Page 105 of Hard Heart

“Yes, she does.”

“Do you think she could be right? That Levi and Justin are both innocent?”

Because that would make sense of so much of the evidence, but it would also open the door to a whole new level of horror. It would mean that somewhere out there, a killer was lurking in the shadows, a man willing to brutally murder two young women to further his agenda, whatever that may be.

“I think we need to watch that video very carefully when we get it.”

“How did it go?”

Levi knew about the meeting with Greyson, and I’d told him to give us a few hours before he called because it would take time to give Greyson a presentation on the Justice Project’s work and then finesse the conversation around to the Costello case. So it was almost five o’clock when my phone rang, and by then, I was physically and emotionally drained.

“Good and bad. Mostly bad. They all showed up.”

“All who?”

“Your roommates. They all came except Person A—Nolan left Alexa behind, but Zach brought his fiancée.”

“Oh, hell,” Levi whispered.

“That’s probably where Jerry Knight escaped from. Anyway, there was some yelling, and I had a panic attack, and then it turns out that I’m actually Justin’s alibi for Friday morning, so he couldn’t have murdered Amie Carlson.”

There was a long moment of silence. “Run that by me again?”

I did, giving more detail but keeping it factual because the call was being recorded. And I tried to end on a good note.

“But they did agree to send a copy of the surveillance video, which is something at least.”

“If Alexa is sending that video, don’t download it on your regular computer. I bet you it’ll come with a nasty surprise.”

Would she really be that underhanded?

“Like a virus? But…but she has to know that’s a violation of the Computer Crimes Act.”

“She doesn’t care.”

“Not even if my statement about Justin is dependent on me receiving the video footage?”

“Believe me when I say Alexa is inherently unable to send an email without some kind of misdemeanour being involved. It’s hardwired into her psyche.”

“If she does that, I’m going to have words with Ari. She gave me her number.”

“If you call Alexa on it, she’ll set the file to self-destruct and then you won’t have it anymore. Just download it onto a separate laptop and let her seethe quietly in the background.”

“What about Justin? Should I leave him to sit in jail for a day? I wanted to speak with you before I did anything, but…”

“Go tomorrow. I don’t hate the idea of him sleeping in a shitty metal bed for a night instead of a fancy super king.”

“I’ll pay a visit to the police station before work. You really think she’ll send the video?”

“Jerry’s a sneaky bitch, but she isn’t a liar. If she made a deal with you, she’ll honour it.”

“Then wish me luck for tomorrow.”

Today’s meeting had been challenging, and the panic attack scared the shit out of me. But I’d survived. I’d pivoted when things went wrong, kept the conversation outcome-focused, demonstrated resilience… And now I was talking to myself in corporate buzzwords. Gah. Those four months I’d spent at Bester & Block had been the longest of my life.

“Good luck,” Levi said softly. “Miss you always.”

CHAPTER 31