I did not wait for him to reach the steps.
“Thomas,” I said, my voice cutting through the applause. “I need the logbook for the sheriff’s squad cars from August of 2006.”
The clapping tapered off to a sudden silence. Arthur stopped in the middle of the aisle, his cane poised an inch above the linoleum.
Thomas looked over the top of his reading glasses, his large hands gripping the edges of the podium. He did not look at the rest of the council members sitting behind him.
“Margaret,” Thomas said, his tone carrying a heavy, practiced patience. “We are in the middle of a municipal presentation.”
“The logs are public record,” I said, pausing to let the words settle in the quiet room. “I want to know who was driving car number four on the fourteenth of that month.”
Thomas adjusted his metal watch strap, sliding the silver links an inch up his thick wrist.
“Those old files were moved to the county annex during the renovation,” Thomas said. “And as you well know, many of those boxes were damaged by the cellar damp.”
“Walter told me the 2006 logbooks are still in the building,” I said.
Thomas did not look at the other council members, but his jaw tightened. He turned his eyes to the front row, where two elderly women from the historical society sat with their hands in their laps.
“We all feel for your loss, but this has gone too far,” Thomas said.
The councilwoman to his left, Mrs. Gable, leaned toward her microphone. Her small, gold-framed glasses caught the overhead fluorescent light.
“Margaret, dear, we have all carried that autumn with you,” Mrs. Gable said, her voice dropping into a soft, patronizing register. “But bringing up old ledger numbers won’t change what the state police concluded. We must let the past rest.”
“The state police never looked at the local patrol logs,” I said.
Thomas tapped his fingers against the walnut plaque. He looked at the crowd, then back at me with a look of quiet dismissal.
“I think we need to adjourn this portion of the morning,” Thomas said. “Mrs. Miller is having one of her difficult days, and we should show her some grace.”
