Carlo Holland cleared the last plate from the round wooden table where he had just had breakfast with Ashlyn, Elizabeth Rizzoli, and Garner. They had only briefly discussed the trial, and Garner repeatedly changed the subject. However, neither breakfast nor yesterday's court date was the real reason Ashlyn had gone to Holland's farm with Elizabeth. In fact, they had something to discuss with Tim Garner that, according to new information, could no longer be postponed.

Maggie had called Holland earlier that morning and explained that Ashlyn and Elizabeth needed about an hour alone with Garner. Holland had offered his help and all the time and space they needed.

"Tim," Ashlyn began, sounding as sincere as possible. 'It's impressive how you've developed here in the last few weeks. Holland thinks very highly of you, as I've heard.'

But Garner, who had a keen sense of mood, immediately knew something was wrong. Mainly because a former captain of the Boston Police Department was accompanied by his lawyer this time instead of the private investigator or the medical examiner. He looked back and forth between the two women with concern. "You're definitely not here because you want to talk to me about my great development, are you?" He sounded exhausted but also a bit relieved. "You've found out, haven't you?"

Ashlyn took a deep breath and nodded. "But before you say anything, please listen to me very carefully. I have officially authorized Dr. Ross, who usually works as the Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to assist me in your case. This means that the confidentiality obligation that I, as a lawyer, have to all information that I become aware of in the exercise of my profession also extends to Dr. Ross, and the same applies to Mrs. Rizzoli, who assists me in an advisory capacity in some cases. In other words, we may and will not share everything we are about to discuss everything we are about to discuss with anyone without your permission, direct instruction, or explicit consent." She paused and looked Garner in the eye. "Do you understand?"

Garner nodded slowly. "In a way, I'm glad everything is coming out now," he said. "Maybe the nightmares will stop too."

Elizabeth looked at him for a long time and nodded with a slightly furrowed brow. Through her years as a homicide investigator, she had had enough experience with people who wanted to ease their conscience. And Garner was about to do just that.

Ashlyn scrutinized her client. There was little left at first glance of the pale, hunched, shy man who had come to her office a few months ago and could hardly utter a word without the support of Tracy Payne. Tanned and erect, he sat before her and her mother. Only his eyes had regained some of the deep hurt and sorrow that Ashlyn had noticed when they first met.

"The whole thing was more of an accident than anything else," Garner began in a composed voice. "Justin and I had arranged to meet at our favorite bar to review everything again for the interview with Tracy. We largely agreed on what we wanted to tell her and what not. Some experiences were just too painful, and it wouldn't have helped anyone to discuss them. When it got late, I wanted to go home, but Justin was in the mood to drink. Ultimately, I ordered two more beers while he was in the bathroom."

Garner seemed distracted. He had his eyes lowered, and it seemed to Ashlyn as if he was delving into the past of the evening he had met with Justin Booker.

"After that, we walked along the Charles River a few steps. I was a little worried about whether it would all go well and whether they would drag us into the public eye. I really didn't feel like that. Of course, I wanted the truth to come out and for those responsible to be held accountable, but I didn't want everyone to suddenly jump over me." He gazed absently across the dining room and the large, snow-covered meadow behind the farmhouse.

Elizabeth and Ashlyn looked at each other, and both knew that something extraordinary must have happened. But Garner remained silent.

Probably too much pain, Ashlyn thought, but decided to encourage Garner to continue. "Thank you for your candor. I'm sure this hasn't been easy for you. But I have a feeling you haven't told us the whole story, have you?"

Garner turned his head and looked Ashlyn straight in the eye. "That's right. Something terrible happened that night. After I told Justin about my worries, he just laughed. He said everything would be fine. And then he said something that reopened old wounds from the distant past. He said, 'Don't worry, little brother. You can trust me. Everything is going to be fine." He paused, and tears ran down his cheeks. "He said the same thing when I was little. And after that, he took me in too."

Ashlyn looked slowly at Elizabeth, and she nodded slightly. She had told her daughter, Maggie, and Dominic about this the night before. Sometimes, victims also become perpetrators. And Booker, who had been abused by their typical foster father some time ago before Garner, had finally assaulted his foster brother himself.

"It only happened once," Garner finally blurted out, 'just once. And I had suppressed it. I had completely forgotten it. But it all came back to me when he used the same words at the Charles River. The pain, the loss of trust, the fear. And in that moment --' he sobbed harder and harder now. "... at that moment, I kicked him in the back from behind. He stumbled and fell into the damn river. It wasn't intentional at all. He tried to get back to the surface, which he managed. And then he just drifted away. I lost sight of him at some point." He looked at Ashlyn with wide-open eyes. "I would have jumped in right away, but I can't swim, I never learned." He wiped the tears from his face with his sleeve, sipped water, and slowly calmed down.

