“We found evidence of disturbed ground and excavated it.”

“And what were you searching for at that time?”

“We were looking for more bones. Another skeleton or skeletons or any further evidence connected to the bones we’d already found.”

“Did you find any weapons? A gun? A knife?”

“No, we did not.”

“And did you find any other items relevant to the case?”

“We did.”

“Can you describe them, please?”

My heart is thumping hard. I’ve heard nothing on the news or from Felicia about whether the bracelet I reburied was found. It must have been, right?

“We found several metatarsals—foot bones—which later proved to belong to the skeleton found in the Sentra.”

“Anything else?”

“Yes. We found a woman’s tennis bracelet.”

Mission accomplished. I give myself a little internal fist pump. Here we go.

Bastinelli introduces the item into evidence and puts a photo of it up on the screen. The red jewels gleam in the enlargement.

“And have you identified the owner of this bracelet?”

“From video evidence, we conclude that it belonged to Suzanne Bonanno.”

“Did you find anything else, Detective?”

“We did.”

I freeze in place. Oh, shit. Did I leave something behind?

“Can you describe it, please?”

“We found a man’s watch.”

Where did that come from? At least I know it wasn’t left by me or Garrett. It’s been years since either of us wore a watch as we used our phones to check the time.

Bastinelli clicks to another image. “Your Honor, State’s exhibit sixteen. Is this the watch you found, Detective?”

“Yes, it is.”

“And how deep in the ground was the watch buried?”

“About three feet below where the bracelet was discovered,” Gagnon answers.

Damn it! I knew I should have dug deeper!

Bastinelli clicks to a close-up. “There’s an inscription on the back of the watch. Detective, can you tell us what the inscription says?”

“Yes,” says Gagnon. “It says, ‘To CW from BC, with love.’”

I don’t know who BC is. It doesn’t matter. I just know it’s not Brea Cooke.

All I care about is CW.

Because CW is Cole Wright.

It has to be.

CHAPTER
99

Tess Hardy’s turn. The defense attorney strides forward and stops a few feet short of the witness stand.

“Sergeant Gagnon, good morning.”

“It’s Detective Sergeant. Detective is fine.”

Hardy adjusts smoothly. “Detective,” she says, folding her hands in front of her. “Could you tell the jury how you learned the location alleged to have contained the remains of Suzanne Bonanno?”

I’m riveted—this is the police testimony of my 911 call.

“State police dispatch received an anonymous phone call that was transferred to me. The caller gave specific directions as to where Suzanne Bonanno was buried.”

“Have you identified the caller?”

“No. The call was short and not easily traceable. Probably from a burner phone.”

“Anything distinctive about the caller?”

“Female. That’s all we know.”