Chapter 12 - RAY’S LAST LIE
“No.”
Claire said it before Ethan could.
“No chance.”
Dana nodded.
“I agree.”
Ethan stood with Rosie in his arms.
“Why does he want me?”
“Because he’s terrified.”
“Of who?”
“That’s what investigators want to know.”
Claire took Rosie.
“Then investigators can ask him.”
Dana sighed.
“He won’t talk.”
“Let him rot.”
Ethan looked toward the fence.
Ray.
The man whose lie had stolen three years of his life.
Part of Ethan wanted to see him.
Part wanted to ask one question.
Why?
Another part knew there wasn’t an answer in the world that could give him back Rosie’s birth.
Her first smile.
Her first Christmas.
The first time she crawled.
The first time she stood.
You couldn’t return stolen time.
Ethan shook his head.
“No.”
Dana looked relieved.
“Good.”
Then her phone buzzed.
She read the message.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“Ray gave them a name.”
Ethan stared at her.
“Whose?”
Dana’s expression tightened.
“Lieutenant Mercer.”
The same officer who tried to fake Ethan’s transfer.
Ethan looked at Knox.
Knox cursed under his breath.
Dana continued.
“And Mercer wasn’t working alone.”
“Who else?”
“They don’t know.”
Ethan handed Rosie carefully back to Claire.
“What did Ray say?”
Dana read.
“‘Harris cleaned the evidence. Mercer handled Graystone. Somebody higher up handled the courts.’”
Claire went pale.
“Higher up?”
Dana nodded.
“That’s why Ray wants Ethan.”
“Why?”
“Because he says Ethan saw the third man at the warehouse.”
Ethan’s stomach dropped.
He looked away.
Rain.
Loading dock.
Boxes.
Ray.
A dark sedan parked near the dumpsters.
A man in a suit.
Ethan had seen him for maybe five seconds.
He hadn’t thought about him in years.
Dana saw his face.
“You remember something.”
“I don’t know.”
“What?”
“There was a guy.”
Claire stepped closer.
“What guy?”
“At the warehouse.”
Ethan squeezed his eyes shut.
“Ray was loading boxes. Another guy was standing beside a black car.”
“Can you describe him?”
“Tall. Gray hair.”
“Anything else?”
Ethan searched the memory.
Then remembered a gold pin on the man’s jacket.
A little scale.
The symbol of justice.
His eyes opened.
“Oh, hell.”
Dana stared at him.
“What?”
“He was at my trial.”
“Who?”
Ethan looked at her.
“The prosecutor.”
Dana went completely still.
“Mark Sloan?”
“No.”
Ethan shook his head.
“Not Sloan.”
“Then who?”
“The district attorney.”
Silence.
Claire whispered the name.
“Thomas Vance?”
Ethan nodded.
Dana immediately stepped away and called investigators.
The courtyard suddenly felt smaller.
More dangerous.
If Ethan was right, the corruption didn’t stop with a crooked detective.
It went straight into the office responsible for prosecuting him.
Minutes later, Dana returned.
“They want your statement immediately.”
Ethan nodded.
Then Knox’s radio exploded.
“All units, be advised. Lieutenant Mercer has escaped custody.”
Knox grabbed the radio.
“What?”
The message continued.
“Possible armed suspect inside administrative sector.”
Claire clutched Rosie.
May you like
Ethan looked toward the open courtyard door.
A gunshot cracked from inside the prison.
