The pen moved again. A small rotation between Kline's fingers. "The Hale case."
"Rebecca and Jacob Hale. 2014. Travis Rudd was the primary suspect. Your office handled the case."
"That's correct." Kline's voice was level but the temperature in the room had shifted by a degree. "Rudd had motive, opportunity, and a history of violent behavior. He disappeared. The case went cold."
"I'm not questioning the investigation. I'm looking at how the case was handled across agencies. Maggie Coleman covered it. Burt Halvorsen signed the autopsies. Torres was investigated as a suspect. They all touched the same file."
"Along with dozens of other people."
"Sure. But those three names come up together more than expected."
Kline set the pen down. He looked at Noah directly. "Are you suggesting their deaths are connected to the Hale case?"
"I'm not suggesting anything. I'm following threads and this one keeps appearing." Noah paused. "A few years after the case went cold, there were questions raised. New information aboutthe investigation. A request was made to your office to reopen it."
"I remember."
"You declined."
"I did." Kline folded his hands on the desk. "The request was based on anecdotal information. A child's statement about a vehicle in the driveway, years after the fact."
"The child was twelve at the time of the murders. His statement was recorded by a deputy on day one and never followed up."
"I'm aware of the history. The decision to decline was made after a thorough review of the available materials. Limited resources and the absence of substantive new evidence made it clear that reopening would not be productive."
The same language as the two-paragraph memo. Almost word for word. As if Kline had memorized the explanation the day he wrote it and hadn't updated it since.
"How much time did you spend on the review?"
"Enough."
"Days? Weeks?"
"I reviewed the file personally. I consulted with the investigator who continued the case after Torres was cleared as a suspect. The conclusion was clear."
"Garza."
"That's right. Deputy Garza. He was satisfied with the Rudd theory and saw no reason to pursue additional leads."
"And the witness who reported the Honda Civic? The statement that disappeared after day one?"
Kline leaned back in his chair. The pen was on the desk now, both hands flat on the surface. “Listen, witness statements from twelve-year-olds made in the hours after a traumatic event are unreliable at best. There was no corroborating evidence for the vehicle. No registration match. No second sighting. Onechild's statement about a car in the driveway does not constitute grounds for reopening a case with no suspect in custody."
His delivery was smooth. Too smooth. The kind of answer that had been pressure-tested against every possible follow-up and emerged polished on the other side. Noah had seen prosecutors deliver closing arguments with less preparation.
"Did anyone push back on that decision?"
"Push back how?"
"Internally. Another prosecutor. The DA. Anyone who thought the case deserved a second look."
Kline's face stilled for a fraction of a second. It wasn’t anger. It was control. The controlled response from someone who was used to steering conversations and had just realized this one was being steered by someone else.
"The decision was mine to make. I made it. I stand by it." He paused. "Sutherland, if you're building a theory that connects the sniper case to the Hale investigation, I'd suggest you bring it to the task force and present the evidence formally. Visiting my office under the pretense of background consultation and then asking pointed questions about a cold case is not the way this works."
Noah held his gaze. Kline was good. He had recognized the direction of the conversation and shut it down the way experienced prosecutors shut things down, not with anger but with procedure. He was making it clear, you're out of bounds. Come back with evidence or don't come back.
"You're right," Noah said. "I appreciate the time."
