“Well,” he said, “looks like you’re in luck. The gas station owner is the distrustful kind and figured it was better to save a copy of that night’s video recording before it got overwritten. Even after the police told him it was nothing.”
“Smart man.”
“Yup. He said something felt off about this guy. He was worried the man might come back someday. So he kept the video as evidence.”
“So who is the man?” I pressed. “Do we have a name? Address? What was he doing here? Whose blood was on his clothes?”
Nolan lifted a hand. “Slow down. The gas station owner doesn’t know any of that. And we don’t either. But we do have a license plate.”
My forehead creased. “And that’s good, right? That means we can find the murderer?”
Nolan cocked a brow. “First of all, there is no ‘we.’ This isn’tMonk. You’re not the eccentric civilian tagging along, and I’m not the detective pretending that’s normal. Nothing I saw on the recording proves this man is Zach’s murderer. I need to be very clear about that.”
He must have seen the disappointment on my face, because he quickly added, “But I agree the guy on the recording was acting extremely nervous, and he was covered in what looked like blood. So I’ll run the plate and look into him.”
“How long will that take? I don’t have much time. Lacey’s cancer is—” I couldn’t finish the sentence. It hurt too much.
Detective Nolan looked at me, the hard lines in his face softening.
“I know,” he said quietly. “I’ll get to it the moment I’m back at the station.”
I nodded. “Thank you. Will that get you in trouble?”
“I’m technically still on the case. I’m just looking into a lead. Can’t get fired for that. But it can definitely make my life uncomfortable for a bit if the prick finds out.”
I felt horrible. “I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “Hey, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if the real killer struck again and I hadn’t done anything about it.”
He frowned, opened my car door, and stepped out. “I’ll let you know what I find. But do me a favor.”
Our eyes met. “What’s that?”
“Don’t put all your hope on this. I’d hate to see it crushed.”
With that, he closed my door and walked back to his SUV.
I sat there quietly, letting everything sink in.
There was hope again.
It was only a spark. But even a spark could light up the darkness when everything around it was pitch-black.
Chapter 21
Nicole
“I’m sorry. That’s just not a case I’m willing to take on right now,” Mr. Bolter said.
Anger rose in my chest. A slow burn at first, then sharp. I couldn’t take one more generic “Sorry, good luck” from any of these slimy lawyers. Not one more. They all wanted five hundred an hour but didn’t want to do the slightest work for it. They all just wanted drunk driver cases, the sure bets, the easy cash. Besides that, people working in the system knew by now that the AG had put a target on my daughter’s back. And nobody wanted to risk their relationships at court.
Not to uphold laws.
Not for constitutional rights.
Not even for the truth.
Like everything else, the court system seemed like another corrupt shit show designed for the rich.
