my firm pulled for me but I want to make sure that I cover all of my bases."
"If that's what you want. I'll get the files pulled and have them messengered to you. Where should I have them sent?"
Ryan pulled out his little notebook and scribbled down his address, making sure that his apartment number was legible. He didn't want any morbid crime scene photos being delivered to Mariah by accident like last night's dinner.
They talked for a few more minutes, splitting the work with Ryan taking on the lion's share. That's what he was there for, after all; plus he was familiar with most of the people involved.
The detective left Ryan alone to look through the evidence of which there was not much. Brad's clothes, his phone and wallet. That was it.
The phone was a complete write-off after years of rain and snow. The screen was cracked as well and Ryan couldn't help wonder how that had happened. It hadn't been cracked earlier that fateful evening. He was sure of that.
Each piece that was inside the wallet had been taken out and preserved in a plastic bag. There was the usual - driver's license, credit cards, a condom, and a few faded photos, weathered from the elements, but surprisingly clear. The heavy leather of the wallet must have protected them.
Ryan copied down the credit card numbers so that he could run them to see Brad's spending habits.
But the pictures...
One was of Brad and his brother Sebastien, both smiling and happy as if they didn't have a care in the world. From the background, it looked like the day that Brad had started college and they were helping him move into the dorms.
The second photo was of Caroline, a candid shot when they were out partying one night.
The third photo was all of the guys - including Ryan - taken in Aspen. He had a clear memory of that day. They'd spent hours skiing and having fun, and they'd eventually hit the ski lodge for a hot drink, purely non-alcoholic because none of them were of age. Carl had asked a man at the next table to take their picture.
I have the same one in a scrapbook at home.
An actual photograph on paper. Not a digital image on his phone. Carl had made sure that everyone had a copy as a souvenir. As if Ryan would ever forget that trip. Had it been the best vacation ever? Maybe. It sure seemed like it at the time. They'd all been around eighteen and looking forward to graduating high school and going on to college. Their parents were friends and decided to take this trip and for once they'd given Ryan and his pals a hell of a lot more freedom than they ever had before.
The only thing they were expected to do was meet their parents for dinner in the evening. That was it. The rest of the time they could do as they pleased. All of them had had the time of their lives just hanging out with one another and goofing around. It felt like the world belonged to them and that anything was possible. At times, Ryan missed that feeling of invincibility that only someone young can truly feel. He'd been so sure about everything back then, certain that he knew it all.
Now? He didn't know shit. Was that the definition of maturity? When you realize that you don't know anything?
He took pictures of the bagged evidence with his phone and then packed it back into the box. His stomach was queasy from the coffee he'd drank this morning. Seeing a young man's life summed up in one cardboard box didn't sit well with him. No one deserved to have their life cut short like that, though. No one. It made him more determined than ever to find out what happened that night. Brad deserved it and so did his family.
On his way out of the station, Ryan thanked the detective for his help and they set a time the next day to touch base again. He needed to put some food into his stomach but instead found himself heading straight for the lot where they'd found Brad's body. Food could wait for a little while longer. He needed to see the scene after all of these years. Paying the cab driver, Ryan stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of the construction site.
But apparently, he wasn't the only one with the same thought. He had company on