In a tense courtroom packed with spectators, he suddenly hurled his biker vest onto the floor. Within moments, the shocking gesture shifted the mood of the trial, sending the entire hearing into a far darker and more unsettling direction.

Nobody said what Crowley had done.

And maybe that was part of the problem.

From where I sat, I could see Maya’s small fingers twisting the ear of her stuffed rabbit while the attorneys argued over whether a specific piece of digital evidence should be admitted.

Crowley leaned back in his chair and glanced over his shoulder.

It lasted less than a second.