Fish Out of Water by Amy Lane

case.”
    “What can I say? His tox screen came back—”
    “Faked,” Ellery said starkly. “With a timestamp way beyond the expiration date of any sort of drug in his system. The real results were burned up in a car fire—but that’s not the point. The point is, I haven’t gotten the real crime-scene photos yet, have you?”
    “Well, it’s a little early for the official forensic evidence, isn’t it? Don’t we usually wait for arraignment for that?” She sounded amused, because yes, the state had forty-eight hours after the bail hearing to arraign the suspect, and that was usually when the state released its evidence.
    “Yes, yes, it is—but I still got a picture that’s trying to pass itself off as an official crime-scene photo. Did you get it?”
    Her voice got suspicious. “Cameron in front of the counter, gun near his hand—”
    “Does it have a red blur on the top left edge?”
    “Yeah—that’s not like Lutz.”
    “Do you see his name on your files?”
    “Yes, but the signature doesn’t look like his.”
    “Well, I have a totally different name altogether. And it’s not a crime-scene photo. The resolution is too low, and you can see the reflection of the photographer in the chrome on the counter—it’s a girl, white, pink hair, late teens, possible drug user.”
    “Shit.” Zona’s muffled oath told Ellery she’d seen the same thing he had—and that he’d given her some information she hadn’t had before. “You’re right—where in the fuck are our real crime-scene photos? This… god damm it!”
    Oh yeah. He looked at Kaden and hoped he might have just found his ticket home.
    “Your evidence is tainted, Counselor.”
    “We’re not dropping the case against a cop killer because of this,” Zona snarled. “We will get Lutz’s photos, and then we’ll build a case.”
    “Zona, why would they taint the evidence like this—”
    “I got no idea.”
    “Have you even talked to Scott Bridger?”
    Arizona’s sigh was pure frustration. “No. IA has him locked up tight. We may have to depose him together, with all three lawyers present.”
    “Does that not tell you there’s more fish here than in my car?”
    She laughed a little. “I have no idea why you weren’t well-liked. Everybody loves the guy who’s right all the time.”
    “This is dirty, Zona. We’re supposed to believe it happened just like that picture—but that picture wasn’t taken by an accredited forensics team member, and the tox screen you have isn’t the one that was taken before the patient was given Haldol for his nausea.”
    “What the—how do you—”
    “Motivation. My client is innocent and I don’t want to see him suffer, so my people are moving like the fucking wind. What do you have on your side?”
    Her voice sank. “Money,” she hissed. “There is a load of fucking money here. You have no idea who’s sending me e-mail telling me I need to get this guy under wraps.”
    Oh hell. “No, but I’d love to know!” he sang.
    “No.” He must have reached her threshold of cooperation, because he didn’t hear any compromise in that tone. “Look, pull the tainted-evidence card tomorrow—I won’t stop you. Maybe they’ll drop the case and your client can go….”
    “ Where ?” he demanded. “Where in the hell are my guy— and his wife and his children and his sister—supposed to go if we don’t have someone else to pin this on? Where do you think he’s going to be safe?”
    “Canada?”
    “This is wrong, Arizona. This is not why you’re working at the DA’s office.” She legitimately wanted to put bad guys in jail. Countless lunches, a few late-night drinks, and the one thing he knew about her was that she was legit.
    “I’ve got the law, and I’ve got who my office wants to prosecute—you know that. If you can get your guy off, do it. If you can even get him out on bail, do it. But I can’t help you, Ellery—not if I want to keep putting bad guys away.”
    “Look,” he