered began to disperse and the mingling commenced. I could feel the intensity of the hundreds of gazes on me and I hated it. I could feel their disgust radiating off of them — directed towards me when in reality it should've been directed towards the family standing opposite me on the other side of the cemetery.

Vulnerability was starting to creep up on me again and I had a sudden urge to run and hide. Trying to maintain a facade was becoming harder and harder by the second.

It was time for us to leave and for that I was grateful. I'd paid my respects to Peterkin, I didn't want to overstay my welcome — especially when all I could feel was hatred towards me right now. There was a lot of judgement and I think my parents could feel it too.

When my dad wrapped his arm around my shoulders and began to guide us towards the parking lot we were intercepted. I hoped that we could've just walked out but Agent Bratcher had other plans. He had his hands tucked into the pockets of his black suit and he glanced out towards the distance before he focused on my parents and I.

I was desperate to hear what he had to say .. what he actually wanted to say, not what he had to say. I could tell by the look on his face that he seemed irritated. I knew a lot of people here assumed I was being disrespectful by turning up at Peterkin's funeral. They thought I was here to galavant — to showcase I'd 'gotten away with it'.

"Mally." He said stiffly in greeting as he looked at me.

I didn't respond though, I just held his gaze.

"What's this all about Bratcher?" My dad sighed in disdain, "You want to make a scene out of my daughter while she's trying to pay her respects to the woman who saved her life?"

Bratcher merely narrowed his eyes at the three of us as Shoupe approached from behind. The acting Sheriff remained silent as he watched our exchange.

"I spoke with Mally's doctor this morning." Bratcher informed us, "It's been three weeks, she's clear .. which means we can legally pull her in for questioning."

"You want to do this now?" My mom asked him heatedly, "Here? Really?"

He shrugged in response before he said nonchalantly, "It's an ongoing investigation that at the moment is being halted for this sole reason. Now I know I can continue I want to."

I sighed in disbelief whilst shaking my head. I knew I had no other option here. He wouldn't settle for a no. I hoped though that if I got this over and done with now he would leave me alone.

I looked to my mom, "Let's just go." I said to her before I looked back to Bratcher, "I don't think you're going to like my answers though."

"As long as they don't start with 'no' and end with 'comment' I don't care." Was his response.

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Don't tempt me."

I saw out of the corner of my eye as he reached for his pocket and showcased a pair of silver handcuffs. He didn't pull them out though — he just flashed them — but before he had a chance to make up his mind Shoupe stepped forward in an attempt to keep the peace.

"All right, now, why don't we just all take a step back." He suggested calmly, "We'll meet at the station and we can have a nice, civilised, chat about what happened in the days leading up to Peterkin's death."

As I scoffed my mom snorted in amusement, "Civilised? That's rich."

"Well that's something we can discuss at the station." Agent Bratcher responded firmly as he turned to the side and tried to usher me along towards the parked line of cop cars.

I pressed my lips together and shook my head in utter disbelief before a bitter laugh escaped my lips. This man .. what a conniving snake he was. He wanted it to seem like he was arresting me — hurdling me into the back of a cop car and whisking me off to the station in front of hundreds of people to make it seem like he was doing his job. He wanted to look good in front of the public and this was the way .. by using me as collateral damage.

"I'm not stupid." I said to the man defiantly, "And I'm not getting into the back of a cop car either."

My mom shook her head at Bratcher and she hooked her arm around my shoulder though before she guided me away she said, "We'll see you at the station. I wouldn't wait though, I'm feeling hungry."

• • •

By the time my mom had circled the island three times out of pure spite it had been almost forty minutes since we'd left the funeral. She was hell bent on making Bratcher's job ten times harder and in any other circumstance I'd be horribly embarrassed by the way she was carrying on but the man deserved it. The way he and the rest of Kildare County Police were treating me was appalling. It was like they didn't truly care if I helped murder Peterkin or not, they just wanted someone to place the blame on so they could look good in the eyes of the public.

