at worst?
There’s no way in hell Jonah would’ve accepted that as the only bit of proof. They’d made no attempt to corroborate Cahill was even in the area when Earl died. Bo Cahill said, “I did it,” and Morrisey and Milton said, “Okay.” It was probably followed with, “Thank God. Now we can get that Marla bitch off our asses.”
The chief of police at the time, Deacon Potter, signed off on closing the case, and that was it. Jonah shook his head, then began a new search. He typed in Bo Cahill’s name and hit enter. His file wasn’t one that had been digitized and uploaded, but Jonah could still see Bo’s criminal record.
On June 10, 1982, Bo Cahill was arrested for the murder which had sent him to death row. According to the information, Cahill was denied bail and remained incarcerated before and during his trial. He would’ve been transferred to GSP upon his conviction.
June 10 th?
Jonah returned to Ison’s file again. He looked for any discrepancy in the dates, but Earl’s death was consistently documented as June 12th.
If these dates were correct, Bo Cahill could not have killed Earl Ison.
Jonah looked for the name of the GBI agent who was involved in Earl’s investigation. Marla had thought one was assigned to the homicide, but Jonah couldn’t find a record of that anywhere. If the file was in the database, it meant GBI had been given a copy at one time. Someone within the bureau had either requested it or SPD had sent them the file and requested their assistance. Had someone in the bureau been involved in the cover-up? Jonah wouldn’t know unless he obtained approval to reopen Earl Ison’s case.
The proper protocol would’ve been for Jonah to take what he discovered about Earl Ison to his immediate supervisor, but since Trexler hated Jonah, it would’ve been a colossal waste of time. Trexler would’ve told him to send the information to him, and he’d look through it when he had time.
Time was something Marla might not have much of, so Jonah decided to go over Trexler’s head and take the information to the deputy director, Charlie Malcolm. Jonah wasn’t one to exploit Malcolm’s friendship with his aunt, but this was for a worthy cause. Trexler would be furious when he found out, but Jonah felt his actions were justified.
He learned from Malcolm’s personal assistant that the deputy director was out to lunch, but she said Malcolm had twenty minutes free immediately afterward.
“So, around one o’clock?” Jonah asked.
“Yes, unless he’s running late,” Desiree replied.
“I’ll be there, Desiree. Thank you.”
“No problem,” she said. When she cleared her throat, Jonah realized she wanted to say more. “I heard what happened yesterday. Keep your chin up, Jonah.”
Jonah winced. “Thanks,” he said, knowing she meant well. God, he hated being the center of gossip. “I’ll see you in a bit. I better head out and grab a bite to eat if I’m going to make it back in time.”
“We wouldn’t want you to get hangry,” Desiree said.
“Get what?” Jonah asked.
“Hangry. It’s when you get so hungry it makes you irritable and angry.”
“Oh. Don’t worry. I won’t ‘Hulk out’ on anyone,” Jonah said.
Desiree gasped. “You know about the office pool?” she asked. “Damn Avery and his big mouth.”
“Sure do.” Jonah’s casual tone implied he’d known about the bet much longer than a few hours. “Did you bet for or against me, Desiree?” he teased, wanting to ease the awkwardness.
“I’ve sat in during some of those meetings, Jonah. You have the patience of a saint, so there’s no way I’m betting against you. If you leave the bureau, it will be because you’ve set your sight on bigger goals.”
Her kind words improved Jonah’s mood, but not as much as a pastrami on rye with extra pickles and freshly made Saratoga chips would, so he politely ended the call and decided to bring her a few cookies from his favorite lunch spot, Bytes and Brew.
Luckily, the cybercafé was only a few blocks from his office, and the warm spring afternoon was perfect for walking. Jonah regretted his decision when he stepped inside the café and saw Avery sitting in a corner booth with his lunch date. Avery had his back to the door and didn’t see him, but Jonah got to size up the competition. The guy looked almost as tall as Jonah, but that was where the similarities ended. Avery’s date looked successful, handsome, and unscathed, where Jonah looked like he’d gone several rounds with