Maya’s mother had died the previous year. Her father was in prison for unrelated charges. And the man sitting at the defense table—Gerald Crowley, fifty-eight, polished smile, iron-gray hair—had once been a trusted family friend.
That was before the investigation.
Before the recordings.
Before the girl found the courage to speak.
Crowley sat beside his attorney with the relaxed posture of someone who had spent a lifetime avoiding consequences. He wore a navy suit that probably cost more than my motorcycle. His hands rested calmly on the table as though he were attending a board meeting rather than standing trial for crimes that had shattered a child’s life.
If anyone else noticed the way his eyes occasionally drifted toward Maya, they didn’t react.
