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“I’d bet on one of the other two first, but we have to nail all of them down. Never give a defense lawyer somebody else they can blame.”
“And any of them could have given the key to any guy at the dance. We could be running down names for weeks.”
“Don’t say that. I want to clear this one bad.”
“Sorry. You’re like my dad when he was on a case. Driven. Nothing else mattered.”
“You might not want to hear this, but that is a great compliment. Thank you.”
“No, I meant it as a compliment. My dad wasn’t always the easiest guy to live with but when he was engaged in something, he was fuckingengaged. I hope I can be like that.”
“You already are, Maddie. And I am super-happy you joined the unit.”
Maddie’s phone dinged and she read a text. “Colleen’s on it,” she said. “I wonder if Mallory knew what had happened to her.”
“I think she must have,” Ballard said. “If she didn’t, she would’ve tagged Rodney as the father. But did you see his face when we said she got pregnant? That was news to him. I don’t see why she would have kept that to herself if she thought he was the father.”
“So fucking sad. It makes me angry.”
“Yeah.”
They lapsed into silence. They were about to cross back into California when Ballard’s phone buzzed. It was Gandle.
“Captain.”
“Ballard, a couple of things. First, guess what just came across my desk?”
“No idea, Captain.”
“Well, I’ll tell you. It’s the motor-pool record for the car you requisitioned last night. So I gotta ask: Did you go to Vegas before I gave you permission to go to Vegas?”
“Uh, well, I knew you’d approve the request because you want us to solve this case. So I was counting on that, yes, but I did not drive to Vegas last night, if that’s what you’re asking. I got to Vegas today. After you gave me permission.”
Ballard looked over at Maddie, who was watching her, and winked. Before Gandle could respond, she continued, “We’re heading back now. We got some solid leads that we’re already following up on.”
“What about the guy you went to interview? Is he a suspect?”
“We could count him as a suspect but he volunteered to let us swab him, so we’re kind of thinking he’s not our guy.”
“Then the trip was a bust.”
“No, not at all, Captain. He gave us some names, leads that I think could be fruitful.”
“I hope so, Ballard.”
“I’ve already got the team running them down.”
“Let me know what comes up.”
“Yes, sir. Did you say you had something else?”
“Yeah, I just got a reject from the DA’s office on Thawyer.”
“What?”
Ballard glanced at Maddie with distress in her eyes.
“It was rejected. Insufficient evidence for conviction.”
