ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟛𝟟 #3
Fortunately for him, I was already on it.I flipped frantically through another folder.
Halfway down page twenty-six, my eyes widened. "There."
"What?" Judge Johnson leaned closer.
"Unknown male, wearing a Vikings sweatshirt No interview was conducted." I pointed.
Justin looked over. "That's him."
"Interesting." Judge Johnson slowly leaned back.
Interesting was an understatement. If someone had spoken to Justin while his phone was dead, his timeline suddenly looked very different.
Maybe I could prove myself after all.
I immediately began another page of notes.
The room settled into an uncomfortable silence, but eventually Judge Johnson broke it. "Keep going."
Justin nodded once. "There was another thing."
I looked up immediately.
"The detective."
"What about him?"
Justin hesitated. "He asked me about my jacket."
My phone vibrated. I ignored it.
I wrote the words down. Jacket.
"What about your jacket?" I asked quietly.
"He said there were fire burns, but I know there wasn't any. He told me there was."
"What you're saying is he lied?"
Justin shrugged. "I don't know. He kept saying they already had the evidence. They were probably trying to scare me or some bullshit."
Another vibration came from my phone. My eyes drifted toward the screen.
The time read 4:27 PM.
Shit!
Shit, shit shit.
My heart stopped.
How was it already..no. I looked again. The time still read 4:27.
The community meeting.
Cameron!
Oh my goodness. My breathing caught.
I should've left already. I should've been in my car. Who knows how the traffic will be, especially at this time? The prison was way too far from my house.
I should've-
"Dixie." Judge Johnson's voice pulled me back.
"Hm?"
"You've stopped writing."
"I..." I swallowed hard, shaking my head. "Sorry."
I forced myself to write. Justin continued talking.
"They probably wanted me to admit I caused the fire- which I didn't..."
My phone lit up again. I didn't even have to turn it over. I already knew who it probably was.
Cam. Or maybe Ralph.
Or maybe no one. I was probably just imagining it.
Don't look, Dixie. Just focus.
You came here for this. This is what matters right now.
Justin was saying something. What was he saying?
"the alley..."
Alley? When had we ever spoken about alleyways?
I jerked my attention back toward him. "Sorry."
My voice sounded strained. "Can you repeat that?"
"Dixie." Judge Johnson looked at me carefully.
"I'm listening, I promise." I tell him.
"Are you sure? You've gotten distracted twice now."
I forced a smile. "Yup, I'm fine."
He studied me for another second before turning back toward Justin. "Go ahead."
Justin continued. "There was someone in the alley. Kind of looked like someone I knew."
I wrote as quickly as I could, but the words blurred together. Everything mattered- every sentence mattered. Every answer felt like another piece of the puzzle we'd spent so long searching for.
So why couldn't I stop staring at the little black rectangle sitting beside my notebook?
It felt louder than the entire room.
I wanted to text Cameron. Just one message would do. Something along the lines of:
Running late.
Still at work.
Anything, really.
My thumb even brushed against my phone once.
"Because I saw my landlord leave before the police arrived."
I looked up so fast my chair scraped the floor. "What?"
"The truck." Judge Johnson leaned forward, filling me in.
Justin nodded. "It wasn't there afterward."
Another massive lead.
But also another reason I couldn't leave.
My pulse hammered against my ribs. This wasn't going according to plan. Not at all.
I couldn't even hear my own pen anymore. My ears were ringing. Badly.
Justin was still talking, and Judge Johnson was still asking questions.
I imagined Cameron scanning the crowd, looking toward the entrance every few seconds.
Thinking, She'll be here.
If another hour or so went by, would he blame it on the traffic? I swallowed hard.
My chest tightened until it almost hurt to breathe.
Text him!
Just text him, tell him you're running late. Tell him something at least.
My thumb hovered over my phone.
"As I told Mrs. West, my landlord looked high."
I looked up instantly. "What?"
Justin blinked. "Dude, are you okay?"
I hadn't realized he'd stopped talking.
"I'm fine."
"You don't look okay."
"I am."
He studied me for a long second. "You keep looking at your phone."
"Dixie.." Judge Johnson quietly looked between us.
"I swear I'm listening."
"No, you're not." His voice stayed gentle.
He was right. I wasn't here anymore.
I was picturing Cameron standing beside a microphone, looking into a crowd, waiting for the one person who promised she'd be there.
My stomach twisted so hard I thought I might actually be sick.
Nothing about today was going to plan. I was supposed to handle these two things at once.
I bit my lip, glancing back down at my phone.
Cameron would understand. He's a big, loving guy.
He would understand if I didn't make it to the community meeting about Molly.
He would get it.
Right?