“Yes, he has,” Tish replied, “but I’m bringing you material you’ve never had before. New evidence. New eyewitnesses. I want to know what you’re planning to do about it.”

Pat folded her hands together. “What do you want me to do about it?”

“I want you to seek a motion compelling Peter Stanhope to provide a DNA sample that the police can match against the evidence on the stalker letter and at the crime scene.”

“No,” Pat said.

“No? That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

Tish pushed the chair back and stood up. “I can’t believe this. We have a witness who proves that Stanhope was lying about what happened that night. If we can match his DNA, we can prove that he was stalking Laura. That’s not enough?”

Pat shook her head. “No, it’s not. For one thing, Finn never mentioned Peter’s name. He admits he couldn’t identify the boy who was with Laura.”

“But Peter already placed himself with Laura in the softball field with his own statement. He never denied he was there. He blamed Dada for the assault, but Finn’s statement proves that’s not what happened.”

“Not necessarily. Finn says it was dark. He could easily have misinterpreted what was happening between Laura and the boy in the field. He could have misconstrued Dada’s actions, too.”

“You want to bury this because Peter is one of your political allies, right? I know how the game is played.”

“You don’t know a thing, Ms. Verdure,” Pat snapped. “I’m not going to seek a motion based on fragments of recollection from a notorious drug addict who has remained silent about this case for decades. It would be an abuse of my authority, and no judge would even consider it. In addition, I’m not going to seek a motion because it would not further a prosecution in this case. Even if I could prove that Peter Stanhope was stalking Laura, I wouldn’t have nearly enough evidence to sustain a murder charge. Until I am convinced we have something to prosecute, I’m not going to go out on a limb. Is that clear?”

“What kind of catch-22 is that?” Tish asked. “You can’t get evidence unless you’re ready to prosecute, and you’ll never be ready to prosecute without evidence. In other words, you’re going to do nothing.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“It sure sounds like it.” Tish added, “You know, I haven’t talked to the national press yet, but maybe it’s time I did.”

“If you bring in the national news media, you lose control of the story,” Pat replied. “That’s not going to help your book. Media pressure often has the opposite effect of what you intend.”

“I’ll take that risk,” Tish said.

“Ms. Verdure, you’ve given us a new angle to investigate in this murder, and we will investigate it. Just not the way you may want us to.”

“What do you mean?” Tish asked.

Pat gestured to Stride. “Lieutenant, do you want to explain?”

“We’re going to take a close look at Finn’s story,” Stride told Tish.