The same neighbor who had testified that he saw Gavin leaving the house covered in blood.
The neighbor whose testimony had helped convince twelve jurors that Gavin Cole was a jealous husband fleeing a murder scene.
Mitchell’s voice was low.
“He wasn’t a witness.”
Gavin looked at him.
“He was part of it.”
The investigator pressed play.
“My mother said if I loved Chloe, I would cooperate.
She said Gavin would get life, maybe less if he stopped fighting.
But then the prosecutor decided a death sentence made the case cleaner. A dead man cannot appeal forever.”
Gavin pushed back from the table so suddenly the chair scraped the floor.
“She knew?” he whispered. “Her own mother knew?”
The recording answered him.
“Mom told me Gavin would die angry, but Chloe would live safe.
She said one child was better than three
bodies.”
The room went cold.
Mitchell
