Page 99 of Red Marked

“No.”

“That must have been…” I let it hang.

“It was bad. A nightmare. The worst time of my life. I still struggle with it.” He looks down at his lap for a beat. “I have to live with it. It’s not something you get over. I don’t like talking about it.”

I write on my pad to seem authentic and to give him a moment. He doesn’t seem like a cold, hard killer.

“I can’t imagine,” Flint says, shaking his head. “Do you get them often? Cramps, that is?”

“No, that’s just it; it was only that one time.”

“How terrible.” I write that down too. “That’s unlucky for poor Halleron.”

“I know. The police looked into it.” He lifts his chin. “They cleared me. I was in the hospital overnight with a cracked femur. I could have died. Like I said, it was a terrible time in my life.”

“You look like a male in your prime,” Flint says. “Any health problems? Anything that would explain those sudden cramps?”

“No…nothing.” Tank shrugs, looking sad and depressed. His eyes are lowered, and his lip is pouty.

“Wow.” Flint doesn’t move. “It just happened. Out of nowhere, on that road, on that day.”

“That’s right.” Tank is more forceful now. He glares at Flint.

His knee has started vibrating. He wipes his palms on his sweatpants. His eyes go to the front door and come back to us again.

“Can we please move on now? I don’t want to talk about that day anymore. It’s too upsetting.”

He does look upset, but I’m pretty sure he’s lying about how things went down. I think Flint can see it too.

“You have a lovely home,” I say, and I look around the room. I rest my fingers on his forearm for a second. “Really lovely. It’s good to see how you’ve made something of yourself in the last few years, despite such a terrible tragedy.”

He glances at my hand and then up at my face. “Thanks, Luna.”

“It really is.” Flint nods slowly. “You’ve done so well.”

“You know what?” I turn to Flint. “This could be a rags-to-riches piece. Surviving the accident and then all this.” I wave the pen at the windows, the lake, the boat. “Readers will eat that up. How does someone go from a fifteen-year-old pickup to a lake house in no time at all?”

“I sold an app.”

“An app!” I lean in. “That’s incredible. What kind?”

“Fitness. It had to do with training and tracking. That sort of thing. It isn’t a big deal.” He gives a half smile.

“Of course it is. I think that’s fantastic,” I tell him. “What was the app called?”

“I can’t say. There’s a non-disclosure in place.”

“Interesting. Who bought it?” Flint asks.

“A company on the Mainland. I can’t say which because of the NDA. I’m sorry.”

“Did you build it yourself? Are you a coder?”

“It was all my idea, but I had a partner who was into computers. We did it together and sold it together.”

“Can we talk to him?” I smile. “He could be part of our story.”

“No, he wouldn’t like that. You know the shy, nerdy types?” He chuckles, but it comes out sounding stilted. “You are welcome to send a photographer.” He perks up a little.