I See You

CHAPTER 23 - Trials and Tribulations

Wyatt had never been in such a dark place. The last three weeks had felt like torture, and nothing Emma did could pull him out of his tumultuous thoughts. Taylor hired a lawyer from Seattle who got him out on bail, and as much as Wyatt knew in his gut his brother had killed him, he still didn't want to believe it. This was putting a strain on his relationship with Emma as her best friend was the detective doing her damnedest to make sure his brother was sent to prison for the rest of his life.

He understood Cam was doing her job, and his mind knew she was doing the right thing, but he still wanted to hate her for it. Hanging with Mike wasn't much easier given he was so relieved to finally be getting his life back. Wyatt was honestly happy for him and for Li'l W to no longer be social pariahs and to receive the apologies they richly deserved, but it was just one more strike against his brother.

He found himself sitting at Dockside all too often, listening to the gossip mill which was always ready to kick someone when they were down. Jessie tried her best to tell people to shut it or take their negativity elsewhere, but talking is what people did, especially drunk people. Sometimes Emma would go too, guarding his stool so no one could displace him, but mostly, Wyatt just wanted to be alone.

The police department had finally located Wyatt's old truck in a storage facility about twenty minutes up highway three, clearly beat up with streaks of Lunar Rock paint that had been on Emma's RAV4. Taylor swore that the truck was stolen months ago. When Cam demanded to know why he never reported it, he admitted to his connection with the Colacurcios. It went missing after one of his gambling debts took too long to pay, so he assumed they stole it as a warning.

His story was validated when they confirmed that his name wasn't on the storage lease, and the owner said he had never seen him. The rental was under a false name, and the person paid up a year in cash, giving credence to the Colacurcio theory, but it also meant Taylor had told them about Emma. This lowered the charge from attempted homicide to an accessory due to his and Emma's argument the night she was attacked, but he was still guilty.

Detective Lacey was determined to get the evidence needed to close this case once and for all, but the owner of the storage units said everything was handled via snail mail, and he prided himself on offering his clients privacy and anonymity. People came in and out, but he knew nothing about them. It was also why he could charge more than any other facility in the area. Cam was itching to get a warrant for the whole place, but it was only a random traffic camera out by Deer Creek that caught the blue Chevy returning which allowed them to enter. And the owner happily handed over his security footage of that night to avoid anyone taking a deeper look.

It wasn't enough of a lead to give her solid answers, only more questions. The night of Emma's attack, Taylor's black BMW never entered the storage facility. A dark gray Jetta pulled in shortly before the Chevy was seen leaving, but the video quality was too poor to make out the plates. Her money was on the owner of that car being the one who tried to kill her friend, but why? Taylor swore he never told the Colacurcios about Emma. He fought his connection to her attack more than he did the murder of his own brother. Were the two crimes not connected? It seemed crazy to think it was all a terrible coincidence, but she had to consider that someone else might be after Emma.

Since the investigation was active again, Cam couldn't legally share any information with Wyatt or Emma, but she was doing her best to be impartial until evidence was conclusive. Wyatt's murder was fairly cut and dry now that she had the actual murder weapon with prints and blood. What she couldn't figure out was how Taylor had been stupid enough to put it back in Wyatt's house. It wasn't even hidden that well.

Still, it was enough to pin Wyatt's murder on Taylor, but Cam wasn't quite through digging yet. He was demanding a plea bargain. According to his lawyer he didn't kill his brother, but he knew who did. Cam thought he was full of shit, but the detective in her knew she had to chase down every possibility. When she had taken this case almost six years ago, she was still green, and it was her first big criminal investigation. She made a lot of mistakes, and she was determined not to repeat them.