Keep Her Safe(14)

“No. I have no idea, Noah.”

The more I dwell on it, the more unsettled I feel. “And you’re sure there’s no way that what my mom said could be true.”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” Silas’s voice rings with confidence, and yet a worried frown crosses his forehead. “Did they ask you about anything else?”

“They asked about problems with officers at work. And then they mentioned some guy.”

“Who?”

“Dwayne Mantis?”

There’s a delay before his eyebrows spike, which makes me think he’s not entirely surprised by that name.

“You know him?”

“Of him. He runs the Internal Affairs division. He was here the night your mom died. He was the one talking to the officer who took your statement.”

I frown, vaguely recalling the surly-looking man with the sloped forehead standing on the porch. That was Dwayne Mantis?

“Your mother and Mantis knew each other well.”

“What do you mean ‘well’? They weren’t dating, were they?” As far as I know, she hadn’t dated anyone since the divorce. She’d been too wrapped up in her career, and claimed it was too hard to meet men outside work. I brought up online dating once, and she laughed it off, asking how a person in her position could even think about doing that. Plus, she’d seen horrible results of blind dates in her field of work.

“No.” Silas chuckles. “From what I recall, Jackie wasn’t too fond of him. Said he was bullheaded and manipulative.”

And now the feds are asking me what I know about him. And Abe.

“Could he have been giving my mom problems?” The feds don’t walk around throwing out names for the hell of it. It must be part of an investigation. And Silas is the DA, which means he hears things.

His delay in responding tells me he’s heard something. “Silas?”

He sighs. “There were allegations made around IA investigators falsifying evidence to clear police officers. Mantis was said to be a part of it.”

“What came of that?”

He shrugs. “They were investigated and cleared.”

“Could the FBI be looking into it?”

“Maybe. They must be looking into something to do with Mantis. What, though, I can’t say.”

I hesitate. “But there’s no investigation into my mom, right?”

“Not that I’m aware of, but you don’t hold a position like chief without eyes always being on you, wondering what you do or don’t know about what’s going on in your department.” He pauses. “Did you let them in the house?”

“No.”

“Good. Don’t, not without a warrant. And if they show up with one, I guess we’ll have our answer.” He collects the stack of unopened bills for me.

A troubling thought crosses my mind. “But if they’re investigating Mantis, then why ask about Abe? Are they reopening Abe’s case?” Is that what got Mom so unsettled in the first place?

“I don’t see why they would. There isn’t any evidence to speak of.”

I frown. “What do you mean?”

Silas picks up a pen, only to toss it across the counter. “The department was changing over their computer system in evidence storage and there was an error. Several cases were accidentally marked for disposal instead of retention. Abe’s was one of them.”

Holy shit. “So, there’s nothing left?”

“Nothing useful. The crime scene photos, the 9-1-1 call, the canvassing notes . . . they’re all gone. I mean, we could track down soft copies of reports. And of course there’s the final internal investigation report submitted to the chief. There’s got to be a copy of that stored somewhere . . .”

“When did this happen?”

“Twelve years ago?” His brow furrows. “No, thirteen. It was my first year as DA and I had to let five guilty criminals go free. I was furious.”

My body sinks back against the wall. A year after Abe dies, all evidence from his case is destroyed. How is that possible? I mean, I know how it’s possible. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d heard of evidence accidentally being incinerated. It happens more than any police department wants to admit.

And sometimes guilty people walk free because of it.

But will an innocent man remain guilty because of it this time around?

Something still doesn’t make sense. “Then why would the feds be asking about Abe’s death, if they have nothing to go off?” I ponder out loud.

Unless they found new evidence.

Silas looks as perplexed as I feel. “Did Jackie say anything to you about the FBI that night?”

“No, not that I understood, anyway.” And I’ve spent the last week jotting down every incoherent ramble of hers that I could remember. I’ve spent hours studying each line, hoping this elusive “he” that she kept referring to will reveal himself.

Could “he” be this Dwayne Mantis? Is Mantis the wily fox in the thicket?

Silas watches me. “What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing, it’s just . . . Mom used to say that having the FBI breathing down her neck would be the worst pressure.”

“Noah, your mother killed herself because she was sick. Not because the FBI was asking questions.”