After Rebirth, I Cleared My Name Through a Drunk Driving Incident Chapter 05

After Rebirth, I Cleared My Name Through a Drunk Driving Incident Chapter 05

The detective’s face darkened at once. “What did you 

just say?” 

Harding stepped forward. “What I said is this. Claire 

Mitchell was stopped for DUI at 8:12 p.m. last night. She was brought in for processing at 8:20. At exactly 8:30, she was in front of me signing paperwork and 

giving a statement. We have body cam footage, station 

surveillance, timestamps, officers, and civilian 

witnesses.” 

Then she stared him down. “So tell me how she split into two people and murdered someone at home at 

8:30.” 

The detective’s expression changed. “You’re serious?” 

Harding didn’t blink. “I’ll put my badge and my career on it. Pull the records if you want.” 

Then she turned to another officer. “Get everything. The body cam footage, the street camera footage, the timestamps, the paperwork. Now.” 

Minutes later, all of it was spread across the table. 

The timeline was brutal. 

8:02. I drove past the intersection. 

8:10. I got stopped. 

8:12. I blew over the limit. 

From 8:20 to 8:35, I was under police supervision the whole time. 

And at exactly 8:30, I was still in full view at the 

station. 

That was the same time they claimed Jessica was killed. 

There was no way I could’ve been at my apartment. Not 

even close. 

The detectives just stood there. Every piece of evidence they’d brought in looked airtight. Until my alibi smashed straight through it. 

One younger detective muttered, “That makes no sense. The evidence all lines up.” 

Harding slapped the report onto the table. “Then use 

your brains. The timeline doesn’t fit. She wasn’t there. 

So what good is the rest of your evidence? This is 

obviously a setup, and none of you saw it?” 

The homicide captain looked furious. “We still need to 

bring her in for questioning.” 

“No,” Harding said flatly. “She committed a DUI 

offense, so until transfer, she stays under our 

division’s control. If you want to question her, you do it here. You’re not walking out with her.” 

Both sides were law enforcement. The room locked up 

fast. 

The issue got pushed up the chain, and city command stepped in. In the end, they questioned me right there. 

I sat in the interview chair. A homicide detective sat 

across from me. Harding stood off to the side. 

“Claire, tell us again. Where were you at 8:30 last night?” 

“At the station,” I said. “Getting processed for DUI.” 

He pushed a video toward me. “But the footage shows 

you.” 

The image was blurry, but still clear enough to make my stomach turn. A woman with my height, my build, 

my clothes, dragging Jessica down the hall. It looked so 

much like me that even I almost believed it. 

“That’s not me.” 

“Then who is it?” 

“I don’t know.” 

“Why were your skin cells found on Jessica?” 

“I had contact with her before. That’s not strange.” 

“And your neighbor says they saw you drag her inside.” 

I shook my head. “I didn’t do it.” 

I knew how it sounded. Like I was refusing to confess. Like I was holding the line and waiting for a better lie. 

The detective frowned. Everything pointed at me. Except the timeline. And time was harder than 

anything else. 

When the questioning paused, Harding spoke. “Enough. She didn’t have time to commit the crime. That’s solid. You got the wrong case. Go back, recheck 

the witnesses, redo the forensics, and start over.” 

Then she looked at them and said, “Don’t pin this on 

an innocent woman.” 

They got nowhere.