Page 55 of The Five Year Lie

“Lowden has lots of refugees now. It changed the city, and some of the people who lived here before us don’t like it. Officer Ward—he was the worst. And Ernie’s boy Omar was his favorite target. He hounded that boy. He busted him for anything and everything—underage drinking, vandalism, even litter. The kid missed the trash can at the high school and Ward gave him a summons.”

“Sounds like a real treat,” Larri says wryly.

Ossman shakes his head. “Everywhere that kid turned around, Ward was there. The kid said it was uncanny, but I am not sure Ernie understood it until...” He clears his throat. “Ward started in on Amina. He would show up wherever she was and just... watch her. He made comments, too, about her clothes, her body.”

My skin crawls, and Larri lets out a low groan.

“He kept showing up, like his whole job was following that girl around. Omar couldn’t stand it. He’d get in the cop’s face. Then he’d get arrested again.” He gives his head a shake. “Ernie was out of his mind worrying. He filed a complaint about harassment. But they didn’t do anything. The cop was a superstar. His arrest record was the best in the department. Then Omar said the cop was using cameras to find Amina wherever she went.”

A new chill runs down my spine. “Cameras?”

“Yeah, they’re everywhere now. But they were a new thing back then. Police put ’em up on the street corners. Got some on the high school, and on the bus stops. Ward even put a camera on the telephone pole in front of Ernie’s place. And it seemed like they were always watching, you know? Those kids would walk out of the house and the cops would do a drive-by minutes later.”

“Weird,” Larri whispers.

“Yeah, it was. That’s how Omar ended up doing a stint injuvie—there was a video of him holding another kid’s beer. Whole bunch of boys drinking in a parking lot, but they only pull a shot of Omar, and he’s the only one who ends up in handcuffs. Ernie about lost his mind. He wanted to fileanothercomplaint, but Amina talked him out of it. She was afraid of Ward, and Ernie was at the end of his rope.”

“Wow,” Larri says softly. “So what did he do?”

“Got some cameras of his own,” Ossman says. “His boy Jay’s idea. You hear about Jay? Nice kid. Ernie’s greatest success story.”

I stop breathing. “Was he involved?”

“No. Jay was away in Syria when the trouble went down.”

Syria.My blood stops circulating.

“Jay sent Ernie two cameras that he bought with his savings. To fight back, you know? Ernie put one on the front door and one on the back—to cover the alley back there. He was going to prove that police action on our street was damn strange.”

“Did it work?” Larri asks.

“At first.” Ossman drops his eyes. “Ward stops coming around all the time. Couple of weeks go by and Omar doesn’t get picked on by the cops. Ernie relaxed some. He went hiking with his friends again. Couple weekends in a row.” He stops talking for a second. Puts his mug down.

I take a sip of my tea as the old man struggles to go on. I’m listening to this story with every fiber of my being.

“... But then Amina starts acting strange. She’s sad. Stops eating. Won’t come out of her room. Ernie doesn’t understand it, and she won’t talk. He tries to get the school involved. She needs help, and he’s looking for a counselor to talk to her. But there’s a waiting list. Two months go by, and she seems a little better.” He takes a deepbreath. “Then one day Ernie comes home and finds her in her room. Hanged.”

“Oh God,” I whisper, and I feel myself blanch.

Ossman nods miserably. “Poor lamb. The cop was blackmailing her. Omar was the only one she told.”

“Blackmail?For what?” Larri demands.

“One of Ernie’s hiking weekends, Amina has a boy over. They spent some time on the back porch together.” He clears his throat meaningfully. “Omar says the cop had a video of them from Ernie’s own camera. He saw Ward show it to Amina. Told her she had to meet with him in private.” He clears his throat again. “Told her that if she didn’t do as he said, he’d post that video everywhere on the internet. He’d send it to her friends at school.”

Larri makes an anguished noise, but I can hardly draw a breath. There are way too many cameras in this story.

But how would a cop get footage from Ernie’s private camera? That’s impossible without a warrant.

“After the girl’s funeral, Ernie makes a big noise at the police station. He gets the whole block talking. Turns out other people in town are having some weird experiences with the cops, too. But nobody can prove anything. Omar didn’t even see the video—he just heard about it from Amina.”

I’m clammy with sweat. If “Jay” is my Drew, he definitely didn’t end up at Chime Co. by accident.

“... Ernie took it all real hard. Omar was beside himself, too. Ernie called the newspaper in Portland. Reporter drove up here to talk to him, and...” The old man takes a deep breath. “Ernie died right on his front porch, in front of the reporter. Massive heart attack.”

“Oh God,” Larri says.

“... And his news story?” I press. The article I read only mentioned a recent foster child’s death. It didn’t say a thing about cameras or a suicide.