Statement #2:
Wtn: Kevin Sparks
Standing thirty feet from crash when it happened. Unharmed. Saw a white Chevy cargo van drive the Cavalier sedan into the pole. No good look at the driver who took off right afterward.
Wtn states “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, but I know what I saw.”
Statement #3:
Wtn: Selma Hatfield.
Standing across the street, direct line of sight.
Said a white van rammed into the Cavalier sedan and plowed it into the pole. No visual on driver’s face, but it was man, large, with brown hair.
Saw a rental sticker on the bumper of the van. Travel Safe.
Wtn states: “I’ll never forget what I saw.”
Eric let out a deep sigh. The first three eyewitnesses mentioned the van, and he was confident the rest in this notebook would have as well. It was disheartening to see everything was here from the beginning to launch a successful investigation—right down to the rental sticker. Instead, justice was perverted. Even if Dean Finley used his position as sergeant to pressure Todd’s compliance, he was accountable for his actions. They were inexcusable.
He set the notebook on the passenger seat and dug back into the envelope. He came out with the original crash report, one from the Major Crash Investigation Unit and several photographs. The report was filled out by Simms and must have been intercepted so it never got entered into the system.
After putting them on the seat, he shuffled through the photos. Taken of the accident scene, each one confirmed the photographer had an eye for detail. The aftermath was captured from various angles, and one thing stood out in all of them. This wasn’t a single-vehicle crash. A set of tracks ran alongside Susan Crawford’s car. They had a wide base, suggesting a larger vehicle. The entire driver’s side of the Cavalier was smashed in.
Eric’s stomach curdled. His mind replayed one haunting refrain. How could Todd have been involved in all of this? A cop Eric had respected and looked up to as a mentor, no less. Was Eric’s judgment of people that far off? If it was, he didn’t deserve to wear the badge himself.
He put the investigation photos on the seat and dug into the envelope again for the last item. A small silver recorder. He flipped it over, hit the power switch, and nothing happened. The thing predated electronic charging, so the batteries must be dead. He flipped the device and popped open the snap cover and saw he needed two triple As.
Just where to get them…
The shipping company was in a small plaza, and his gaze landed on a variety store. With any luck, they might have some dusty ones kicking around. He turned the car off, locked it, and jogged across the lot, his mind whirling about what he might hear when he hit play.
FORTY-FIVE
12:15 PM
Eric stood outside of Sergeant Medina’s doorway collecting his thoughts. There were the optics to consider, such as what other cops might whisper behind his back. How they’d accuse him of betraying the brotherhood, but if anything, he was fighting to protect its honor. He took a steadying breath.
“Anyone tell you it’s not polite to linger in doorways?” Medina waved Eric inside.
Eric entered and shut the door behind him.
Medina leaned into his chair, back straight, shoulders squared. “What have we got?”
Eric set the evidence bag that held the manila envelope on Medina’s desk and dropped into the visitor chair across from him. “That’s from Levine’s safe deposit box. Everything is in there. Untampered eyewitness statements, the original crash report from Levine and the Major Crash Investigation Unit, and photos from the accident scene. There was also this…” He held up the silver recorder. “I haven’t listened to what’s on it yet because I thought you might like to be present when I did.”
Medina rolled his hand for Eric to hit play.
“What’s your problem anyway? Just let it go.”
“How am I supposed to do that? This isn’t what I signed up for. I keep seeing her face.”
Eric broke into a sweat at the sound of Todd responding to Dean. No matter how many times he was hit in the face with the fact his old mentor took a bribe to cover up a murder, it never got easier.
“Go see a shrink, talk about your feelings if that’s what you need to do, but I can’t be meeting up with you talking about this. Lucy’s getting in my face about all the OT I’ve been putting in already.”
“Lucy?” Medina asked, and Eric paused the playback.
