Chapter 3
Sheriff Grady called us down to the station that evening.
He had the USB drive plugged into his computer.
His face was pale.
"You need to see this," he said.
He pressed play.
Frank's voice filled the room.
*"If anyone ever finds out about the robbery... if Cole ever gets out... this is my insurance."*
*"I paid Sheriff Henderson five thousand dollars to plant the evidence. To make sure Cole took the fall."*
*"I got the house. I got the wife. I got the kid. And Cole got eight years. Everybody wins."*
The recording went on.
More admissions.
More crimes.
Details of the robbery.
Details of the bribe.
Details of other things Frank had done over the years.
Theft. Fraud. Abuse.
Sheriff Grady turned off the recording.
He looked sick.
"Henderson retired three years ago," he said. "I always thought there was something off about that case. Something didn't add up. But I was new. I didn't have the authority to question it."
He looked at me.
"I'm sorry, Cole. For what this town did to you. For what the system did to you."
I said nothing.
Eight years.
They couldn't give those back.
May you like
But they could give me something else.
The truth.