"And what happened then?" Elizabeth asked calmly and gently, frowning.

"Well, at first, I thought he had climbed onto the bank somewhere. So I walked further along the river but didn't see him. It wouldn't have made sense to call. His cell phone must have broken in the water," Garner sipped. "I thought Justin would get in touch the next day. We could talk about everything and such. But he didn't. Not even the day after or the day after that. Finally, I returned to the river and saw Justin's badge." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the gold pin in the shape of the state of Texas that Ashlyn had noticed at the hearing the day before. He put it on the table in front of him.

"And I feared the worst when Justin still hadn't shown up. And then I made up the story about his vacation. I had to explain why he wasn't there anymore, and we agreed to report to Tracy Payne together. And that was no longer possible as planned. You know the rest."

Everyone remained seated at the table for a moment. Then Elizabeth spoke up. "You haven't told us everything, have you?"

Ashlyn looked at her mother and raised her eyebrows. She knew very well that Elizabeth had a kind of spider sense that told her exactly when someone was not telling the truth or only part of the truth, which is why she was such an extraordinary detective.

Garner looked at Elizabeth, who was irritated and blinked several times.

Elizabeth looked at him penetratingly and raised her eyebrows, but there was still a tone to her voice that left no room for reproach. Her tone was much more calm and gentle. "I mean, what happened at the bus stop."

Garner suddenly looked at his clasped hands. He seemed to have suppressed this incident as well. When he looked up again, his face was expressionless. "I tried to kill myself. I jumped in front of the bus, but at the last moment, I was seized by fear, and I was able to save myself by jumping forward. It's not that hard either; the bus had already braked to enter the stop anyway. It probably wouldn't have hit me properly anyway." He paused and fidgeted with his hands. "When I heard that Justin was dead when you identified him, it was clear to me that I killed him. That I'm a fucking murderer. I'm just as bad as my father. And I'm just as bad as Justin. I have no right to live anymore. But I'm too cowardly to go through with it."

Ashlyn realized that Garner was slowly collapsing. There wasn't much left of the self-confident man he had become in the past few months. The events from the distant and recent past weighed too heavily on his shoulders. But Ashlyn also knew that the legal assessment Garner had made had nothing to do with reality. It seemed clear that Booker had stumbled over Garner's first thrust and then drowned. But that wasn't murder. Not by a long shot. And Ashlyn wouldn't be the successful defense attorney she was if she hadn't immediately weighed all the legal possibilities against each other.

She looked at her client. "Tim, this is the second time I've asked you to listen very carefully today. If you do exactly as I say, I promise that we will get to the bottom of this, and you will most likely get off with a much lighter sentence than you imagine. And I would be very much mistaken if you went to jail for this."

Garner looked up. "You mean I wouldn't have to go to jail?"

Ashlyn nodded slowly. "It's doubtful. But there's a lot to be done. And for that, I need your help. And Dr. Ross. And Carlo Holland." She looked directly at Garner. "This won't come for free. And it's not a small thing. But if you're ready, you must promise me we can do it."

From one moment to the next, Garner seemed to regain hope. He sat straight in his chair, his eyes moving from Elizabeth to Ashlyn and back again. 'Yes,' he said firmly. 'I promise you.'

xxx

Micaela Barboza looked glumly at her desk. The surface was bending under the piles of files, which seemed more significant daily. Just yesterday evening, there was another shooting with fatalities and numerous casualties. And as if it wasn't enough work as it was, her boss had assigned this case to her as well. The BPD cops were already working hard to interview the numerous witnesses to solve the case. She reached for the top file with a frown when her cell phone rang. A glance at the display showed her that it was Ashlyn. The blonde was probably calling to discuss the next day of the trial and how she would question Garner. She wrestled with herself. On the one hand, she wanted to talk to Ashlyn, but on the other, she had too much to do. She hesitated for another moment but then picked up her phone anyway.

"Hello, Ashlyn," she said, continuing without waiting for Ashlyn's greeting. "Sorry, but I really don't have time right now. Maybe we can talk on the phone tomorrow or something? The trial doesn't continue until Friday."

"No need to apologize," Ashlyn replied. 'But I need to discuss something with you that can't wait. The whole case has changed. We've been wrong all along. And I'm sorry. I feel like I've somehow driven you into this.'

"And what exactly is that?" Micaela asked skeptically.

"Cantu is innocent. He has nothing to do with it. At least not with Booker. He's not our guy."

Micaela wasn't sure whether Ashlyn was trying to pull her leg or whether she was serious. And the next moment, she realized how well her former colleague knew her.

