“You’re making this personal,” Reed said.
“No. I’m making it careful.”
“Careful would be letting the courts do their work.”
“The courts are doing their work because a child spoke up.”
Reed stepped closer to the desk. “That child is being used.”
Mitchell stood.
“Be very careful.”
The room seemed to shrink around them.
Reed’s face softened again, but it no longer reassured Mitchell. “I’m trying to protect you. This case is becoming a circus. People will start looking for villains everywhere. They’ll drag in names, old paperwork, meaningless signatures.”
There it was.
Mitchell said nothing.
Reed continued, “We both know evidence passes through strange hands sometimes. Especially back then. Agencies helped each other. Procedures were loose.”
“I didn’t mention evidence.”
Reed went still.
Outside the office, a cart rattled down the hallway.
Mitchell opened his drawer and removed the photograph. He placed it on the desk between them.
