Earl a week before his execution date.”
“Do you think it’s a false confession?” Rocky asked.
“I absolutely do,” Jonah confirmed. “Days before Earl’s death, DeKalb County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Bo Cahill for the murder that sent him to death row. He was incarcerated and held without bail. Bo Cahill did not kill Earl Ison.”
“Who were the investigators on Ison’s case?” Felix asked.
“Milton and Morrissey with SPD,” Jonah said.
“I’ve interviewed them before when writing articles on old cases,” Felix said. “They were the typical cops of that generation. Milton and Morrissey didn’t have much respect for the rainbow community, women, or people of color, but I never got the impression they were dirty. Lazy, maybe. Indifferent, perhaps.”
“Marla isn’t convinced they outright lied to her, and she’s not sure they were responsible for coercing the confession. Maybe they were just patsies,” Jonah said.
“If that was the case,” Felix countered, “what did Bo Cahill say to sway them? There had to be more to it than him saying he did it.”
“I was able to access Earl Ison’s case file and read what the detectives recorded, which wasn’t much. They either invested extraordinarily little energy in solving the crime or were too lazy to document the file properly. Cahill told them he’d masturbated with Earl’s panties, then shoved them in his mouth. Since it was exactly what the killer did, they closed the case and called it a day.”
“That is very specific information,” Rocky said. “I assume it was a detail they hadn’t shared with the press.”
“It wasn’t, but a construction crew found Earl. His killer had staged his body and hiked up his skirt to humiliate him. Any of the men working on the crew that day saw him and could’ve shared the details with friends and family,” Jonah explained.
“Cops talk too,” Felix added. “I have at least one reliable source in every county. Some talk because they like to feel important, and others are decent human beings that want to do the right thing.”
“So, the information about the panties could’ve been fed to Bo Cahill, but why would a man confess to a crime he didn’t commit?” Rocky asked.
“I’ve been asking myself the same question for days,” Jonah said.
“What conclusion did you come up with?” Felix asked.
Jonah expelled a long breath. “Bo Cahill confessed to protect someone else. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“The person who really committed the crime?” Rocky asked.
“That’s one possibility, but what if someone he cared about was in trouble with the law and he brokered a deal? His life for theirs? Cahill was already going to die, so what did he have to lose?”
Rocky and Felix contemplated his question for a few seconds before exchanging brief glances.
“I assume Marla brought this up recently,” Felix said.
Jonah nodded, tried to speak, but couldn’t get the words out past the lump in his throat. He took a drink of water and tried again. “She never bought the narrative. She wants justice for her friend before she…” Goddamn it. “Before she dies. I promised her I’d do everything in my power to make this right. I went to work the next day and accessed what I could, which wasn’t much for Bo Cahill, beyond his arrest records and notes about him being held without bail. It took me two minutes or less to realize Marla’s instinct was correct. I asked Malcolm for his permission to pursue it, but he reminded me of the proper chain of command and referred me to Trexler.”
Rocky and Felix both groaned.
“Yeah,” Jonah said. “The bastard wouldn’t even entertain the idea. All I asked Trexler to do was request a copy of the file from DeKalb County. He shot me down and wrote me up for insubordination.”
“Asshole,” Rocky muttered.
Jonah nodded. “He gave me some song and dance about protecting the reputations of retired police officers and court officials, but he’s not fooling me. He’d do anything to advance his career and playing the crusader wouldn’t get him the kind of attention he needs to get promoted.”
“Any devoted law enforcement officer should want real justice to prevail,” Felix said passionately. He narrowed his eyes. “Do you think Trexler treats you horribly because you’re gay?”
“It’s possible, I guess,” Jonah said. “I think his attitude is because he doesn’t respect my skills, and he resents that Malcolm hired me because my aunt encouraged him to do so. I don’t even know if Trexler is aware of my sexual orientation.”
“Under the Georgia Open Record Act, I can request a copy of