Page 27 of Whispers in the Dark
And she was already thinking four moves ahead.
Nine
Alex moved first.He grabbed the one colorized surveillance photo of Charlotte and slid it into an evidence bag before passing it to Brad. “Get this processed.” His voice was sharper than he intended, but he didn’t care. “I want to know where this was taken and who took it.”
Brad nodded, his usual calm holding something harder beneath it. “I’ll send it to forensics and see what else we can pull.”
“My outfit. It was new. I was at Waverly Market grocery shopping for our girls’ dinner night two weeks ago. The slacks—they’re at the dry cleaner for repair. The zipper broke that night when I got undressed.” Charlotte was still staring at the crate of files, fingers tightening around the edges.
Alex watched her carefully. Someone was watching her. Tracking her. And they wanted her to know it.
Noah exhaled sharply. “If they have access to sealed records, we’re dealing with someone on the inside.”
Olivia folded her arms. “Law enforcement.”
“Maybe,” Noah muttered. “Or someone who used to be.”
She looked at her mom. “Is your partner still around?”
“He used to live in Silver Springs,” Charlotte sputtered.
Alex knew there was a lot to unpack from her response.
“Where are the records stored?” Brad asked.
“They should be stored in the records bureau for Waverly County PD at the town hall building,” Charlotte said.
Ethan continued flipping through the recovered files, letting out a slow breath. “There’s something else.”
Alex turned. “What?”
Ethan stepped out of the unit to take a call. When he returned, his face had a red tinge—anger. “Graves/Ward had a cellmate who was released twelve years ago, and another released one year ago. His current cellmate is listed as Bubba Watkins. But right now, Ward is being housed in the hospital wing of the prison. He’s dying.”
“Brad, I know you put in a request. But we need the name of every person he could have come in contact with—staff, other inmates, other visitors—yesterday.” Noah’s jaw clenched. “Those two cellmates’ names.”
Brad and Ethan nodded together. “First, for twenty-three years, it was Ernest Frank. The second one, year twenty-four to just under a year ago.” Ethan gulped. “I checked it twice—it’s reported to be Victor Graves.”
Silence stretched.
Charlotte stumbled. Alex caught her before she tripped over her own feet. He saw the pain of recognition in her expression. He stepped closer. “Charlotte.”
She inhaled, slow and measured. But when she looked at him, something passed through her eyes. “That’s impossible. Victor Graves was Gideon Ward’s alias.”
Brad exhaled. “If Victor Graves is real, there has to be a trail. And if someone is using his name, they’re doing it for a reason. Ethan, we need that mugshot, prints and any other record from the prison.”
“Already ordered,” Ethan said. “I’ve dispatched two agents to pick the records up.”
Charlotte seemed to stare at the chair. She was clearly connecting the new information to something she wasn’t yet willing to share.
Alex moved toward her, lowering his voice. “What are you thinking?”
She met his gaze and shook her head.
The forensics team arrived at the unit and bagged the entirety of the contents, which would be transported to the technical center at Waverly County College, where Ethan had secured a conference room and six breakout spaces.
Charlotte still hadn’t looked away from the chair.
Alex watched her, jaw tight. She knew something; he could see it in the way her hands stayed still, too still. She wasn’t just connecting dots. She was remembering something she hadn’t told anyone.