Like I'd said before, social injustice and all that.

The way the cops glared at me in the station was unsettling to say the least. You could see the hatred in their eyes — like everyone else they were just assuming it was me. They had no concrete evidence, no one did.

Because my mom had decided to do seventeen thousand tours of the island before we arrived at the station Bratcher and Shoupe were already occupied with something else. My mom was incredibly tempted to leave just to prove a point and while there was nothing more appealing to me than climbing into bed and chilling out with JJ I knew I had to stay. We needed to get this out of the way.

I was barely paying any attention to my mom when the door to Shoupe's office opened opposite us. On instinct, I looked up from the floor expecting to see the acting Sheriff himself but I froze when I saw Ward Cameron. It was as if I could physically feel my face paling, my heart stopping for a fraction of a second. Every single thought expelled from my body. I forgot how to function..

Until I remembered.

The shock wore off and suddenly I was filled with an uncontrollable anger. The need to strangle the man had never been greater and as soon as my mom noticed me shift in my seat she put her hand on to my leg to divert my attention.

I knew what she was doing and I still turned my head to look at her. I met her stern gaze, warning me not to move a muscle, and I clenched my jaw tightly together whilst exhaling through my nose.

I had to focus on something else — anything else apart from the manipulative murderer standing metres away from me.

It was agonising because all I wanted to do was offload on the man. God did he deserve it. I wanted to shout at him, yell at him, cry to him and I wanted to kill him .. all at the same time. I wanted him to know how much he fucked me and John B over and how much he and his idiotic son had ruined my life.

"Mally."

I looked up. The voice registered in my head but the owner of it did not and so when I saw Shoupe standing in the doorway opposite me I sat back in my seat.

This was my time.

With a fleeting glance towards my mom I rubbed the palms of my hands on my legs before I stood up. Her calm demeanour helped me to relax somewhat but I still couldn't get rid of the nerves swimming around in my stomach.

Yes, this was my turn to tell the truth but I couldn't tell the whole truth. Hell, I couldn't even tell half of the truth because they'd still probably find something to arrest me for.

At the same time, my mom and I rose to our feet and she followed me as I walked into Shoupe's office. Agent Bratcher was already there waiting and two seats had been placed on the opposing side of the desk, seats that Ward had occupied mere minutes ago.

The silence was suffocating and I could hear the ticking of the clock mounted on the wall. I rested my hand on the arm of the chair and drummed my fingers against it as Shoupe and Bratcher flurried around aimlessly.

It took them a few minutes before they settled down, Shoupe opting for the desk chair while Bratcher perched on the cabinet behind him. The two men looked between my mom and I as we all sat in silence until it was finally broken.

"Some time today, Shoupe." My mom sighed heavily, "We don't have all day."

Shoupe pressed his lips together and nodded before he leaned his elbows on his desk and looked directly at me, "Mally I want to hear what happened that day on the tarmac .. in your words, no one else's."

I pursed my lips and nodded, "We were at the airstrip because we knew Ward was taking off to the Bahamas and Sarah was going with him. John B just wanted to talk to her, she texted him so suddenly to say that she was leaving and he was worried."

"So how did you know he was going to be at the airstrip, why not the ferry?" Bratcher asked me.

"Popes dad, Heyward, mentioned that he'd been down at the airstrip all day cutting palms for Cameron's plane." I responded before shrugging, "It was obvious."

"But the timing—"

"—Just let her carry on." Shoupe interrupted irritably.

I glanced at Shoupe fleetingly and met his gaze before I continued, "Things got out of hand. Peterkin arrived and Ward thought she was there to arrest John B but she was there for him, to arrest him for Big John's murder .. and I know how it sounds." I said after a second when I saw Bratcher make an attempt to interrupt me again, "Why would she arrest a murderer on her own? I don't know. Maybe she didn't figure out it was Ward until the last second but she was there for him. When she made the arrest Ward tried to reach for her gun but Peterkin stepped back in time and reached for it instead. She aimed it at him but before she took her shot .. well, that's when she was shot."

