The only unusual quality Cole thought he possessed was the ability to get himself into undesirable situations, with a little gullibility thrown in too. It never occurred to him that Archer was any kind of threat, mainly because he'd mentioned the portrait as being the cause of Trenton's death. It was how Dorian Gray met his end, unable to stand the sight of the monstrosity his own face had become and killing himself in his frenzy to destroy it. It made sense that Trenton's portrait would have the same effect, and maybe he'd finally grown tired of seeing the kind of person he really was. Maybe the truth became something he couldn't ignore anymore.
"You offered to help me with the... now non-existent tribunal, and I was nothing more than a stranger." He paused, tossing a particularly large shovelful of dirt into the grave. "Besides, I know what it's like, to be caught up in something like this. You became involved because you wanted to help a friend. I can understand that." He paused, his expression weary. "I wouldn't act any other way." Keeping secrets was one thing he wasn't a complete failure at.