The detective introduced himself as Aaron Bell, and he was careful not to promise me an arrest by morning.

“If you know witnesses, give us their names,” he said.

“If you have information about recordings, tell us where they may be.

Do not approach the people involved.”

I gave him Mrs.

Jones’s number and the address of the landscaping company whose truck I remembered seeing near the house.

I also gave him Vance Sterling’s contact details and made one thing clear: any records my former associates uncovered had to reach the investigators intact.

No one was to alter footage, frighten a witness, or enter a property without permission.