Chapter 4 - The Anonymous Tip
I knew Thomas. He was arrogant, but he was also a coward. Under pressure, he cracked. I just needed to apply the right kind of pressure.
I dialed the precinct’s anonymous tip line from the burner phone, masking my voice with a handkerchief over the receiver.
"You're looking for Mark Evans," I said when the dispatcher answered. "But you're looking at the wrong guy. Check the wife's phone records. She's been having an affair with Mark's brother, Thomas. Check Thomas's truck. You might find something interesting."
I hung up.
I hadn't just been sitting in the woods. Before I left my vantage point, I had snuck around to the street while the cops were distracted in the backyard. I had taken the second encrypted flash drive—the one containing the video of Thomas holding the murder weapon—and slipped it through the cracked window of Thomas's Ford truck, right onto the passenger seat.
It was a delayed fuse. When the police eventually searched his truck based on my tip, they would find the drive. But I wanted Thomas to find it first. I wanted him to panic.
Two hours later, I was sitting in a cheap motel room on the edge of town, watching the local news. My face flashed on the screen. ARMED AND DANGEROUS. WANTED FOR QUESTIONING IN THE MURDER OF ARTHUR HENDERSON.
My burner phone rang. I had texted Thomas my new number.
"Mark? Where the hell are you?" Thomas's voice was tight, strained.
"I know, Thomas," I said quietly.
"Know what? Bro, you need to turn yourself in. Sarah is a wreck. The cops found..."
"I know you and Sarah killed him," I interrupted.
May you like
Dead silence on the line.
"I have the video, Tommy," I whispered. "I saw you drop the watch. I saw Sarah tell you to bury the hammer. And I left a copy of that video on the passenger seat of your truck."
