Chapter 43. Vindication

Rae POV

Cutter's confession was on the record by six that evening. By midnight, Sheriff Marsh had a judge in Helena out of bed and a search warrant for Dempsey Auto & Tow.

The tow truck had blocked a state highway in the commission of a crime. That was enough.

I didn't go. I sat in Judge's office with Wade and Eli and a pot of terrible coffee, and I waited for my phone to ring, and I didn't let myself hope.

Kyle called at 3:40 a.m.

"You were right," he said. No hello. He sounded exhausted and something else, something almost like awe. "The closet with the new padlock. There was a fireproof lockbox inside, bolted to the floor. Your dad didn't have the key on him. We drilled it."

"What was in it?"

"A second set of book