“Thanks, Kate.” Laurel hopped off the table, flipped the boards over to reveal the clear sides, and gestured for Sandra to sit.
Sandra dropped into the chair across from Laurel, her posture more defiant than polite. She couldn’t have been more than twenty, her hair wild and tangled around her shoulders. There was a washed-out T-shirt stretched over her slight frame, the graphic faded but still readable:STOP KILLING THE PLANET!The lettering was half-obscured by her threadbare flannel shirt, sleeves rolled up unevenly. “Nice table.”
“Thanks. It’s temporary.” Laurel pulled out a chair and sat.
Ripped jeans and scuffed hiking boots completed Sandra’s look. Her skin was pale, her eyes rimmed red, like sleep hadn’t found her in days. She didn’t wear any makeup, but her expression appeared fierce.
Walter stepped into the conference room and tugged a chair his way to sit.
“Ms. Plankton,” Laurel said. “Thank you for coming in.”
Sandra huffed out a breath. “I didn’t have much of a choice, did I?” Her voice had a rough, scratchy edge, like she’d been yelling recently or maybe just not speaking at all. She dropped a battered messenger bag onto the table and dug inside it. A moment later, she slapped a flash drive down on the table, its plastic case scratched and dirty. “I was gonna try to find you, anyway.”
“What’s this?” Walter eyed the light blue drive.
“I went through Tyler’s fishing gear,” Sandra said. “He kept stuff everywhere. Like, everywhere. I found this hidden in the pocket of his tackle box.”
Laurel took the drive. “You didn’t give it to the police?”
“No.” Sandra’s chin lifted. “The local cops are on the recordings. I didn’t know who I could trust.”
“What exactly is on there?” Laurel asked, her interest piqued.
Sandra swallowed, her shoulders hunching just slightly. “There are several unreleased podcasts. One about gasoline pipelines, a couple about conspiracies, and one about corrupt cops.”
Walter’s mouth tightened, but he didn’t speak.
“The final one . . .” Sandra hesitated. “He sounded scared but determined to find answers about some possible attack coming soon. Tyler believed that true evil was around us and that we’re all in danger. He was still looking for evidence. I don’t know, man.”
Walter eyed her. “What kind of attack?”
She shrugged. “I have no idea, but I can tell you he was really scared.”
Walter leaned forward. “Why didn’t you come forward with this sooner?”
Sandra’s gaze shot to him. “I just found this yesterday, and like I said, the next podcast that was supposed to drop was almost finished, and it was about those cops. But the last one? That one I could tell. Tyler was seriously freaked out.” Tears filled her eyes. “I miss him so much.”
“I’m sorry about his death,” Walter said gently. “But we need to ask you a few questions about your arrests. What were you doing?”
“Protesting,” Sandra shot back. “The clear-cutting of old-growth forests. Pollution from corporations nobody bothers to hold accountable. You know. Basic stuff that shouldn’t be controversial but somehow is.”
Laurel grimaced. She’d had Nester dig up a couple of the reports. “You have quite the record.”
Sandra’s shoulders tensed. “I know. I chained myself to logging equipment to keep them from bulldozing an entire grove of ancient trees. They slapped me with trespassing and destruction of property. The cops acted like I’d burned the place down.”
Walter’s eyes narrowed. “What about the corporate protest downtown? The one where your group caused thousands of dollars in damages?”
“That was an exaggeration,” Sandra snapped. “We walked through the lobby with signs. We chanted. We forced them to face us instead of hiding behind their security. They dragged us out and tore a banner, and somehow that turned into property destruction. Not my fault their fragile egos can’t handle criticism.”
“Tyler shared your beliefs?” Laurel kept her voice congenial.
Sandra’s gaze dropped to the table. “Sort of. He was more into exposing corruption than saving the environment. He thought he could force people to care about both by throwing the truth in their faces, and he loved being a detective.”
“And you?” Laurel asked.
“I just wanted the world to stop being so messed up,” Sandra admitted. “Tyler wanted to blow it all wide open. I wanted to protect the things that matter.” She shifted uneasily on her seat. “I’m going to stay with my aunt in Billings and away from here. I’ll leave the info for you, but don’t tell the Elk Hollow cops.” She wiped a shaking hand across her brow. “I’m pretty sure they killed Tyler.” She gagged and then sniffed loudly. “Or whoever the last podcast was about did. Something big is supposed to happen and Tyler was gonna stop it.”
Laurel thought through what she knew about Tyler. “You have no idea what or who?”
