Page 82 of Dead Man's Alibi

And it didn’t have anything to do with not being able to admit he was wrong.

“Hey, Hayes.”

Jake looked up from where he’d been focused on the report of the first officer on the scene after the 911 call that led them to Jules Hyatt’s body.

It was a little disorienting that the man in question was the one standing in his doorway calling his name.“Mathews.”Jake didn’t think Mathews was on night shift this month, but he supposed he could have switched with someone for the day.“What can I help you with?”

“Heard a rumor that a report someone requested went missing.”

Jake held himself very still, didn’t let one muscle in his face change or twitch.“Missing?”

“Yeah.The report from when that Jules Hyatt came in to report she was in danger or whatever?”

“Weird,” Jake intoned.

“Yeah.Weird.Anyway, last night I told Gina it was your report, and you might have some notes on it if they can’t recover it.”

Told Gina…

Jake didn’t have anything to hide.He reminded himself of that while his heartbeat started to echo in his ears.“Maybe,” he managed to say without sounding strangled.

Mathews slapped his palm against the doorframe.“Anyway, I’m off on vacation for a few weeks.See you around.”

“Sure.Right.”Weird to be taking off so early, but that was a problem for Mathews’s superiors, not him.

Jake inhaled and slowly let it out.So, Gina knew where that report was missing from, and she’d no doubt report it to IT, who’d no doubt be able to discern he’d deleted it himself.

No big deal.He could claim… accident or something.No big deal.He hadn’t done anythingwrong, per se.

The first wave of panic settled by sheer force of will, because maybe he’d deleted that report, but only to keep this whole thing from becoming a circus thanks to Cal and Sam.The report had nothing to do with the murder.

Maybe he’d have to suffer a slap on the wrist, but it didn’tchangeanything.It was totally irrelevant to the murder.

Murder.

Jake frowned.How had Officer Mathews known Jules Hyatt had reported anything to him before the murder?Maybe Brian had poked into the case some on his own, but Jake was the detective.He was the one with the whole picture.Really, the only thing Mathews should know or have been involved in was being the responding officer to the 911 call from the motel.

As far as Jake knew, Mathews hadn’t been interested in the end result, like some of the other officers in the department might.He was more of a do his job, clock out, and stay off duty type of guy.He wouldn’t have looked back at any previous reports about it.That was Jake’s job.He didn’t see Officer Mathews as the kind of guy angling for a detective position either.That asshole was one lazy piece of shit.

Jake shook it away.Maybe he was just sleep-deprived and delusional.He should take the day off.Rest.Really turn off the cop brain for a while and let thislie.Nate Bennet was going to pay for what he’d done, and anything else was paranoia.Letting Cal Bennet fuck with him, when Jake knew himself.Certainly better than that prick.

He looked down at his desk.Jules’s phone, the printout of her online calendar that Olivia had given him last night.But all he could really stare at was that square that represented the date of the murder.

Date with O.M.@ The Graff.

O.M.Someone who wasn’t in her phone, at least not under those initials.No messages to or from those initials, nor a number that wasn’t accounted for in her contacts.No phone calls to this supposed guy.

Like… any mention of him had been erased.Sort of like Jake had erased his report.

Which brought him back to Mathews.And the report he’d been reading about the officer’s initial observations when he’d arrived at the TikTok Motel.

Jake focused back in, but it wasn’t the details that stood out to him.He looked at one line, trying to talk himself out of what he saw.

Submitted By: Officer Mathews

O.M.

For a moment, he didn’t move.He didn’t act.For amoment, he thought about pretending he’d never put this together.Letting Bennet rot.