The old tattered sign of the South Seafood Packing building in the background. These were taken at the Pike, weeks before Angela was murdered. A group of about fifteen white guys gathered around a firepit, drinking beer. Two of the dates are in April. I check my calendar, both taken on Tuesdays. The photos are mostly hazy, like it was taken from afar. I zoom in closer. A flash of adrenaline hits me. Chris and Scott, along with a couple of guys from school. They don’t seem to notice they’re being watched.

“Find something?” Quincy leans over my shoulder.

“Bunch of guys from school at the Pike, near the building where I found Angela’s phone.”

Quincy takes my phone and zooms in. “Yip. Nothing weird about a bunch of white guys hanging around a firepit near the Pike.”

I look again. Nod because there’s something to it.

A tingle runs up my spine. I’m not sure what I’ve found, but it feels important.

I let Quincy lead me as we go down the steps.

“Front doors this time?” I ask.

“We should be good now that we’re leaving with nothing obviously taken.” Quincy leaves the keys on the reception desk, before we walk out the main entrance.

“What are you gonna do now?” Quincy asks.

“Ask Dean to keep a lookout for Chris or Scott. Then head home. My mama will be expecting me. I’ve been out way too long and gotta get the car back.”

“What about getting this to Bev?”

“Yeah. I should.” I flip my phone in my hand, back and forth. I know I need to get the SD card and Angela’s phone to Beverly, but then she’d know I didn’t listen to her.

“You should, for real. Doesn’t mean you can’t look into it, but this could help Jamal.”

I nod.

Quincy walks me back to the Evanses’ store, where our cars are parked at the end of their parking lot.

“Next time I’ll ask,” Quincy says when I open the car door. He jogs off to his car without waiting for my response.

“Next time I’ll be ready,” I whisper.

TRUTH SERUM

Dean’s got eyes on Chris. I’m planning to ambush Chris at the worst place possible—Angela’s grave. In texts back and forth with Jamal, it’s clear he wants me to have nothing to do with Chris. I have to know why.

Before we go, Dean helps me carry boxes of my daddy’s evidence to the loft above the Evanses’ antiques store. The collection will no longer be shoved inside closets and under beds, but with Innocence X.