Chapter Twenty-Eight
Marietta Police Department
Jake hadn’t been able to sleep, so he’d gotten up early and headed into the station. The only people in at this hour were the skeletal nightshift, but that suited Jake. Alone in his office, he got to work.
Something wasn’t right. He still wanted to believe Nate Bennet was the murderer. The evidence was there. There was no denying the evidence existed and was enough for a judge to sign the arrest warrant.
So, Nate had done it. Jake knew he’d done it.
But there was a tower of things not adding up.
Maybe Nate had gotten help—Cal or a friend or something. Maybe Jake was just on the lookout for an accomplice. Everything Olivia had told him wasn’t undermining his case against Nate, it was just expanding it.
It was that excuse that allowed him to go back over his notes, the reports, the phone. Any hint of anyone that could fit the initials O.M. Because he wasn’t letting anything happen during the actual trial that might allow Nate Bennet to worm his way out of paying.
And it didn’t have anything to do with not being able to admit he was wrong.
“Hey, Hayes.”
Jake looked up from where he’d been focused on the report of the first officer on the scene after the 911 call that led them to Jules Hyatt’s body.
It was a little disorienting that the man in question was the one standing in his doorway calling his name. “Mathews.” Jake didn’t think Mathews was on night shift this month, but he supposed he could have switched with someone for the day. “What can I help you with?”
“Heard a rumor that a report someone requested went missing.”
Jake held himself very still, didn’t let one muscle in his face change or twitch. “Missing?”
“Yeah. The report from when that Jules Hyatt came in to report she was in danger or whatever?”
“Weird,” Jake intoned.
“Yeah. Weird. Anyway, last night I told Gina it was your report, and you might have some notes on it if they can’t recover it.”
Told Gina…
Jake didn’t have anything to hide. He reminded himself of that while his heartbeat started to echo in his ears. “Maybe,” he managed to say without sounding strangled.
Mathews slapped his palm against the doorframe. “Anyway, I’m off on vacation for a few weeks. See you around.”
“Sure. Right.” Weird to be taking off so early, but that was a problem for Mathews’s superiors, not him.
Jake inhaled and slowly let it out. So, Gina knew where that report was missing from, and she’d no doubt report it to IT, who’d no doubt be able to discern he’d deleted it himself.
No big deal. He could claim … accident or something. No big deal. He hadn’t done anything wrong, per se.
The first wave of panic settled by sheer force of will, because maybe he’d deleted that report, but only to keep this whole thing from becoming a circus thanks to Cal and Sam. The report had nothing to do with the murder.
Maybe he’d have to suffer a slap on the wrist, but it didn’t change anything. It was totally irrelevant to the murder.
Murder.
Jake frowned. How had Officer Mathews known Jules Hyatt had reported anything to him before the murder?
Maybe Brian had poked into the case some on his own, but Jake was the detective.
He was the one with the whole picture. Really, the only thing Mathews should know or have been involved in was being the responding officer to the 911 call from the motel.
As far as Jake knew, Mathews hadn’t been interested in the end result, like some of the other officers in the department might.
He was more of a do his job, clock out, and stay off duty type of guy.
He wouldn’t have looked back at any previous reports about it.
That was Jake’s job. He didn’t see Officer Mathews as the kind of guy angling for a detective position either.
That asshole was one lazy piece of shit.
Jake shook it away. Maybe he was just sleep-deprived and delusional.
He should take the day off. Rest. Really turn off the cop brain for a while and let this lie.
Nate Bennet was going to pay for what he’d done, and anything else was paranoia.
Letting Cal Bennet fuck with him, when Jake knew himself. Certainly better than that prick.
He looked down at his desk. Jules’s phone, the printout of her online calendar that Olivia had given him last night. But all he could really stare at was that square that represented the date of the murder.
Date with O.M. @ The Graff.
O.M. Someone who wasn’t in her phone, at least not under those initials. No messages to or from those initials, nor a number that wasn’t accounted for in her contacts. No phone calls to this supposed guy.
Like … any mention of him had been erased. Sort of like Jake had erased his report.
Which brought him back to Mathews. And the report he’d been reading about the officer’s initial observations when he’d arrived at the TikTok Motel.
Jake focused back in, but it wasn’t the details that stood out to him. He looked at one line, trying to talk himself out of what he saw.
Submitted By: Officer Mathews
O.M.
