Free False Positive by Andrew Grant

come.” Devereaux looked like he was struggling with a very serious problem. “But I do need to be sure there’s enough space. See this cot? Let’s pretend it’s your room. Yours and Ethan’s. Where would your bed be?”
    Dillon pointed vaguely to one edge.
    â€œOK.” Devereaux nodded. “But help me out a little. Make sure I understand. Pretend your T-Rex is you, and put him where you sleep.”
    Dillon pushed the T-Rex to the side of the mattress.
    â€œGood job! Now put Steggy where Ethan sleeps.”
    A sad, confused expression spread across Dillon’s face. “Ethan’s gone.”
    â€œOh.” Devereaux frowned. “Well then, let’s try this. Pretend it’s last night. Ethan was there with you when you went to bed last night, right?”
    Dillon nodded, but looked like he was on the verge of tears.
    â€œGood. So can you put Steggy where Ethan went to sleep?”
    Dillon took the stegosaurus and set it gently on the pillow.
    â€œGreat!” Devereaux nodded. “Now, who else do we need? Who else was in your room last night?”
    â€œNo one.”
    â€œI don’t just mean when you guys went to sleep. I’m talking about the whole night.”
    Dillon shook his head.
    â€œWhat about your daddy? Did he come in and see you and Ethan?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œI see. Now, this is important, Dillon. I need to be really clear about this, before I can agree to Steggy sleeping in your room. There needs to be someone else with you, at least for a little while, to help you look after him. So you need to tell me. Who else was in your room last night?”
    â€œAndrew!”
    â€œAndrew was in your room? That’s good. Who’s Andrew?”
    â€œMy hippo. He’s blue. He’s supposed to snore when you hug him but the thing in his tummy’s broken and Daddy says you can’t fix it without hurting him.”
    â€œAndrew’s a toy hippo?”
    â€œUh-huh.”
    â€œI want you to think real hard, Dillon. Who else was there last night, when you and Ethan and Andrew were in bed? It counts even if you heard someone, but didn’t see them, OK? Anytime—even for a second—before your mom woke you up this morning.”
    â€œA bug came.”
    â€œWhat kind of bug?”
    â€œA stinging bug.”
    â€œDid you see it?”
    â€œNo. Felt it sting. It hurt.”
    â€œOK. So apart from Andrew the hippo and a stinging bug, there was no one else in your room last night?”
    Dillon nodded, and a tear formed in the corner of his eye.
    â€œIt’s OK, Dillon.” Devereaux got to his feet. “You did good. Real good, buddy. You can care for the dinosaurs on your own, after all. Steggy can come visit. For as long as you want.”

Extract from Motion to Exclude Evidence Presented at Jefferson County Courthouse, Alabama .
    Counsel for the Defense in the case of the State of Alabama vs. Flynn moves that the quantity of cocaine seized in Ridout’s Forest Hill Cemetery should not be admitted as evidence as it was not obtained during a legal search. Rather, it fell from Mr. Flynn’s coat in the course of a vicious assault he suffered at the hands of a police officer—Detective Cooper Devereaux—after he had voluntarily surrendered himself into custody.
    This is not the only account of Devereaux beating on suspects. I could give you a bunch of others.
    Why was Devereaux alone with the suspect in a secluded cemetery?
    How many other times did this kind of thing go unreported? For every victim who came forward, how many stayed silent? 10? 100? Who knows?
    See the pattern in this man’s behavior, Jan…?

Chapter Nineteen
    Saturday. Late Afternoon
.
    Ethan missing for twenty-two and a half hours
    There were two pizza boxes on Lieutenant Hale’s desk when Devereaux and Loflin walked into her office, just shy of 5:30 pm.
    â€œI figured you guys wouldn’t have taken the