Conviction by Perry Wilson

Author:Perry Wilson [Wilson, Perry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

31

I slept for four hours. Not enough, but my brain wouldn’t stop working, so I decided to get up and use the ideas it kept tossing into my dreams.

The biggest idea I had was to look at the details of the other cases connected to our suspects. Not to see what they signed, or really anything about the people. I wanted the crimes.

Coffee and toast beside me on the table, I tried to log in with my credentials from the Hargreaves case because I thought there might be some other details Paul was holding back. It just felt like rereading the same documents wouldn’t reveal any new leads. My credentials had been revoked. Stupid efficient security.

I started rereading the copies we made. At first, I just read trying to absorb the information differently than last time. Focusing on the whole file, not just the signatures or times. The second time through I made notes.

There was a commonality in the incidents. Not just that they were crimes, or that they were a particular crime. Not the times of day, arresting officers, locations. There was a pattern; I just couldn’t firm it up in my mind. And it was going to take too much time to identify it without at least feeling sure that it would help.

I saved my notes, hoping Paul might see what I couldn’t, and started on the second annoyingly brilliant idea I’d woken up with. The police report was not the only record of the crimes. Media articles, crime bloggers, and commenters on both publications might swing up a connection.

I’d been at it for hours without a break. I didn’t want to stop to eat but I needed something to keep me focused. I put my plate in the sink and made another pot of coffee. I was in for a dive into the muck of internet trollery; I needed fuel.

I’d made the first few searches and was opening links in separate tabs when my phone rang: Paul. I looked at the time. How was it one o’clock already?

“Charity, I have bad news.”

My heart stopped. Something had happened to David. I lived with that theoretical possibility every day. He was a cop, and it was a dangerous job. But bad news from any source sent my thoughts the same way every time. Theory was one thing, reality another altogether.

“Zoe,” Paul said.

Not David, which was good. “She didn’t turn herself in?”

“No, she’s dead. Happened on shift last night. I don’t know if it’s connected or not.”

We’d both agreed she wasn’t part of the frame, but maybe we’d been wrong. “How?”

“Car accident is the official word so far, but I’m guessing murder.”

“Where are you?”

“Getting the rank job descriptions like I promised. I figured it would be easier to get them legitimately than risk getting caught stealing them. The report of her death came in a few minutes ago.”

Stealing was an exaggeration. “I need to see the documentation you have on her accident. If this was retaliation, we killed her by giving her time.

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