It made him sound human.
“What do you want from me?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
“Then why are you telling me?”
“Because I don’t want you to think I’m asking you to carry this with me. I’m not.”
I stayed quiet.
“I won’t ask you to defend me,” he said. “I won’t ask you to tell anyone I’m a good person. I’ll give the
board the records and answer their questions.”
“And Olivia?”
“The review will decide what follows from the evidence.”
“You’re still trying to protect her.”
“I’m trying not to decide her consequences before the process is complete.”
I thought of the way he had once stepped in front of her at the auction, shielding her from my questions.
“Those are not the same thing,” I said.
“No. They aren’t.”
He did not ask me to believe that he had learned the difference.
