Page 41 of The Advocate’s Ultimatum

Statement by the witness: I saw a girl matching Hannah’s description get into a vehicle. It was an older model and a dark color. I didn’t see the driver clearly. I thought it might be a relative.

JP frowned. It wasn’t nothing.

He flipped the page. The follow-up was minimal. It read: Lead not pursued. Believed witness mistaken. Timeline inconsistent with known movements of suspect.

It didn’t fit Hayes, so the police had tossed it. JP’s eyes narrowed, focusing on a handwritten note in the margin that read: Vehicle doesn’t fit. Keep primary focus.

Had Sabre’s investigator written it? JP sat back, wondering: Where was he going with this? JP wasn’t second-guessing him. He knew that when you’re in the thick of an investigation you always know more than what is on paper. He just wanted to figure out where to look next.

He read through Hayes’ statements again. The boyfriend had claimed to be at home waiting for Hannah but was caught in that lie. He then said he stopped at a bar and stayed longer than he should’ve. He didn’t want to admit the bar-stop to his girlfriend so said that was why he lied. The cops found no witnesses who could confirm Hayes had been at the bar.

JP spread the pages out.

“Hannah leaves the classroom,” he said, thinking out loud now. “Heads toward the pickup area.” He tapped the statements from the other kids. “They say she never showed.” He tapped Hayes’ timeline. “The boyfriend says he was at home waiting, then he says he was at a bar. But if Hayes was actually at the bar, he couldn’t have picked up Hannah in an older model dark car, which is what he drove.”

JP shook his head. There were still too many unanswered questions. Did Hannah get in that car? Did she miss the other kids because she was late? Or did she not make it to their meeting spot? Was Hayes at a bar? When did Hannah actually disappear, between dismissal and the meeting spot? Or, did she start home and was picked up?

Or another possibility was that she made it home and Hayes was there and that’s when she disappeared.

Chapter 14

Wednesday morning

Judge Hammouri agreed to hear the ex parte matter in chambers before the morning calendar.

Present were Judge Hammouri, Ethan Vale, Deputy District Attorney Smithers, and Sabre. The bailiff quietly closed the door behind them.

Judge Hammouri looked around the room. "Ms. Brown, Mr. Vale tells me you requested this hearing."

"Yes, Your Honor." Sabre handed copies of the three text messages to everyone present.

The judge read them silently. She looked up. "When did these all come to you?"

"Yesterday."

"The same sender?"

"As far as we can tell, yes." Sabre explained what Greg Nelson had learned. "All three messages came from the same prepaid cellular phone. Detective Nelson believes it's a burner. The phone was purchased with cash and wasn't registered to anyone."

Judge Hammouri looked toward Ethan. "Have you seen these?"

"I received copies this morning."

The judge folded the pages together. "Tell me why you're bringing this to the Court."

Sabre answered without hesitation. "Because the first message threatens Bay Mercer. I don't know whether the threat is credible, but I believe the Court should know someone is attempting to influence these proceedings."

Judge Hammouri nodded thoughtfully. "The third message references Hannah. Do you know who that is?"

“I believe she’s a missing child from a case I had over eight years ago. Detective Nelson has reopened that investigation to determine whether there's any connection to the Maddox homicide."

"Are these texts the reason you declined the appointment?"

"No, Your Honor, but it certainly adds to the reason I’m declining."

"You believe accepting the case would create a conflict?"

"Yes, and I believe someone is attempting to manipulate the appointment of counsel."