Page 87 of Hard Evidence
Dawson seemed quiet.
Nolan, Grey, and Zach were keeping their distance.
Violet was holed up in Brax’s apartment, and Justin couldn’t blame her for wanting to stay clear of the crowd of podcasters gathered in the street outside, but he still missed her presence.Earlier, he’d swung by the office for an awkward meeting with his employees, and although they’d murmured words of support, Amie was their friend too, and how could he ask them to choose sides?The construction team installing a fence around the front yard was working fast, as if they couldn’t wait to get away.
Justin’s phone buzzed with a message.
Alexa
The cops are searching the forest between the Norquist office and your place.A true-crime junkie is live-streaming it on BuzzHub.
She’d included a link.Justin didn’t click on it.
Ari folded her arms.“No, no, no, I’m not saying you murdered Amie.I’m saying that someone’s sure trying to make it look as if you did.”
“But why would anybody do that?”
“We have a number of unanswered questions, but there’s one we keep coming back to.How far would Levi Sykes go for freedom?”
“You think…you think Levi’s behind this?”
“It’s possible that he hired an accomplice to frame you so he can use Amie’s death as evidence in a new appeal.”
“That’s…that’s sick.”Not just sick.Certifiably insane.“What about the loan shark?”
“It’s a hypothesis, that’s all, but it’s one we need to consider.You weren’t supposed to have an alibi that night.If Jessie hadn’t shown up when she did, you’d be heading for a world of trouble, and although we still have a lot of unknowns, we can’t afford to sit around doing nothing while the other players carry on with the game.”
Dawson blew out a long breath.“If you’re right, then Levi’s been planning his moves for the better part of a decade.”
“Yes.”
“Committing another murder to throw doubt on his involvement in the first?That’s crazy.”
“From what I’ve heard about him, the description fits.And he’s certainly smart.He graduated high school three years early, aced college, and began studying for a PhD before he went to prison.So, humour me… If you were going to hide a body, where would you put it?”
“How should I know?I guess I’d bury it?Dig a hole in the middle of nowhere and cover it with brush?”
Dawson shook his head.“For Ari’s theory to work, the authorities would need to find the body.Right now, Amie’s just a missing person.It would need to be placed somewhere obvious, but not too obvious.”
“The forest out back?Norquist Construction owns a hundred and thirty acres behind the house.We bought a two-hundred-acre parcel, but we only built on part of it.”
“Then that’s where we start looking.”
“Uh, there are podcasters on the trails,” Jessie said.“Shiro was barking at them through the fence.”
“There are trails?”Ari asked.
“One for horses, one for cycling, and two for jogging, plus the more adventurous folks like to hike off-trail.When we built Greenway Park, leisure and fitness were important parts of the design.We walked Shiro on the trails the evening Amie went missing, and we didn’t see anyone lurking around.”
“Can you park close to the trails?”
“There’s no designated lot—we built them for locals rather than tourists.But there’s a pull-off by the picnic area where you can fit a couple of cars.”
“A picnic area?Okay, nix that idea.Nobody would want to schlep a body around where there could be witnesses.”
“Could’ve walked her in, but that’s risky,” Dawson said.
“And why take the chance if there’s an alternative?Does Norquist own any other parcels of land around here?”
