Chapter 6 - The Man In The Rain
Paul Rourke stood in the rain with his coat open and his hands visible, which somehow made him more frightening than if he had been holding a weapon.
He looked older than he had during Ethan's trial, but the years had not softened the cold patience in his face.
Ryan backed toward the depot wall.
Claire stayed behind the concrete pillar with Nora's hand locked around her wrist.
"You have something that belongs to me."
Rourke's voice carried easily across the empty lot.
Ryan shook his head.
"It never belonged to you."
"You stole county evidence."
"You buried county evidence."
Rourke smiled without warmth.
"That is a serious accusation from a man who admitted helping criminals the night his brother was arrested."
Ryan's face tightened.
Claire could hear the trap in Rourke's words.
He was not there to argue about the past.
He was there to remind Ryan that every truth could be turned into another charge.
Nora leaned close to Claire's ear.
"Do not move unless I move."
Claire whispered back.
"He knows we are here."
"Probably."
Rourke took two steps closer to Ryan.
"Give me the drive, and this ends tonight."
Ryan laughed bitterly.
"You said that four years ago."
"Four years ago, you were smart enough to listen."
"Four years ago, I was scared."
"You should still be scared."
Claire felt the words reach into every private fear she had tried to control since the first blocked phone call.
Ryan looked toward the pillar where she was hiding.
That single glance was enough.
Rourke turned his head.
"Claire."
Nora muttered a curse under her breath.
Claire stepped out before fear could make the decision for her.
"You put my husband in prison."
Rourke's expression did not change.
"Your husband was convicted by a jury."
"After you hid a video."
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Then why did you empty Locker 214 this morning?"
For the first time, something flickered in his eyes.
It disappeared quickly.
"You should be careful repeating things you cannot prove."
Nora stepped beside Claire.
"We can prove your credential was used to enter the archive."
Rourke looked at her.
"Attorney Feldman."
"Detective Rourke."
"Retired detective."
"Then you should have no active access to evidence storage."
Rourke gave her a patient look.
"Someone cloned an old credential."
"Convenient."
"Convenience is not a crime."
Ryan moved closer to Claire.
"He knows about Samuel."
Rourke's gaze sharpened.
"You should not say names you do not understand."
Claire took one step forward.
"Where is Samuel Ortiz?"
"Ask your brother-in-law."
"He says Samuel is safe."
Rourke almost smiled.
"Then I suppose you have nothing to worry about."
Nora slipped one hand into her pocket.
Rourke noticed.
"Recording me?"
"Public parking lot."
"Good."
Rourke raised his voice slightly.
"Then let the record show that I came here after receiving information that stolen county evidence was being exchanged."
Nora's face went hard.
"Who gave you that information?"
"Anonymous caller."
Claire laughed once.
"You really like anonymous callers."
Rourke's eyes moved to her.
"Your daughter is five now, isn't she?"
Every muscle in Claire's body tightened.
Ryan stepped between them.
"Do not talk about Lily."
Rourke did not look away from Claire.
"Children need stability."
"Do not say her name."
"A mother chasing conspiracy theories can create a very unstable home."
Nora moved half a step forward.
"That sounded like a threat."
"It sounded like concern."
"No jury would hear it that way."
Rourke finally looked at her.
"There is no jury here."
A second set of headlights appeared at the end of the road.
Rourke glanced over his shoulder.
A dark sedan turned into the lot.
Detective Laura Kim stepped out before the engine stopped.
Evans was not with her.
"Paul."
Rourke's face changed in a way Claire had not yet seen.
He looked annoyed.
"Laura."
Kim approached with one hand near her belt.
"What are you doing here?"
"Following up on stolen evidence."
"You are retired."
"Concerned citizen."
Kim looked at Claire and Nora.
"Is everyone all right?"
Nora nodded.
"For the moment."
Kim turned back to Rourke.
"Leave."
He smiled.
"You do not have the authority to order me out of a public lot."
"Then I am asking you to save us both paperwork."
Rourke studied her for several seconds.
"You always were ambitious."
Kim did not blink.
"And you always confused intimidation with authority."
Something in Rourke's face hardened.
He looked at Ryan one last time.
"You know what happens when frightened men start talking."
Ryan's voice shook, but he answered.
"Maybe this time I do."
Rourke returned to his car and drove away.
No one spoke until his taillights disappeared.
Then Kim turned on Nora.
"Why did you come here without calling me?"
Nora folded her arms.
"Because your partner spent most of our first conversation trying to shut you up."
Kim's jaw tightened.
"Evans is not my partner anymore."
Claire stared at her.
"Since when?"
"Since forty-five minutes ago."
"Why?"
Kim looked toward the road.
"Internal affairs discovered he accessed the complaint Samuel Ortiz filed three days ago."
Nora went still.
"Did he have a reason?"
"Not one he can explain."
Claire felt the situation widening faster than she could understand it.
"Is Evans connected to Rourke?"
"I do not know."
"But you think he might be."
Kim exhaled.
"I think I have worked too many corruption cases to ignore coincidences."
Ryan suddenly looked sick.
"Evans."
Kim turned toward him.
"You know him?"
Ryan nodded slowly.
"He was at Rourke's house the night before Ethan was arrested."
Kim stared at him.
