Page 7 of Rascal

“That’s better, prospect, and you’ve got a problem. I did some further digging. There’s no mistake; the footage Hallie Milton mentioned exists, and it proves a cop definitely misplaced an alibi. Hallie’s lawyer is tearing your old PD apart. There’re lawsuits everywhere. It doesn’t give her a full alibi, but they’re demanding to know what other evidence the cops have squashed. This is a shitstorm.”

“It’s bullshit, that’s what it is!” I spat furiously.

“Prospect, there’s social media footage of her being confronted in your hometown. The bitch calls you a liar and accuses you of protecting another woman. She is seriously gunning for you. Hallie fucks with everyone there and sticks to the facts, except for the allegation against you. She rips her family an entire new one, and it’s pretty clear she’s got anger issues. Her lawyer is already serving civil suits.”

“Jesus. I’m telling you, Sunny, it was her. I woke up, and she was sitting there clutching a fuckin’ dagger and stabbed me in the shoulder and then the other. The cunt then tells me I’m hers and nobody else’s and stabs me in the chest. Hallie missed my heart by millimetres!”

“I’ve done a background check on the medical reports. She has two brothers, both older than her and married. Mother and father are still together and healthy. I looked for signs of a twin—miscarriage, stillborn—and found nothing. Mother only had three kids. No siblings or relatives were kidnapped. If she intends to claim a female relative did it, as a defence, I’ve pretty much ruled that out.

“There’s no sign of mental illness anywhere in the family, and she’s never been diagnosed with anything. The prison monitored her closely because she was on suicide watch for the first three months of her sentence. She tried twice and failed. Then one day she woke up and headed for the gym. It became her thing. Inside, Hallie had a couple of fights; the attackers got fucked up, and people left her alone. Spoke to a guard there. She recalls Hallie kept to herself, didn’t mix, and was basically a loner. But inmates respected her.

“The guard stated that the difference in Hallie was drastic. It was as if a switch had flipped. She was allowed a weekly visit and had refused to see anyone. The only person who bothered to visit her was Kingston Albert. She refused to see even him until she underwent this personality change. All reports say they are tight, very fuckin’ close. One even states they’d kill for each other. You ain’t just watching your back against her; it’s him too,” Sunny said.

“I’ve known her family since we were small. There’s nothing to be found there; they’re basically decent, hardworking people,” I replied.

“Who gave birth to a lunatic? The DA is reviewing the evidence again, looking for a smoking gun. The problem is, so is her lawyer. They recovered this suppressed footage; there might be more hidden away. If her lawyers find it, Rascal, she may well walk for good.”

“What is this alibi?” I demanded.

“She claims that on that day…”

“Sunny, I know what Hallie says. But what is the evidence?”

“It’s a recording of her leaving her car at the mall in the next town over and heading inside. The CCTV shows her shopping and then nothing for seventy minutes. But her car does not move. That missing hour is enough for her to get to your home, stab you, and return to the mall,” Sunny said.

“And this was buried?”

“Yes, and as it proves her partial alibi, her lawyer—Lynch—is claiming the cops have the rest of it. Lynch has postulated that you were having an affair with a cop’s relative who flipped out and you’re covering for her.”

“That’s damn weak. I’d want whoever did this to pay. If I were covering, where’s the benefit? Surely, I should have got something for keeping my mouth shut!” I exclaimed.

“The DA has sent the video for analysis to identify if it’s been tampered with. The problem Hallie’s team has is that there’s no chain of evidence until it mysteriously arrives in the lock-up.”

“Which means someone she knows could have planted that. If so, there’s gotta be a money trail,” I stated.

“Which is what I’m trying to track down. Stay at the clubhouse; it’s the safest place for you,” Sunny ordered.

“I ain’t no coward, Sunny!”

“Nope, but this bitch already got to you once. She might again.”

That was a damn good point. Sunny hung up, and I glanced across at Jinx. “How much did you hear?”

“All of it.”

“I’m gonna tell Chance to swap you out. Dollar or Sailor can be my wingman,” I said.

“You don’t trust me?” Jinx reared up.

“Kid, in the space of months, you killed two people, badly injured your feet, and got shot. I ain’t putting you in a psycho’s line of sight,” I stated.

“That’s my choice, Rascal. You’re my brother.”

“Jinx,” I argued, but promptly fell over.

Jinx looked smug. “I’ll make it one hundred times worse if you don’t let me take your back,” he hissed.

Holy Fuck! Could Jinx actually turn up his effect? I didn’t want to find out.