Page 87 of Nowhere to Hide
“Dean Finley’s wife.” It was something that Eric had seen in Finley’s background.
Medina nodded, and Eric hit play again.
“Have you thought for a second how destroyed she’s going to be when what we did gets out?”
“It’s not going to get out. Just calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down. The truth has a way of coming out.”
“Todd, you’ve always been dramatic.”
“Dramatic?” Todd’s voice hit another octave. “We facilitated a cover-up for a murder. A woman was killed.”
“We were told that was possible.”
“Her young son was in the car.”
“Not our fault.”
“He could have died too. How can you be so blasé about all this? And Simms. What are we supposed to do about that?”
Eric hit pause and sat back, drawing his sergeant’s eye. “Just to remind you. Roger Simms was the photographer with the Major Crash Investigation Unit. His report and photos are in that envelope.”
“Huh. And this Simms fella just happened to die in a hiking accident within a week of Crawford’s crash. That’s what you told me before, right?”
“That’s what his background told me.”
Medina said nothing as he scanned Eric’s eyes. “Resume playing the recording.”
“Simms died in an unfortunate accident,” Dean hurled back.
“We both know that’s not true.”
“Do we? Or did you…?”
“Don’t be an idiot. I actually thought you did something.”
“Me? Nice that you think that of me.”
There was a stretch of silence. No noises in the background. Wherever they had met up, it must have been isolated. Also at night given what Finley had said a moment ago.
“If it’s anyone, it’s likely Hanson’s guy cleaning up loose ends. Simms wasn’t willing to play along. We tried to talk some sense into him. The photos he took would have ruined everything.”
“He didn’t cooperate because he was a better man than us. He wanted us to just come forward and admit to everything, including taking his photographs?—”
“He would have destroyed our lives. Do you want to go to prison?”
“I’m not sure if I care anymore. Roger Simms was murdered. Just say it, Dean.”
“No, I’m not going to do that. I wasn’t there. Were you?”
“Of course not.”
“Then as far as I’m concerned we take the ruling. Simms died in a hiking accident.”
That was where the recording stopped.
Medina was rubbing his face, and Eric was speechless while he assimilated what he’d just heard.
