We watched it all the way up until the police car pulled up to Noah’s townhouse. I could sense the last wisps of hope slip out of the room through the air vents. Noah asked to watch it one more time. The captain obliged, pressing Play and leaning back in his chair, eyes just as intent on the black-and-white footage as ours were.

Again, the tape was nearing the end, the cop car making a left and entering a side street attached to the neighborhood. The captain was about to exit out of it when Noah jerked up. “Hold on, rewind.”

The captain did, the footage skipping backward in five-second increments. Noah watched as I held my breath, wondering who he saw. All I could tell was that there was an older-looking Honda Civic driving down the opposite side of the street, one of its headlights busted. It wasn’t very clear as to who the driver was, their face concealed by shadows that flickered under the streetlights.

“That’s Franky’s car,” Noah said, a hand moving to cover his mouth. “He has that same exact window decal.”

Noah pointed at the screen to a tiny corner of the car window that showed a lightning bolt sticker. I wouldn’t have spotted it if I wasn’t looking for it.

“Franky who?” Captain Julian asked, taking out a notebook from the bottom of his stack and clicking the top of a pen.

“Franky Gorga. An ex of mine. He’s married with kids now, and we haven’t talked in years. I don’t know… it doesn’t really make sense for him to leave that threat, but why is he driving around my neighborhood at night anyway?”

“Do you think that’s him behind the wheel?” the captain asked.

Noah shook his head, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “I can’t say for sure.”

“Alright, well, it’s something I can look into, at least.”

Noah sat back with a sigh. I could feel his frustration. I shared in it. This meeting didn’t provide many answers; if anything, it offered up more questions. And whoever was twisted enough to send a severed chicken head to Noah’s doorstep was still out there, walking around, possibly planning their next move. Every second felt crucial, and I realized then that I couldn’t leave it to chance. I couldn’t leave it down to an already strained police department, where cases went cold for decades, if not longer.

I decided that I’d have to do some digging myself.

The captain stood, the meeting coming to an end. He offered his hand again and apologized for not being further along. We shook, Captain Julian offering his promises, saying that he had the best of the best working on it. Noah’s smile appeared genuine, his thanks just as honest. He was a good guy, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind about that.