Matthew Powell rushed to the Police Department with the same weary sense of déjà vu he always had whenever his phone rang at the wrong hour. In his mind, he had already pictured the scene: the same holding area, the same bored expressions, the same familiar excuse involving late-night mahjong. He expected to go through the motions, sign a few forms, pay a small bail, and drag Billy Lacy out with a lecture he’d heard a hundred times before.
But this time, things didn’t unfold the way he’d imagined.
It wasn’t until the paperwork was completed and the bail was paid that Matthew realized something was off. The officer casually flipping through the file gave him a look that carried a strange mix of annoyance and disbelief.
Billy Lacy hadn’t been detained for gambling.
He’d been detained… fo
