Page 40 of Ranger's Wildflower
If somebody buried the truth, they missed something.
People always did.
Hours blurred together while I dug through file after file. The office stayed silent except for the clicking of keys and the low hum of the old heater near the wall.
Then something caught my eye.
A single line buried deep in the evidence log.
Nearby traffic camera footage collected.
I stilled.
Collected.
Not reviewed.
Not entered into evidence.
Collected.
Slowly, I leaned back in the chair.
“Well… that’s interesting.”
I clicked deeper into the evidence archive.
Nothing.
No footage attached.
No processing notes.
No mention of why it disappeared.
My jaw tightened.
That wasn’t sloppy police work.
That was deliberate.
I grabbed my phone and hit Blaze’s number.
He answered on the third ring sounding half dead. “Man, do you know what time it is?”
“I need traffic cam footage from six years ago.”
Silence.
Then—
“Tessa Bloom?”
“Yeah.”
Another pause.
“Alright,” Blaze muttered. “Give me a minute.”
