He phrased it like that -- you lied to the police -- and even having said so herself, Mary Jane couldn't help feeling vaguely ashamed. It sounded so much more dishonest that way, but then, there wasn't really any way around that. Even with the best of intentions, she had told a lie, and to the authorities, no less, so they wouldn't look bad. Neither of them could have stopped Norman, but they had still known, and especially when a woman had died, she didn't think that information would have been well-received.

"I wanted to protect you," she admitted, eyes shut and head lowered, only aware of the ridiculousness of a statement like that after it had left her mouth. In lieu of a laugh, she exhaled heavily, a bad taste left in her mouth by the whole situation despite her relief at his not being too upset. She just had to keep reminding herself that it was his -- their -- best interest she'd had in mind. "Talk about stupid, right?"

Of the two of them, she was undoubtedly the one who really needed protecting. She'd proven that two days ago, and now he was going to be laid up in a clinic bed for God knew how long because of it. The very thought of that brought on a fresh wave of guilt, and though she'd opened her eyes again, she couldn't quite bring herself to look at him. Maybe he would have gotten involved either way, but she couldn't help feeling responsible for what had happened to him, and even more so for that poor woman's death.