Chapter 16: Minute Nine

The deputy let us use the empty green room behind the stage.

He stood outside the door with his back to it, which was as much help as the county could give us.

Duncan opened his laptop on a folding table and pushed the card into a reader.

Melanie sat on the edge of a vinyl couch with her hands under her thighs.

"Before you play it," she said. "I want a deal."

"I'm not on the case," Duncan said. "I can't promise you anything."

"Then who can?"

"The state attorney general's office. I know someone there who answers her phone."

"That's not a promise."

"No," Duncan said. "It's the truth."

Melanie looked at the laptop for a long time.

"Play it," she said.

The file opened on a black screen with a clock in the corner.

First came the engine, and music from the gala, and Melanie's laugh.

It was a high, bright laugh. The Melanie on the couch flinched when she heard it.

Marshall's voice came from the back seat, thick with bourbon.

"Slower, honey. It's late, and the road's dark."

"I know how to drive," the recording said.

Then there was a thud.

It was a short sound, and it was not loud. The whole green room went still.

On the recording, Melanie screamed.

The car stopped hard. I heard the seat belt lock, and a door, and Melanie's heels on the road, and her breath going in and out.

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