She called her daughter. Rachel. Mom. Everything okay?
I'm fine. I need you to tell me how to make another copy of a video. Rachel was silent for a second. What video?
The one I mentioned from the road. You still have it? Yes. Did you send it to anybody?
No. Don't delete anything. I wasn't planning to. Rachel walked her through saving another copy to the cloud account connected to her phone. Evelyn followed each step carefully.
"Does that mean it's somewhere besides this phone now?" she asked. "Yes." "Good."
"Mom, what exactly did you record?" A deputy had already broken the windows of a woman's Bentley. She was standing away from the car. Another deputy looked uncomfortable.
Then they opened the trunk. Rachel paused. Did you give the police the video? Captain Dugan wanted my whole phone.
And you said no, right? I told him I'd bring a copy tomorrow. Please don't go alone. Evelyn looked at the legal pad.
I won't. After the call ended, she reviewed her notes one more time. She added a final sentence stating that she had spoken with Captain Raymond Dugan that evening and that he had requested possession of the original phone. She wrote the approximate time beside it.
Then she closed the pad. Back at the sheriff's office, Noah went to the breakroom and found the half sandwich another deputy had mentioned earlier. He was not hungry, but he ate several bites while standing near the counter. The television on the wall showed the late local news with the sound turned low.
A weather map covered most of the screen. Deputy Lisa Warren entered and poured herself coffee. You still here? Apparently, she looked toward the hallway.
Dugan's in a mood. So is Mercer. When isn't he? Noah almost told her what he had seen.
He stopped himself. He did not know who Dugan trusted or how quickly anything he said might return to Mercer. Instead, he asked, "You ever see evidence get reclassified the same night it comes in?" Lisa looked at him.
"Depends on what? Why are you asking?" "No reason."
She studied him for a moment, then picked up her coffee. "If you think there's a problem, don't talk about it in the break room." Noah looked at her. Understood?
She left. The warning was enough. Noah returned to the evidence workstation, checked that his entries were still present, then signed out completely. The clock above the booking desk showed 11:45.
A dispatcher near the front entrance looked through the glass doors. County car just pulled in. Noah turned. A dark sedan had stopped in front of the building.
Two people stepped out. A man carried a leather document folder. The woman beside him held a second file against her chest. Neither wore a uniform.
Mercer came out of the hallway. Who's that? The dispatcher checked the front monitor. County attorney's office, I think.