Page 82 of The Advocate’s Ultimatum

“He knows the old case,” JP said. “He remembers details, names, alternate theories. He thinks Hayes was capable of taking Hannah, but not organized enough to keep her gone.”

“Did he offer to help?”

“He did.”

“And?”

JP shrugged once. “It depends what help means.”

Sabre studied him. “You don’t like him.”

“I met him like a minute ago.”

“That’s not a no.”

JP glanced around the garage. “I don’t know him enough to dislike him properly.”

That earned the faintest smile.

Sabre folded her hands on the desk. “He worked that file for months. If he kept notes, that matters.”

“It could.”

“He interviewed people police ignored.”

“Maybe.”

“He may remember something everyone else forgot.”

“Also maybe.”

She gave him a look. “You’re being difficult for sport now.”

“I’m being careful.”

Sabre was quiet a moment. “Because he’s another PI?”

“No.”

“Because he worked with me?”

JP didn’t answer right away.

Sabre sighed. “JP.”

He met her eyes. “Old cases grow mythology around them. People start remembering themselves as smarter than they were and more useful than they proved.”

She considered it. “That’s fair.”

“But he remembered the case,” JP continued. “Real details, not headline details. He talked about the crossing guard who saw her get into a car, the neighbor kids whose stories shifted, and one local sex predator who got cleared.”

“He kept notes?”

“He did. And I believe he remembers enough that notes might not matter.”

“I thought you had an appointment this afternoon,” JP added.

“I’m leaving in about five minutes to meet with Vale.”