Mitchell’s disappointment appeared and vanished in an instant.
Then Chloe added, “But he had a bird on his hand.”
No one spoke.
“A bird?” Denise repeated.
Chloe nodded. “A black bird. Here.”
She tapped the inside of her wrist.
Gavin went pale.
Mitchell noticed it immediately. “You know something.”
Gavin stared at the tabletop. “During the trial, the prosecution said I’d been seen near Martin Keller’s house around nine-thirty. Mrs. Avery was the one who said it. She told the jury she saw me through her kitchen window.”
“And?”
Gavin lifted his eyes. “Martin owed money to a man with a raven tattoo.”
Mitchell’s mouth tightened. “Why was that never brought up?”
“My first lawyer said there was no proof. Said it made me look desperate.” Gavin’s voice hardened, not with anger, but with five years of swallowed frustration. “I told him Martin had been scared of someone. I told him Martin came to me two days before he died and asked to borrow money. He said he had to ‘pay the bird man.’ Nobody listened.”
