Page 30 of Innocent Intent

Davis quickly sobered up when he realized what he was looking at: a case file. A very old one. He wasn’t familiar with this particular one because it’d happened almost eighteen years prior when he was just a uniformed officer in New York. The case was worked here in his new city, but he immediately recognized something as he shifted through the photos of the case file. Post-it Notes were attached to the pages with handwritten notes and questions.

“Why the hell do you have one of Cassidy’s case files on a flash drive tucked away in the safety deposit box?”

Davis continued clicking through the files, analyzing the notes. It appeared that Cassidy was second-guessing certain aspects of the case, evidence, and witness statements—one in particular she had placed a Post-it Note on with the words “reasonable doubt” in all caps, underlined. The statement was from the victim’s ten-year-old daughter.

What’s that about?

Curious for answers, Davis navigated to a search engine and typed in the defendant’s name, Johnathan Arnold. The first article that appeared was from the day of his sentencing.

Johnathan Arnold, 36, was convicted and sentenced to thirty years in prison for the rape and murder of Alison March. March was a college student.

Davis scanned through the details of the murder listed in the article. March reportedly had a flat tire late one night while driving home alone from an off-campus party. Arnold offered to help but stated he didn’t have the tools to change the tire. As a compromise, he offered a ride to the nearest gas station, where she could safely wait for a cop to assist. All according to Arnold. He planned on leaving her there; however, she flirted with him. When he suggested they get a room, she willingly agreed.

Arnold had been accused of raping twelve other women, which March hadn’t been aware of at the time. Arnold was known for using a police badge he purchased online and would often tell his victims he was an off-duty cop.

Arnold was convicted of raping, then murdering, March at a local hotel, where she was later discovered. Based on the drugs found in her system, it was believed that Arnold drugged March to get her to the hotel.

DNA from Arnold was identified throughout the hotel, and Arnold’s semen was found in March. The room where March’s body had been discovered was rented by Arnold. His testimony was that she’d willingly joined him and that he’d left March alive before going home to his family. Arnold agreed to being a cheating bastard but not a rapist or murderer. Based on the time of the murder and witness statements that Arnold’s car was seen leaving the hotel hours before, prosecutors had a tough time building the case against him. His only alibi during the time of the murder came from his wife and daughter. However, neither could say with certainty when he’d arrived home that evening. They could only agree that he was there at some point, which meant both mother and daughter were unreliable witnesses.

After further scrolling, Davis also took note of two significant things. The case was Cassidy’s first right after she finished her training with the department, and it was also the case that skyrocketed her career. Cassidy’s testimony after speaking with Arnold had been a huge deciding factor in convicting the guy. Her testimony as an expert witness discredited the statements from Arnold’s wife and daughter, which meant no alibi. The conviction gained Cassidy and Lance Trent, the lead detective, a lot of media attention.

Davis leaned back, massaging his chin, trying to understand what he was looking at. Why did Cassidy have the file with notes questioning the details of the case? More than anything, why was her focus on the testimony of Arnold’s wife and daughter? There was something there. Davis simply had to piece it all together.

The following day, Davis found himself at an office building across town. He had been up most of the night doing a deep dive into the case involving Arnold as well as Cassidy’s career. That case was important enough to create motive for Cassidy to kill her husband. Davis decided he needed to go back to where it all began, but also that he needed to speak to those who weren’t directly involved. They had just as much to lose as Cassidy. After being associated with Arnold’s case, several people’s careers were elevated positively. Those same cops and detectives worked hundreds of cases after Arnold was sentenced. If there were indiscretion with anyone involved in the Arnold case, the department would have a mess on their hands. Numerous other cases worked by those individuals could potentially be called into question.

Arnold’s case was somehow connected to Williams, or he wouldn’t have had evidence of it locked away in a safe deposit box. Several scenarios came to mind, none of which looked good for Cassidy. Was it possible Williams discovered something that incriminated Cassidy related to the case? Something that could ruin Cassidy’s very honorable and decorated career? Cassidy could have been blackmailed by her husband, which provided motive. The guy was a fraud, so blackmailing his wife wouldn’t be far beyond his purview.

“Detective, what can I do for you?” Sidney Tyler greeted Davis with a curious look as she invited him into her office.

“Ms. Tyler, thanks for seeing me on such short notice. I wanted to ask you a few questions about an old college alum of yours.”

“Okay . . .” She frowned slightly, and Davis could sense that she was already analyzing him. She was a psychologist, after all. Being cautious and perceptive were to be expected. “Who would that be?”

“Cassidy Evans.” Davis was now doing the analyzing. He watched Tyler’s reaction, noticing the slight flare of her nostrils and squinting of her eyes before he continued. “I understand the two of you graduated together and both trained with the department to become criminologists. However, you ended up in private practice, while Cassidy—”

“Ended up as the god of all gods when it comes to understanding the criminal mind and behaviors.”

There is animosity between the two.

“Cassidy’s career has been stellar, yes.”

“She could have been any of us, Detective. We all make choices that lead us down different paths.”

Interesting.

“Care to elaborate?”

“Why are you here? I haven’t seen or communicated with Cassidy in years. If she’s receiving another award or honor where you want those of us who knew her when to chime in on what an amazing person she is, you might want to pick another alum. I’m sure plenty would be willing to sing her praises for a chance at being associated with her.”

“And you wouldn’t?”

She leaned against her desk, locking thin arms firmly across her chest. “No, Detective, I would not. Again, we haven’t spoken in years.”

He nodded. “How about you tell me what you meant by different choices that led down different paths? I assume that means the two of you didn’t see eye to eye when it came to your chosen paths?”

Tyler laughed, rolling her eyes. “I chose to earn things with hard work and respect. Cassidy, not so much.”

“Sounds like you’re saying she didn’t earn her career.”

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