I didn't have to attend any of the other days of the trial. In the end, McCain was pronounced guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Since then, two days had passed and news and dia professionals had emailed and called to get an exclusive interview.
"Is it like this all the ti?" I huffed as I sat down. Nash looked up and grinned.
"For the big cases? Yeah. Add in the fact that you are a young, beautiful woman who cracked the case the dia will go wild trying to make this sensational." Nash clucked his tongue. "Do you want to take the opportunity to beco famous for your work?" he teased.
I rolled my eyes as I opened my computer to check my email.
"I don't want to be famous. Or infamous, for that matter. That day in the court told that being in the spotlight is not my thing. I don't want to be looked at like an animal in the zoo. Or be torn apart by lawyers and dia people. That made feel so disgusted."
Nash humd. "Your little outburst really got you into trouble, though," he comnted. "Didn't you get fined for disrupting?" he asked.
"Yeah, I received the notice in the mail yesterday." I chuckled. "My outburst helped put that lawyer and his insinuation in place but I got reprimanded for it." I shook my head in disbelief.
"It's because you are on the side of the law that they fined you. The law is like that: it is harder on people who have good track records. They are not expected to make mistakes. While those who are shady they are expected to behave poorly," Nash explained.
"They also punish repeat violators badly, don't they?" I challenged.
"True," Nash shrugged.
"Ah, which reminds . Did the task force give you any information on who that accomplice is?" Nash quirked his brow in question.
"Nothing yet. Even the prosecution wants to know where the murder weapon ca from. It's the only real evidence they have to prove Collins did sothing wrong."
I scrolled through my email and found one from the prosecutor. I read it and frowned.
"They gave Collins a leeway," I began. "The prosecution. They wanted to know who sent that weapon to help us out, but Collins didn't speak. Apparently, a lot of people co and go from his office." I groaned.
"This accomplice is in a position of power, isn't he?" Nash breathed. "He has enough power to make Collins stop speaking. That vermin would take any deal that would make him go scot-free," Nash explained.
"Which is why this is so interesting, don't you think?" I interjected. "But what threat does this guy pose? Is Collins afraid that he will be killed if he lets his identity out? Or is it sothing financial?"
I tapped my fingers against the table.
"Should we ask permission to go through his bank statent to see if soone paid him to keep his mouth shut?" Nash questioned. But then he paused. "But Collins is not soone who values money more than his life. His reputation and his gas are more important than the money he gets. That's why he takes on pro-bono cases, rember?"
"No use asking for the bank details. He should have a business account, a personal account, and loads more. How many transactions do we need to go through? And if we think about how clever this guy is, he wouldn't have used his own account or identity in the first place."
"Is this going to be another unsolved case, then?" Nash lanted.
"No, it is not. I will not stop until I find this dude," I gritted out through my teeth. "He's after . He wants so sort of a relationship with a romantic one at that. And I am not going to let him have that sort of power over . I am not going to let soone threaten and the people I love."
I slapped my hand against the desk and stood up.
"Aren't you on good terms with the prosecutor?" I enquired.
"I am, why?" Nash was bewildered.
"I want to talk to Collins. Get the prosecutor to make him et . I'll get sothing out of him and see who this guy is."
Nash looked at with conflict.
"Isn't your visit to Alicia Williams also coming up?" he asked, hesitating.
"It is," I admitted. "I need to find so many answers."
"And what will you do at the end of it?" he asked.
"I will slay my demons," I smiled.
- - - - -
Collins refused to cooperate or et Nash or for questioning. Instead, the prosecution filed to look through his security footage.
I sighed with relief when I entered the governnt office and found my way.
"Here you go," said the prosecutor from the trial.
"You got assigned this case, too?" I asked.
"Yeah, because I already knew about the McCain case, they thought I would be their best bet to get a conviction." He shrugged.
"Have you looked through the tape? Did you find anyone suspicious?" I asked curiously.
He shook his head. "There was nothing of note. The people he t were all clients and nobody acted suspiciously. How about you look through the footage? You should have a better idea of this matter, right?"
I nodded. "This person is suspected of association with multiple cases, so we want to find him. I can't tell you more, of course." I gave him a polite smile.
"I know all about secrecy within law enforcent. Lord knows a lot gets missed out because of it. Cleaning up mistakes is a recurring the, you see" he trailed off.
Didn't I know about it
"Thank you. I'll let you know if I find the person I am looking for in these videos." I was about to leave when I paused. "Wait, does it have footage of his apartnt, too?" I asked.
"His apartnt does have a system, but the mory was corrupted. We couldn't get any information from it. We do have forensics trying to restore footage, though. Why?" he asked.
"You never know. Maybe the person who tipped us off was a personal connection," I said.
"I'll give you a call if I find sothing of substance, okay?"
I bid goodbye and ca back to the station.
By the ti I was done with the footage, it was close to midnight. I had wheeled in a blackboard and got so chalk. The relationship chart had already been made and I was staring at it like a fool.
It just didn't fit in.
I heard the door creak behind and turned to see Sebastian peering through.
"Still working?" he asked.
"Co in. Help solve this, will you?" I pleaded. "I just can't make a full profile. It's all jumbled in my head and I don't think it is because of my emotional connection to this man."
He sighed and ca in. He looked over the writing on the board and shook his head. "You have all the information you need on the board, don't you? You just can't put it together in a story," he claid.
"Can you see it? Can you tell ?" I asked.
He sat down beside on the floor. He pulled my hand into his and then caressed it with his thumb.
"Male. Age between twenty-five to thirty-five years. Doesn't hold a permanent nine-to-five job but has enough money to live a comfortable life. His family life should be complicated with lingering feelings for an older male family mber with whom he had a close connection but sothing happened and they had a falling out. That is why he cherishes the football rchandise and uses it as a shield to hide his identity. He is confident in himself and thinks of himself as the muse who helps people realize their dreams of committing cris, but he also has an acute knowledge of criminal procedure. It is possible that soone from his family was involved in multiple cris or they work in the justice system. That is how this person gets the confidence to evade the police so well. But his family is also in a position of power."
I looked at him with utter fascination. "You're really sothing else, aren't you?" I said in wonder.
"Okay, you add in what you think," he proposed, not letting out.
"If it's a position of power and sothing to do with cri: it could be organized cri syndicates that run in their family or maybe soone is a politician? High governnt official," I analyzed. "Ah, did I ntion what Nash deduced?"
Sebastian blinked. "What?"
"This man he has a similar style to the accomplice in the Elegant Butcher case. What if what if they are the sa person and that is why he thinks we have an underlying connection?"
Sebastian stiffened. "Why didn't I think of that?" he whispered. "It does fit," he said after a while. "But that just adds more question that it solves."
"It does. But now I know we are not looking for two people but one person," I stated.
"But don't be so quick to cancel out the possibility that it is two different people," he advised calmly. "I would be happier if it were one person. Though, also terrified because then he has been watching you for far longer than we anticipated and everything you feared was not just a fignt of your imagination and your gut screaming at you to sense the danger around you."
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