His hands were in the pockets.
“Mr. Reed.”
Marcus looked toward the building.
“Your mom know you're here?”
Tyler shook his head.
“What do you want?”
“I need to talk.”
Marcus hesitated.
“My lawyer will kill me if I speak to you privately.”
Tyler looked disappointed.
“Can I call her?”
Marcus did.
Maya answered on the second ring.
Ten minutes later, she joined by speakerphone while Marcus and Tyler sat at an outdoor picnic table beside the clubhouse.
Maya said:
“Tyler, you understand I'm Marcus's attorney.”
“Yes.”
“You are a minor.”
“I know.”
“You should have your own lawyer before making statements that could affect you criminally.”
Tyler swallowed.
“I have one.”
“Does that lawyer know you're here?”
“No.”
Maya sighed.
“Then I'm telling you not to confess to a crime.”
Marcus looked at the phone.
Tyler almost smiled.
“That's weird.”
“It's ethical.”
She continued.
“If there's information Mr. Reed needs for immediate safety, say that.”
“Otherwise talk to your lawyer.”
Tyler looked at Marcus.
Then down.
“My mom told me to scare you.”
Marcus went still.
Maya's voice sharpened from the phone.
“Tyler.”
He continued anyway.
“She was furious about the trailer fine.”
Marcus said nothing.
Tyler's hands tightened.
“She said you embarrassed her in front of the board.”
“She said people like you only understand consequences.”
Marcus's jaw tightened.
Maya interrupted:
“Tyler, stop.”
He looked toward the phone.
“You need counsel.”
Tyler shook his head.
“I already told the police.”
Marcus stared.
“When?”
“This morning.”
Silence.
Tyler continued:
“My lawyer was there.”
Maya asked:
“Then what exactly are you trying to tell Marcus?”
Tyler looked at him.
“That he wasn't imagining it.”
The words hit differently.
Marcus had never told Tyler that he doubted himself.
But he had.
For nights.
Maybe the audio was unclear.
Maybe Brenda meant scare him by honking.
Maybe Tyler accelerated accidentally after all.
Maybe the lawyer was right that Marcus's anger made him interpret things badly.
Now Tyler sat across from him saying no.
You were not imagining it.
Tyler's voice shook.
“She told me to drive up fast and slam the brakes before the garage.”
“She thought you'd come outside.”
“Then she wanted me to yell that she could make the trailer violation look like nothing compared to what she'd do next.”
Marcus stared.
“You agreed?”
Tyler's eyes filled with shame.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I was mad too.”
“At me?”
“I barely knew you.”
“Then why?”
Tyler looked away.
“Because she's my mom.”
That answer angered Marcus more than anything else.
Not because it excused Tyler.
Because Marcus understood how powerful it could be.
Tyler continued:
“She said you were disrespectful.”
“She said you hated our family.”
“She said you kept trying to make her look stupid.”
“I wanted her to think I had her back.”
Marcus leaned forward.
“So you drove a car at my garage.”
“I was supposed to stop.”
“But you didn't.”
Tyler's voice broke.
“I panicked.”