“Are you out of your mind? The warrant is signed, the procedure is set—”
“Possible new exculpatory evidence. I will not proceed until it’s verified.”
“What evidence? That file was locked five years ago.”
Vargas stared at the frozen frame of Elena’s face—an eight-year-old girl whose gaze seemed to contain secrets too heavy for any child.
“A little girl just said something to her father that changed him completely. I intend to find out what.”
Long silence on the line.
“Seventy-two hours,” the prosecutor finally conceded. “Not one minute longer. If this is nothing, your career ends.”
Vargas hung up, walked to the window, and looked out over the prison yard.
Somewhere in this old case lay a truth everyone had refused to see.
