“And you’ll take care of doing that?” Micha asked.
“I don’t have the authority to do that. It will have to come from the ME.”
“But you’ll request it?”
“I don’t know.”
“What?” Ava cried out. “How can you even question reporting this?”
“Because I could lose my job.” Toby’s sharp tone shot out of the phone and filled the room. “I’ve already put myself in a dicey position. I’m not on this investigation and shouldn’t have accessed the file, much less have gone to the hospice center.”
Micha gripped the edge of the table so tightly his fingers lost color. “Then you’re willing to let a murderer go free for the sake of keeping your job.”
Toby hesitated for a long, painful moment. “I don’t know.”
Micha shot a look at Dev.
“Hey, man, it’s Dev.” His words didn’t carry the anger Ava was feeling but held understanding. “I don’t want you to get canned, but I would consider it a personal favor if you could get the ME involved.”
“I don’t know.” Toby sounded like he might be caving.
Dev let out a long, slow breath. “Remember how I got you through that statistics class you couldn’t seem to get the hang of but needed to graduate? You almost cheated with three other guys who got caught. You’d have been expelled if I hadn’t stopped you and offered to help you figure it out.”
“I knew you’d bring that up someday,” Toby spit out.
Dev took a step back, as would Ava at Toby’s caustic tone. “I wouldn’t ask for me, but it’s for Ava. She didn’t kill Holly Boyle, but she could go away for years if you don’t help.”
Micha looked at Ava. “If you knew her, you’d know she’s a selfless person who cares for the dying and makes their last days better. Doesn’t she deserve someone to care for her, too and keep her from going to prison?”
“Okay, fine. I’ll tell him, but then it’s up to him to decide what to do.”
“Will you go to him now and get back to us as soon as you know if the blood is available and he’ll run the tests?” Dev asked.
“Yeah,” he snapped. “But then we’re even, Dev, and you won’t bring up the statistics class again.”
“You got it.”
“And don’t come to me for any favors in the future either.” Toby ended the call.
“Sorry, bro.” Colin rested a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “It’s rough that it looks like you lost a friend in all of this.”
“It’s okay.” Dev gave a slow, disbelieving shake of his head. “If he gives up our friendship to do the right thing, was he really a friend worth keeping?”
“Only you can answer that,” Colin said. “But I’d say no.”
Ava tried to smile at him, but she knew it came out sad and pitiful. “Still, it’s got to hurt.”
Dev shrugged. “No worries. Like I said. Doing the right thing is what we all live for. A guy who has to be coerced into it probably isn’t worth hanging out with.”
Ava didn’t like what had happened. Not at all. But she respected Dev even more for his stance and appreciated his sacrifice for her. She didn’t want to dwell on it any longer, though. She looked at Micha. “This is it. Proof I didn’t kill Holly.”
He tilted his head. “Not exactly proof. Just a supposition. For proof, we really need that tox screen.”
“What are the odds that the ME will do it?” Ava asked.
His shoulders tensed. “I don’t think they’re all that great, and we might have to convince Layne to go the private route of retaining the services of a forensic pathologist to do a private autopsy.”
“If he killed his mother, he would surely refuse to do that,” Colin said.