Shoupe nodded slowly, "And what were you doing at that point?"

"I was stood with John B and Sarah by the Twinkie watching. The gunshot echoed but we didn't know who had fired it or if it had even hit anyone at first because no one moved. It wasn't until Peterkin went down did Rafe step out from behind Cameron's plane."

"And what followed that?" Shoupe asked.

I exhaled deeply and shook my head, "It gets blurry from there." I admitted, "I remember trying to get Peterkin's gun .. Rafe kicked it away but before I got to it he caught me. I can remember him strangling me against the hood of Peterkin's car before holding me at gunpoint while Ward tried to get Peterkin's radio from John B. Rafe let me go eventually and then I remember running."

Shoupe nodded while he pressed his lips together. I could see he was contemplating his next question and he sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, "So .. you went to find Sarah but you left her on the tarmac with Ward and Rafe?"

"I know." I sighed as I sat forwards and ran my fingers through my hair, "I know .. and I regretted it straight away but she said she would buy us time. I didn't want to leave her but I just wasn't thinking straight .. I was in shock."

"And why you?" Bratcher asked me, "Why did you go with John B?"

I shrugged, "I was stood next to him I guess. If it had been JJ or Kie he'd of pulled them to come with him."

Shoupe's brows narrowed, "So John B forced you?"

"No." I shook my head, "No, of course he didn't. I could've stayed behind but I didn't. I wanted to help."

Silence filtered through the room and out of the corner of my eye I could see my mom watching calmly. She was letting me tell my story, if she had any problems with something I was saying she would interrupt me. She wouldn't let me put my foot in anything. This was out of our hands really, there wasn't anything we could do besides tell my story. It was just a waiting game.

"The thing is Mally.." Bratcher said to me after a deep sigh. He shifted on the table he was sat on and crossed his arms, "Ward told us that John B was manipulating you and that he was taking advantage of your confusion."

My brows rose high, "My what?" I echoed, "I wasn't confused."

"Well actually we have more evidence for your confusion than we do to prove John B innocent." Shoupe said to me.

I scoffed, "That doesn't even make sense."

"It checks out." Bratcher shrugged nonchalantly, "Your doctor even confirmed that you were disoriented in the days after you were rescued. You're an unreliable witness and because you were the only other person on the tarmac we're essentially back to square one."

"Square one meaning all evidence pointing towards John B while Ward Cameron walks off a free man knowing him and his son have gotten away with actual murder?" I presumed nastily. I was getting sick of him now, he was really frustrating me.

"So you've hounded us for weeks all for that?" My mom asked them then, "Just to tell us that whatever Mally says isn't reliable."

"Your daughter is bleeding on her brain, Mrs Thornton. She's confused." Bratcher said to my mom abruptly.

"My daughter is fine." My mom snapped hotly, "There is absolutely nothing wrong with her memory. She wasn't even confused, she was delirious from spending three days stranded at sea with no food or drink after evading you and your incompetent, idiotic, police force because you forced her off this island!"

Shoupe raised his hand out to my mom to try and settle her fast growing temper, "Mrs Thornton—"

"I'm not finished!" She shouted at him loudly, "You actually believe two sixteen year olds, who by the way have no record of any criminal activity—"

I looked to her then, "Actually—"

"Not the time Mally." She snapped before she focused her attention back on Shoupe, "John B is innocent .. Mally is innocent."

"I understand your frustration, Mrs. Thornton." Bratcher said to my mom though there was no compassion to his tone, "But we don't have a motive for Ward Cameron or his son."

"But you do for John B, right?" I asked them, "Because he's a Pogue. That's his motive."

They both remained silent and I shook my head when I knew I'd hit the nail.

"Peterkin was on John B's side. She did everything she could to help him out." I said to them, "What is it going to take for you to understand and accept that John B is innocent?"

And then Bratcher replied and I had to resist the urge to throw something at him as he shrugged whilst looking at me, "Hard evidence."

• • •