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Because I’d trapped her in a corner, I smirked. “This patient went on to be remanded into a mental health facility for speaking about a massive pile-up that occurred on their main exit out of the town. She apparently went crazy at the local police station and attacked one of the cops when he told her she was losing her mind.”
“What?!”
I nodded.
“The bastard was gaslighting her!”
“Seems like it. The insurance paid outthattime. On her medical records, she states that three vehicles were involved. It’s a road that people commute through to get to Cincinnati so it’s busy with out-of-towners.”
“How big is New Cloverfield?”
“Not big. But it’s mostly a township. Clusters of houses around a lake.”
“Huh. What happened to her? Can we find her to question her?”
I winced. “That’s the sad part. She killed herself. Unrelated to that, I think. But who knows? Her husband died and they had a ton of medical debt. That fracture she got in the crash, there were complications. She needed surgery and you know how that can run up the costs.”
“All of a sudden, you owe a hundred grand for being involved in a crash that the cops say didn’t happen. I think I’d have lost my shit too.”
“That’s what makes New Cloverfield perfect for a cover-up like this. They’re served by a small unit of cops who are overstretched. Anyone who did make a fuss, it’d be easy to kill them or to pay them off.”
“More likely they’d die.” She rubbed her temple. “This is a massive stretch, Conor.”
“You think I don’t know that? If I was certain about any of this, I’d have crowed from the rooftops. Instead, I’ve got a potentially unstable woman claiming she was involved in a road traffic accident that no one else says happened.” My arms flopped in the air. “It’s definitely a stretch,butisn’t that what also makes it perfect?”
Star tapped her fingers against the table. “Maybe.”
“Did Dead To Me call?”
“She did. She’s on her way.”
“What do you want her to do?”
“Be involved. She keeps me honest.”
I leaned back against the table. “Stops you from lying?”
She hummed. “To myself. Plus, she’s a great multitasker. Operation: Snake would definitely send her out on a task like this by herself. She makes MacGyver look un-MacGyvery.”
“There’s an adjective for you.”
“Perfect for D, though.” Sinking back into her pillow fort, she folded her arms across her chest. “We have an unknown accident taking place in a tiny township with no witnesses. How does that get us anywhere?”
“It doesn’t. But I thought you could ask Kat about it.”
“I’m telling you it was a brain fart,” she groaned.
“You should ask,” I prodded.
“Ask her about a random town she probably didn’t drive through? Bring up a subject she’s finally stopped having nightmares about on a whim?”
“It isn’t a whim. You think I’d want to stir up old nightmares when I know how fucking horrendous they can be myself?” I pointed a finger at her. “You wouldn’t have had the thought if your instincts hadn’t kicked in.”
“Say it is her and she’s Kuznetsov’s granddaughter. Don’t you think that’s statistically unlikely?”
“Anomalies happen for a reason.”
“I just happened to move into the MC where her long-lost sister lived. That’s one anomaly already. And we were lucky. Lucky because Kat needs Alessa, so I won’t argue that miracles don’t happen, but does lightning really strike twice?”
