But because something deep in her gut told her that this story wasn’t as simple as everyone thought.
And until she figured out the truth, she wouldn’t add her voice to the angry mob.
Three days later, Marcus sat in a small room at the courthouse with his public defender, a young lawyer named Thomas Chen.
Thomas looked exhausted. He had too many cases and not enough time. “Marcus, I’m going to be straight with you.”
Thomas said. “This case is unwinnable. We have you on video committing assault. We have hundreds of witnesses.
The prosecution has offered a deal.” “What kind of deal?” Marcus asked. “You plead guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct.
You serve 6 months in county jail with possibility of early release for good behavior.
No permanent record if you complete anger management classes after you get out.” Marcus stared at him.
“You want me to say I’m guilty?” “I want you to be realistic.” Thomas said.
“If you go to trial, you’ll lose. The judge will give you 2 to 3 years in state prison.
Maybe more. This deal gets you out in 6 months.” “But I didn’t attack her.”
Marcus said, his voice rising. “I was trying to save her.” Thomas sighed. “Marcus, I believe that you believe that.
But do you have any proof? Any evidence? Any witnesses who can support your story?”
Marcus thought about it. The two men were gone. Nobody else had heard their conversation.
Nobody would believe a homeless man over the evidence of their own eyes. “No.” He admitted quietly.
“Then take the deal.” Thomas urged. “6 months and this nightmare is over.” Marcus sat very still.
He thought about 6 months in jail. He thought about how easy it would be to just say yes, to admit guilt, to make this all go away.
But then he thought about something else. If he admitted guilt, the truth would disappear forever.
Those two dangerous men would get away with whatever they were planning. Abigail would never know that someone had tried to save her life.
And Marcus would spend the rest of his life knowing he had lied. “No.” Marcus said firmly.
“What?” Thomas looked shocked. “I won’t plead guilty to something I didn’t do. I want a trial.”
Thomas shook his head. “Marcus, you’re making a huge mistake.” “Maybe.” Marcus said. “But it’s my mistake to make.”
Her name was Rachel Monroe, and she was an investigator with the Chicago Police Department.
But she wasn’t investigating crimes like robbery or murder. She investigated fraud, scams, and things that seemed too good or too bad to be true.
Rachel was 45 years old with short gray hair and sharp brown eyes that noticed everything.
She had been a police officer for 20 years and in that time she had learned something important.
When everyone agrees on a story, that’s usually when you should look closer. The Marcus Reed case bothered her.
Not because she thought he was innocent. The videos were clear. Hundreds of people saw what happened.
But something about the whole thing felt off. Rachel sat in her small office at the police station watching the viral videos on her computer for the 10th time.
She watched Marcus run through the crowd. She watched him grab Abigail’s dress. She watched security tackle him.
Everyone who watched these videos saw the same thing. A homeless man attacking a rich woman.
But Rachel had trained herself to watch differently. She didn’t just watch what happened. She watched everything around what happened.
She slowed down the video frame by frame and that’s when she saw it. In the background of one video just before Marcus tore the dress, Rachel saw two men in suits.
They were moving through the crowd purposefully heading straight toward Abigail Carter. Their hands were reaching into their jacket pockets.
Then Marcus attacked and the two men stopped. They froze. One of them pulled his hand out of his pocket empty.
They looked at each other. And then while everyone else was watching Marcus get tackled, these two men turned and walked away quickly.
Very quickly. Rachel sat back in her chair. “Interesting.” She said to herself. She pulled up another video this one from a different angle.
She found the same two men. In this video she could see their faces better.
They didn’t look upset or shocked like the other guests. They looked frustrated, angry. Rachel wrote down the exact time they left.
