Chapter 43

He gave his statement to an older, balding police officer whose name he couldn’t remember. Everything came pouring out, from the day he received the first call, to the video, to the plan to catch the blackmailer. Marcus backed him up, then he and Jacob took a few men inside to view the video on the laptop.

“Why didn’t you call the police, Jacob?” one officer asked.

“I was worried about things getting out and possibly ruining the shelter’s chances of survival, as well as my grandfather’s name being smeared. I knew what the caller—Reverend Anderson, as it turns out—was trying to insinuate was a lie, but I wasn’t sure how to prove it. Then one of the teens staying here, Shelby, told me about meeting my grandfather. When we realized it was him in the video and we had proof, I wasn’t worried anymore about hurting my grandfather’s memory. When Anderson called this morning, I lied and told him I had the money.”

“But you didn’t?”