“Not probably, Dad,” Logan corrected him.

His father frowned, but continued to look at his friend. “I thought it might be better if you explained to him…you know…”

Tooney gingerly turned his head in Logan’s direction. “Logan, thank you so much for helping me this morning.”

“I’m just glad I was there,” Logan said.

“I want you to know, I understand your concerns. But this matter…personal. A…mistake.”

“A mistake?”

“A miscommunication, that’s all.” He hesitated, then added, “Please, Logan, for me, say nothing.”

“Tooney, he was going to kill you.”

“Please,” he said, his eyes pleading. “I beg you. This most important to me. Say nothing.”

A glance at Harp told Logan that his father, and probably the rest of the WAMOs, knew whatever it was Tooney was unwilling to share. Apparently, it was enough to convince these old men to lie to the authorities for their friend.

Behind Logan, the door to the outside opened. Given the way Tooney and his father tensed, it didn’t take a genius to know the Sheriff’s deputies had arrived.

Tooney glanced at Logan again, panic now joining the fear on this face.

“I really don’t understand,” Logan said, then hesitated. He was confused by the fact the six men in front of him, men who he respected, were asking him to do something that didn’t make any apparent sense. But respect was one of the things his father had stressed to him growing up, and it was hard to go against that, especially with this group. “I know I’m going to regret this, but if that’s what you want, fine.”

Without another word, he stood up and left before the sheriff’s deputies could be directed their way. Apparently, he didn’t have anything to say to them anyway, because, according to the others, he wasn’t even there when the incident happened.

4