For a moment, he didn’t move. He didn’t act. For a moment, he thought about pretending he’d never put this together. Letting Bennet rot.
Which was against everything he had ever told himself he believed in. Which made Cal fucking Bennet right, quite unfortunately.
Without being fully conscious of it, Jake had wanted to punish the Bennets for being or having the things he wanted and couldn’t seem to find.
It wasn’t just lowering. It was shameful. And fucked up. And there was really no way to put it to rights. Even if there was, Jake wasn’t sure he’d do it.
But there was one thing he had to do.
*
Jill figured she should probably let Cal know what she was doing. Or someone. But it was so early, and everyone was busy, and truth be told, she wasn’t quite sure what she was doing. Just that she was tired of not actually helping. Of delivering bad news.
This was something she could do. Press about that report that was missing. Maybe the people at the police station would be annoyed with her, but maybe this was a case of the squeaky wheel getting the grease.
And yes, if she got something of note, she’d be able to take it to Cal, and have a reason to see him and … was that why she was here? Doing this?
She hated to think that it might be true. That somehow, subconsciously, she was just finding ways to be in the same orbit as Cal so they might discuss that kiss.
Or do it again.
She considered that as she walked up to the front desk of the police station, but as she looked at the woman whose expression immediately went wary at the sight of her, Jill understood she’d be doing this either way.
She wanted to help. Because all the Bennets had gone out of their way to help her. Because Aly was her friend.
Because it was the right thing to do.
She couldn’t help it if she also thought about Cal along the way. That was just natural, but it wasn’t her why.
“Ms. Harrington. How can I help you?”
Not great that the woman recognized her on sight, but Jill smiled as winsomely as she could. “I know the report I requested is missing, but I was wondering if, even without the report, you could tell me the officer who took it.”
The woman looked a little beleaguered. “I guess I could go ask if we’ve got that information available.” She heaved out a sigh as she got to her feet. “I can’t promise you any answers.”
“That’s okay. Anything you can find would be so helpful.”
On a grunt of frustration, the woman waved Jill to follow her. “I’ll take you to Gina. She’s our clerk, and she should be able to update you.”
Jill didn’t really think she’d get an update as much as the desk attendant was foisting her off on this Gina woman, so Jill would bother her instead. But Jill would take it. She’d take any potential step.
She followed down a hallway she’d been down before to go to Jake’s office.
Which they passed. The door was ajar, and Jill couldn’t resist glancing inside. He was at his desk, frowning at his computer screen. She got the impression he was about to look up, so she hurried her steps to avoid any eye contact.
Farther down the hall, the desk attendant brought her into a small room with a desk. A middle-aged woman with glasses perched on the end of her nose looked up from behind it.
“Gina, this is the woman who was requesting the report that had been deleted.”
“Oh, right. I’ve got something about that…” She peered at her computer while the desk attendant left the room. “Right. An officer helped us with some information yesterday that allowed our IT team to track it down. They were able to recover it. I’ve got it right here.”
Jill couldn’t believe it. No arguments. No fuss. Just … the woman had it. Right there. “Really?”
Gina nodded. “I would have given you a call later, or emailed it to you, but this is all pretty new, and I just got to work about fifteen minutes ago.” She didn’t say this meanly at all, just kind of matter-of-factly as she clicked some buttons on her keyboard.
“Give me two minutes. I’ll print it out for you.” The woman stood, all business-like efficiency. “I’ve got to redact a few things, but like I said. Two minutes.” She held up two fingers, then bustled out of the room.
Jill just stood there feeling … shell-shocked.
It was forward movement. It was something. And it hadn’t even required a fight.
She shook her head, trying to focus. She fished her phone out of her purse and typed out a text to Cal.
“I’m about to get the report. I’ll be over soon if you’re at your apartment.”
It was almost five minutes before Gina returned rather than two, but she held out a piece of paper. “Here you go. You already paid the fee, right?”
Jill nodded dumbly, her eyes already scanning the report. Some things had been blacked out with marker, but not everything. Not the important thing.
Namely, that the officer who’d written the report was Jake Hayes. Which meant he’d met Jules Hyatt. Talked to her. And, according to the report, sent her on her way because the threats against her weren’t credible.
“Thank you,” Jill managed to intone.
“Of course. Do you need help finding your way out?”
Jill shook her head. “No, I’ve got it.”