Chapter 2 - The Missing Evidence
The sterile white walls of the emergency room offered no comfort. Leo was stable, asleep on an IV drip, color slowly returning to his cheeks. Marcus sat by the bed, his knuckles white as he gripped his phone.
He had already ordered a squad to Brenda's house, but they found it empty. She had fled, taking her tablet and the trail camera with her.
Leo shifted, his eyes fluttering open. "Dad?"
"I'm right here, buddy. You're safe." Marcus leaned in, brushing the sweaty hair from Leo's forehead.
"The tablet," Leo croaked, his voice raspy. "Mrs. Carmichael took my tablet."
"I know, pal. It's just a game machine. We'll get you a new one."
Leo shook his head weakly, panic flaring in his eyes. "No, Dad. The picture. I was riding my bike by the old wash... behind the clubhouse. I saw cars. Police cars, but not with the lights on. I took a picture because I thought they were looking for coyotes."
Marcus froze. The wash behind the clubhouse was a dead zone, slated for development but abandoned for years. "Who was there, Leo?"
"The man who came to our house for dinner once. Your boss."
Ice flooded Marcus’s veins. Captain Elias Miller. "What was he doing?"
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"He was handing a big duffel bag to a man with tattoos on his neck. Then Mrs. Carmichael saw me in the bushes. She grabbed me. She said I was trespassing."
Marcus gripped the bedrail. Brenda hadn't tied Leo up for walking on a flowerbed. She tied him up to keep him quiet while they scrubbed the tablet, and they waited for Marcus to arrive so they could catch him assaulting a civilian on camera to destroy his career.
