"I have, in fact, been investigating vandalism in Willow Ridge Estates for the past 92 days." Somewhere in the front row, Preston's phone slipped from his hand and clattered against the tile floor. Grant Holloway closed his eyes. Vivian's face went the color of old paper. I clicked to slide one.
"I'd like to walk you through the evidence." I clicked through the slides at the pace of a metronome. Slide two came up. State versus Preston Holloway. 20 counts printed in 24-point font.
The room made a noise like a punctured tire. Preston tried to stand. Owen, who had already moved into position at the end of the front row, placed one hand on Preston's shoulder and pushed him back into the chair. "Stay seated, son. This is the last part of the show you get to watch."
Slide three. DNA lab report. I read four sentences from Dr. Wexler's summary. Serial pattern. Court-ready.
100% match to Preston Holloway from his 2022 DUI booking sample. Prints on four separate spray cans across three subdivisions. Slide four. Trail cam footage. Three clips played in sequence with the volume up.
The fence attack. Preston laughing directly into the camera, unaware. The mailbox attack. Preston with the aluminum bat. Chad live streaming.
Tanner drunk laughing. The pool harassment of Cooper Preston, shoving a phone into a 14-year-old boy's face while the boy tried to walk away. In row five, Chad Prentice's mother began to sob. Slide five. The audio waveform of Preston's Wednesday night live stream.
I played the 8-second clip once. Preston's voice came through the speakers with cinema quality clarity. "Widower's dead wife's name final boss level. Hilarious, bro." Somebody in row nine gasped so loud it echoed.
Slide six. Vivian's text messages to attorney Randall Kessler. I zoomed in on one line. Kessler, Preston did it again. Old man on 4th Street.
Handle it before he files. Timestamp 3 months earlier. Vivian began to shake. Grant tried to slip out the side door. Deputy Trent Halverson stepped into the doorway and shook his head.
Grant sat down on the floor. His legs stopped holding him. Slide seven, the heat map. A cluster of red dots surrounding the Holloway household like a bull's-eye. Slide eight, the 17 victims.