"I'm sure you're wondering if I mean it or just kidding. But rest assured," Ashlyn added, 'I'm dead serious. Do you have time now? Can I come over? I don't want to discuss it on the phone.'

xxx

Less than an hour later, Ashlyn sat opposite Micaela at her tiny desk in the DA's office. Without much ado, she got straight to the point.

"I have prepared various documents here, which I will hand you immediately. But first, I'd like to tell you the story of a little boy who, since birth, has been dealt a bad hand by fate. And who then, through no fault of his own, fell victim to one of the worst examples of government failure I've ever heard of. It's the story of Tim Garner."

Ashlyn summarized the events up to the point when Garner and Booker had been walking along the Charles River after a boozy evening. She explained how Garner had suddenly been overwhelmed by long-forgotten memories of the abuse and how Booker, who had himself been a victim of her typical foster father's abuse, had become an abuser to Garner. At this point, she interrupted Micaela.

"Wait, Ashlyn, just so I understand this correctly. You're saying that Justin Booker, who was a few years older than Tim Garner and who was undoubtedly also abused by their foster father over the years, assaulted Garner himself?"

"Yes. He did. Probably only once. And Garner had completely blocked it out, had suppressed it. Until this very moment."

Micaela nodded slowly, and although she obviously still had some questions, she continued to listen to Ashlyn.

"What happened next can only be described as a series of unfortunate circumstances." Ashlyn described how Booker stumbled, fell into the water, and drifted away, how Tim Garner, who couldn't swim, didn't follow his first instinct and jumped in after him, how he assumed that Booker would surely save himself to the shore, until the moment when Garner realized a few days later that something was wrong and turned to Tracy Payne.

Skeptical, Micaela now looked at Ashlyn. "Do you believe all of this?" she asked with a furrowed brow.

"Every single word. And because I suspected you'd ask that, I have a five-page confession here. I also have some documents that show that Garner is going to seek psychological treatment. He will attend group therapy twice a week." Ashlyn handed Micaela a folder across the table. 'With the papers, you will also find a confirmation from Holland stating that Garner can continue to work and live on his farm for the next year.' She added thoughtfully but with a certain satisfaction: "You should see Garner; he's a changed person. He's really blossomed at Holland. The work and the country air seem to be doing him good."

Micaela flicked through the file briefly, then looked at Ashlyn with a gloomy expression. "That's all well and good, Ash. But what you're telling me is that Garner has caused a person's death. I'm now considering whether I should have him arrested immediately. We need to talk to Judge Berrios immediately and inform him of the new situation." She looked Ashlyn directly in the eye. "Do you realize what kind of repercussions this will have? The media will pounce on us. We've arrested the most promising candidate for the post of mayor at the height of the election campaign and falsely accused him of murder."

"Of course, I'm aware of that," replied Ashlyn, frowning deeply. "And yes, there could be a lot. But if we're honest, Cantu is by no means innocent. He undoubtedly shares responsibility for the fate of Garner and Booker. And many other children. No matter what his motivation was at the time and how he saw the matter at the time. And we know that he was far from acting morally, even when he suppressed the files, covered up his actions, and researched on the Darknet, which, according to our latest findings, did not lead to any job." She looked at Micaela penetratingly. 'Was it so wrong to accuse him?' "In the end, yes. Could you have known that at the time? Certainly not! Was it justifiable to charge him? I think so. You did, too, at the time. So did your boss. The overall assessment of the evidence allowed it. And that's what legal proceedings are for. To question precisely these misjudgments."

Micaela snorted angrily. "Yes, from your perspective, a nice explanation. But you won't be in the line of fire of the public, the media, and probably Cantu's lawyers either. But the DA's office, in persona me."

"That's right. And I promise you, if that means anything to you, that you can count on my full support. But it is what it is, so we must do the right thing now."

Micaela nodded. She was professional enough to know that Ashlyn was right.

"But before we take care of Cantu and ensure he's released, please let me say two words about Garner. Because he's your new culprit now. However, I disagree with you about an arrest. You shouldn't do that. Because if we look at what happened here and what is behind it, we are dealing with either an assault resulting in death in a less severe case or involuntary manslaughter. Given Garner's past, any court would almost certainly suspend the sentence in both cases. Your arrest warrant would require the existence of a risk of flight or a risk of suppression of evidence. Garner's confession excludes the risk of suppression of evidence. Neither Garner nor we are keeping quiet about what happened. And given what I have told you, there is no reason to assume a risk of flight. As evidence for this, I implore you to trust me. Garner and Holland are waiting in my car downstairs, and if it's all right with you, he will tell you all of this again in person in a moment."

"Will he?" Micaela asked after a few seconds.

"Yes, he will."

Micaela apparently thought for a moment while she looked over Garner's written confession again. Finally, she closed the file and said testily, "Well, bring him to my office."