"How do you know that?"
"Because I was there."
The rain seemed to grow louder.
Nora looked at Ryan.
"You left that part out."
"I was trying to survive the first five minutes."
"Start again."
Ryan rubbed both hands over his face.
"After the robbery, Rourke took me to his house instead of the station."
"Why?"
"He said we needed to get our story straight before anyone made a mistake."
Kim's expression darkened.
"Who was there?"
"Rourke, Wade Mercer, and Evans."
"Was Evans a detective then?"
"Patrol officer."
Kim looked away for a moment.
"What did they discuss?"
Ryan swallowed.
"How to make the truck lead to Ethan instead of me."
Claire closed her eyes.
Hearing the mechanics of the betrayal somehow hurt differently than seeing the video.
"Why Ethan?"
Ryan's answer came quietly.
"Because he had no record, no connection to Wade, and a stable job."
Claire stared at him.
"That makes no sense."
"Rourke said it made him believable as a secret organizer because nobody would expect him."
Nora shook her head.
"And Marcus Hale?"
Ryan looked at her.
"Rourke already had Marcus on a drug charge."
"So he traded testimony."
"Yes."
Kim's face went pale with anger.
"Do you understand what you are admitting?"
Ryan looked at her.
"I have understood every night for four years."
"You need counsel."
"I need my brother home."
Nora held up the sealed evidence bag containing the drive.
"Then this gets authenticated tonight."
Kim looked at it.
"Is that the original?"
"Ryan says it is."
"I want a forensic observer present."
Nora hesitated.
"From your unit?"
"From the state inspector general, not county police."
That was the first proposal Nora did not immediately reject.
Ryan spoke quietly.
"Samuel has another copy of the audio."
Claire turned.
"Where is he?"
Ryan pulled a folded motel receipt from his pocket.
"Room 18 at the Pine Rest Motor Lodge outside Bellwood."
Kim looked at the address.
"How long has he been there?"
"Since yesterday."
"Why didn't he call me?"
"Because he thinks someone followed him after he filed the complaint."
Kim reached for her phone.
Ryan grabbed her wrist.
"Do not call anyone."
Kim's eyes dropped to his hand.
Ryan released her immediately.
"Sorry."
"Why no calls?"
"Samuel said if I brought anyone, he would disappear for good."
Claire looked at Nora.
"We go now."
Kim shook her head.
"No."
Claire turned on her.
"He is the witness who can prove Ethan had an alibi."
"And if someone is watching that motel, walking in as a group could put him at risk."
"Then what do you suggest?"
Kim thought for a moment.
"Ryan and I go first."
Nora laughed in disbelief.
"Absolutely not."
"I can protect him."
"Your unit may be compromised."
Kim did not deny it.
Claire looked from one of them to the other.
"I am going."
"Claire-"
"No."
Her voice cut through the argument.
"My husband has spent four years being moved around by people who claimed they knew what was best for him."
She pointed toward the road Rourke had taken.
"I am done letting other people decide what I am allowed to know."
Kim studied her and then nodded once.
"Fine."
They drove in two cars.
Ryan rode with Kim.
Claire rode with Nora and called Dean every fifteen minutes to confirm Lily was safe.
At 8:12 P.M., they reached the Pine Rest Motor Lodge.
The neon sign had two burned-out letters, and the parking lot was nearly empty.
Room 18 was dark.
Ryan knocked twice, paused, then knocked once more.
No answer came.
He knocked again.
"Samuel."
Still nothing.
Kim crouched and looked beneath the curtain.
"There is a light on in the bathroom."
Nora stepped back.
"Call the manager."
Ryan tried the handle.
The door opened.
Everyone froze.
Kim drew her weapon and entered first.
"Samuel Ortiz?"
No answer.
The room was empty.
The bed had not been slept in.
A paper cup of coffee sat on the dresser, still warm.
Claire saw a notebook on the floor near the bathroom door.
Ryan picked it up.
One page had been torn out.
On the next page, indentations from the missing sheet were visible under the lamp.
Nora found a pencil and rubbed the side of the graphite gently across the page.
Words slowly appeared.
11:42 - ROURKE ARRIVES.
11:44 - WADE ENTERS REAR DOOR.
11:46 - RYAN LEAVES ALLEY.
11:47 - SECOND VEHICLE, BLACK SUV.
11:49 - CAMERA CUT RESTORED.
Claire pointed at the fourth line.
"Second vehicle."
Ryan stared at it.
"I never saw an SUV."
Kim looked toward the parking lot.
"Then someone else was there."
A floorboard creaked behind them.
Kim spun around.
Samuel Ortiz stood in the doorway holding both hands above his shoulders.
He was a thin man in his sixties with gray hair and a terrified expression.
"Please do not shoot."
Kim lowered her weapon.
"Mr. Ortiz?"
He nodded.
Claire stepped forward.
"My name is Claire Walker."
Samuel looked at her for a long time.
"Ethan's wife."
"Yes."
Samuel's eyes filled with regret.
"I should have found you four years ago."
Claire's voice cracked.
"Then find him now."
Samuel looked past her toward Ryan.
"You brought them."
Ryan nodded.
"It is time."
Samuel closed the door and locked it.
May you like
"Then you need to hear everything before Rourke realizes I am still alive."
