Page 65 of LOT 62

“That happened months before Maddox even got arrested, and I told the same story then! You’re just a hypocritical piece of shit like the rest of them. Don’t trust the facts just because they’re coming from a Sawyer! Fucking cops, eh? Here to protect? Bullshit.” I stood and knocked the chair over, pacing his office.

“Alright,” Hanes relented. “I’m listening, but I need more than your word. I need proof that an officer, who completed his training, passed all criminal record checks, and is an upstanding citizen of Garron, would lie to his coworkers and commanders and team up with a known criminal like Jim Sawyer.”

“I’m waiting on my brother for that.” I lit a smoke in his office even though he already told me three times not to.Hurry up, Nate.

Ten minutes and two cigarettes later, Nate and Xavi finally showed up with the evidence we needed.

“He’s waiting on proof,” I told them.

“Well, here it is,” Xavi set down a folder, a voice recorder, and a cell phone. “Since we had to do your job for you, you don’t have the right to ask us how we got this.”

Hanes shook his head but didn’t comment. I knew the evidence would have to be gathered legally to hold up in court, but we hoped this might be enough to convince him to look into it the right way. So, for the next hour, we laid everything we had on the table.

The recorded confession from Gary, admitting he allowed Jim access to our lot, and that he gave our rent money with Maddox’s fingerprints on it to Jim. Gary also admitted his willingness to hold the shipping slips for Jim, which was another way for them to incriminate us by having me steal them, because he knew Maddox would touch them. Yeah, his fingerprints were on those, too. My dad had never needed those forms; he only got me to steal them to bulk up his evidence against Maddox.

We went back to the hospital and found the nurse who discharged Maddox. She said he signed forms from the hospital but also forms that a plain clothes police officer gave her. She admitted to being new to dealing with a serious police matter like that, so when the officer told her they were standard protocol for a situation like this, she didn’t even check what they were. But shedidtell Maddox there were police forms in the bundle. She got hospital security to show us the video from the day of Maddox’s release, and it clearly showed Davis breaking house arrest and giving her documents. It didn’t show what those forms were, but it was enough for Hanes to start questioning everything.

The cellphone that we found in Gary’s office showed text conversations setting everything up. Again, we couldn’t prove that it was my dad sending the messages, but it showed intent from someone other than Maddox. Hanes took the phone and sent it off to the IT department, but I wanted it back. I had the number, anyway.

“Okay, something is fishy,” Hanes agreed. “But explain to me how you didn’t know there was digging going on outside your trailer?”

“Because Gary told Jim when we left. They did it when we weren’t home, and it was the side lot and the forest, so it’s not like we ever saw it. Garron Park doesn’t have lush grassy lawns, so it’s not like a little dirt would be noticed by us.”

Hanes didn’t look convinced. “Why would he rob a ship full of contraband, get the captain in on the deal, use it all to set up your boyfriend, and then miss out on the haul?”

Xavi took that one. “Because your boy Davis has access to evidence lockup,” he snapped. “When this cools down, you better believe your rookie cop will take everything and distribute it to Jim, the captain, Gary, and himself.”

Hanes linked his fingers. “Do you have any other proof that Officer Davis has been in contact with Jim?”

“Yeah,” Nate said, looking at us. “But you aren’t going to like how we got it.”

After a lesson in USB sticks and external hard drives from a buddy in Redding, Nate and Xavi had broken into Davis’ house during his court appointed therapy time. They transferred the contents of his laptop and spare phone to the hard drive and then had to get the lawyer to plug it into her laptop because we didn’t have one. At least they didn’t fuck it up. They acted like black-hat hackers after that.

“I don’t want to know,” Hanes said. “But if the evidence is good enough, I’ll get a warrant and obtain it legally.”

Nate put the lawyer’s laptop on the desk and showed Hanes months’ worth of phone records, calls to the prison my dad was kept in, emails without real names, and the transfer of numbers and new burner phones. The most important part was the layout of their plan. My dad had been in prison when the plan started, so emails and burner texts were their main method of communication, which worked well for us. No, there were no real names attached to anything, but the plan was laid out plain and simple for Hanes to see. Now I just needed him to believe Maddox had no part in it.

“You didn’t make this yourselves?” Hanes asked, doubting us.

“Get a fucking warrant and find it all for yourself,” Xavi scoffed. “My brother has been in jail for three months for a crime he didn’t commit. Do the right thing here, Hanes!”

“And do it fast,” I added. “Maddox has suffered enough. If anything happens to him in there…”

“I know you aren't stupid enough to threaten an officer,” Hanes said, shooting me a look.

I might be.

The room was tense. My hope barely hung on by a thread, and I desperately needed someone on our side. I needed good news to bring to Maddox, and I needed him back in my life. I needed the green of his eyes to burn with challenge rather than fizzle with defeat, and I needed to breathe some damn life back into Maddox Kane.

“I’ll put a rush order to the judge for a warrant right now,” Hanes said.

The three of us sank in relief.

Finally.

28

-Devon-

---