Page 121 of False Evidence
Erica had texted to give him the heads-up that they’d visited the spot by the side of the road where she’d been assaulted by Williams. This was before they’d searched Kendall’s house for clues. That she’d found her old wedding dress was a nice surprise, but the rest, he knew, had a high emotional cost.
They were once again traveling through the most painful parts of their past, but this time, it was also their present, and Kendall Gordon wasn’t holding her peace.
She was present, almost life-sized, on the big screen. A voice from the grave.
This was the Kendall he’d last seen at the office in October. She’d always been lovely. Pretty face, with a warm smile, dark hair. Their first meeting had been fraught, and he acknowledged she’d never had a chance with him.
His protectiveness of Lex, combined with his loathing of Brent Forbes, meant he’d never looked at Kendall and seen Lex’s best friend. The woman she loved, even now, when she knew they were going to learn some painful truths today.
She hadn’t given up on Kendall.
JT took Lex’s hand, cupping it between both of his.
Kendall’s first words were a wrench in the works. “Whoever is watching this, and I hope it’s you, Alex, I really need you to read my diary first. Before watching the rest.”
“The diary must be the file on the computer,” Keith said. “Lee, how are we doing with that?”
“I think we should let Alexandra read it first.”
“Do we really have time for that?” Curt’s question wasn’t unsympathetic. JT understood his urgency.
“In this instance, I think so. The diary begins sixteen years ago, but there are only a half dozen entries over the next eight years.”
Lee closed his laptop and slid it across the table to her.
Keith’s voice was kind as he said, “You can use my office. JT will show you the way.”
JT was glad for the offer. He hoped she’d allow him to read it with her.
Before they left the room, Alexandra turned to face everyone gathered around the table. “While I read this in privacy with JT, the rest of you should read it here. Lee, you have another copy?”
He nodded. “The entire drive is on a secure Raptor server.”
“Good. We can watch the videos when I get back.”
JT led her down the hall to Keith’s office. They settled on the couch side by side. “Thank you for letting me be here with you.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t want to face this alone.”
He kissed her temple, and she opened the laptop. The diary began on New Year’s Day, sixteen years ago.
Alexandra was going to be sick. Reading the horror that Kendall went through at the hands of Officer Williams… It was grotesque.
“Do you think this is what Williams was after?” she asked. “Her diary?”
“It’s possible. I’m not sure how admissible it would be in a court of law, but given that it’s on an old hard drive and the last save of the file was eight years ago, maybe?”
“But hasn’t the statute of limitations run out?”
“Maryland has no statute of limitation on felony sex crimes,” JT said. “I looked it up a few days ago, when we realized this was probably connected to Spaulding.”
“But he didn’t rape me.”
“Thank god,” JT said. “Still, I wanted to know, in case there were other women he abused around the same time.”
“Still, in Kendall’s case, obviously there’s coercion, but it was blackmail, and a defense attorney would argue she performed oral sex willingly. What an ugly mess.”
“Given the other complaints against Williams that MSP might or might not have been investigating, this could’ve been a problem for him even if it’s not felony rape. A history of using his badge to force sex. Destruction of evidence. And the fact that he was obviously lying to Kendall. He never would have been able to intercept fingerprint results. He worked in a different county, and it’s not like the results wouldn’t have been in a system with multiple backups.”