Page 138 of A Forgotten Mistake

This area is known for having water cut through it for farming purposes many years ago. But once the farmland was converted to residential and industrial, this part ended up turning into a swamp. Some conservationists turned it back into a wooded area in the hope of bringing native wildlife back to the area. This was around thirty years ago, and the only reason I know that is because this part is still named after the swamp that once sat here.

But with the flow of water, wouldn’t this rock’s edges have smoothed out? Unless it was brought here from a different location, that is.

“This area used to be flooded, right?” I ask Penny.

“It definitely did. It’s interesting how quickly things can grow after such a shift. You can still see signs of the water that was here, but every year it seems to get less and less. Huh… yeah, like these rocks here show the wear from the water, but that one doesn’t,” Penny says. “That’s odd. It’s definitely a rock that would wear quickly with even slight current. Rocks this large don’t just pick up and move, you know? Can I get someone to move this rock for me?”

Penny hurries over to see if it’s something of interest, and I stand back and let them work. It isn’t long at all before they find the box as well as the knife inside of it. Penny looks like she’s struck gold as she quickly documents the knife, eager to take it back to the lab.

While that happens, I sink back into the trees and make my escape back to the car. “Let’s go home.”

“Did they find the knife?”

“They did, as well as some clothing.”

“Good. Good. Now if Penny doesn’t find the hint of blood I left behind and the small smudge of a fingerprint under the lid, I’m going to kick her ass.”

“You can’t kick your coworker’s ass,” I say.

“I will gently take my foot and even more gently kick her in the ass.”

“Still a no.”

“I will take her pens out of her office every day, so every time she goes to reach for a pen there will be none there, and I will snip the cords to her computer mouse every time she gets a new one.”

“That’s acceptable and evil,” I decide.

He nods approvingly.

THIRTY-ONE

Liam

I walk into the department curious if I’m about to geta lotmore pens, but we only make it about ten feet in before Penny rushes over to me. “Come here.”

“Do you have something worthwhile to show me?” I ask.

“Quite,” she says. “There was blood on the clothes but no splatter. It appears like someone wiped the blood from the knife onto the clothing before burying it. Someone was trying to stage it to look like you did it.”

“You have to be kidding me,” I respond, trying my hand at looking flabbergasted. It’s clearly working, judging by the way she looksquiteexcited to be telling me this. “Anything else?”

“Oh! And the knife? It had very small traces of blood on it. It was cleaned quite well, but you could tell it was still an amateur job because the blood in the slot between the hilt and blade wasn’t cleaned thoroughly. And you’ll never believe whose blood it was.”

“Oh, I can take a guess that it’s her father’s,” I say.

“Bingo.”

“But is there proof it was Abby? She knew the location, but do we have anything tying it to her?” I ask, really wanting to see what all she found.

“A fraction of a fingerprint was found on the inner edge of the lid that matches her print.”

Penny’s pens are safe… for now. I might even bake her a pie. “So you’re telling me she held this hidden foryearsin case I ever figured out what she was doing… or was she planning on placing the blame on me from the beginning? Was I never her target to kill but her target to take the fall?” I ask. “If so, why did she wait so long to reveal it?”

“Doesn’t matter to you, does it?” Michaels asks. “Because you are off this case and onto a very important case of a man found dead in his bathroom.”

“He overdosed on his wife’s medication.”

“You didn’t even look at it.”

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