Page 115 of Hard Evidence
Not yet, but they sure would be later when she found out what Spider, Sin, and Dice had been doing this afternoon.
“The jury’s still out on that.”
“Ruby was our friend,” Dawson said.“If you saw her lying there on the bed, you’d want the person who did it to pay.”
“Levi did see her, and that’s what he wants too.”
Ari closed her notepad.“Can you ask him a question for me?”
“Depends on what it is.”
“Ask him if he was paying Amie Carlson to monitor Justin.”
“What?Why would you think that?”
“Because somebody was, and she told her roommate the money came from Levi’s father.”
“Levi doesn’t speak to his father anymore.But if you’ve been checking the phone and visitor logs, then you already know that.”
“A hundred bucks a month for seven years.”
“Seven years?Who would do that?”
“If we knew the answer, we wouldn’t be bickering in a conference room.”
That was a good place to leave the discussion.They’d pushed a few buttons and sown a handful of seeds, and most importantly, they’d established that Justin had a solid alibi.If the orchid had been on Ruby’s grave at eight thirty on Friday, then Justin hadn’t been ditching Amie’s body near Burr Hill.Jez pushed back her seat, and Team Justin filed out, leaving Serafina and her boss with plenty of food for thought.
And Jez had some thinking to do as well.Levi had been a solid suspect.The evidence fit, and they’d all assumed he was off his head on whatever concoction of pills he’d swallowed that day.The video provided irrefutable evidence that there was no third party involved.Didn’t it?
Jez had struggled to trust her gut for years after the Blackstone House affair because of the way she’d misjudged Levi.If her instincts had failed so catastrophically, then how could she rely on them?
But what if she’d been right all along?
What if the evidence was wrong, and not her intuition?
Today, they’d beaten Serafina at her own game, but it wasn’t satisfaction Jez felt as she jogged down the stairs.It was a mix of fear and anger and guilt.
What if they’d fucked up?
What if they’d left an innocent man to rot in prison for a decade?
What if, what if, what if?
CHAPTER42
JESSALYN
“You have a call from an inmate at the Fairfax County Detention Center.This call is subject to recording and monitoring.To accept the call, press ‘hash.’”
My fingers shook as they found the keypad, and the next voice I heard was Justin’s.
“How are you doing?”
I choked out a sob.Justin was the one in jail, and he was askingmehow I was coping?
“I’m doing okay.Just…” Just crying, staring at the wall, and baking croissants from scratch.“Just waiting for you to come home.Did you get any sleep?”
“A little.”He lowered his voice.“I’m pretty sure my cellmate is on drugs.Either that or he needs to be on drugs.He keeps talking to himself.”
