Chapter 16
chapter
sixteen
Morning sunlight filtered through live oak branches, casting dappled shadows across Forsyth Park. The fountain sprayed water skyward in crystalline arcs. Joggers circled the perimeter while tourists posed for photos against the landmark.
Lawson sat on the east bench for the third time in twelve hours. Last night she'd searched by phone flashlight, fingers probing beneath the wooden slats, eyes scanning the fountain base for hiding spots. Rain-soaked and frustrated, she'd returned home past midnight only to arrive again at dawn.
The bench revealed nothing. No hidden compartment. No loose brick in the fountain wall. No insurance policy that Monica might have left five years ago.
She ran her hand along the bench underside again. Splinters snagged her fingertips. Birds scattered as a child raced past screaming with delight. Eight a.m. and already the park filled with activity, each passerby a potential witness to her increasingly desperate search.
Her phone vibrated. Claire's name on the screen. Lawson answered.
"Can you come to my office? Something you need to see."
"Now?"
"Five minutes ago, ideally." Keys jingled in the background. "Fiona brought information about your podcaster friend. Time-sensitive."
"On my way." Lawson stood, brushing bench dust from her jeans.
Lawson cut across the square, passing coffee shops open for morning business. Tourists consulted maps while locals moved with practiced efficiency toward workplaces.
The Victorian building that housed Claire's practice appeared unchanged from Lawson's previous visit. Inside, voices drifted from the second-floor conference room rather than Claire's private office. Lawson took the stairs two at a time.
Claire and Fiona hunched over a laptop, documents spread across the table between them.
Both looked up as Lawson entered. Fiona wore yesterday's clothes with added wrinkles.
Dark circles shadowed her eyes. Claire had managed business attire but left her hair loose instead of her usual courtroom-ready style.
"You look like you haven't slept," Lawson said.
"Kettle, pot." Fiona gestured to Lawson's rain-wrinkled shirt and muddied jeans.
Claire pushed a chair toward Lawson. "Sit. Coffee's fresh."
Lawson claimed the chair but ignored the offered mug. "What's this about?"
"Leah Blackwell's podcast metrics." Fiona turned her laptop screen. "Something felt off about her sudden success. Three million downloads for an inaugural episode? Unheard of without major platform backing."
The screen displayed analytics charts and social media metrics. Numbers and graphs that meant nothing to Lawson.
"In English."
"Her numbers are fake." Fiona tapped the screen. "Bot farms generating artificial downloads. Paid social media engagement. Coordinated amplification campaign across multiple platforms."
"Someone's inflating her popularity?"
"Someone with serious resources." Fiona clicked to another screen. "This level of manipulation costs six figures minimum. Professional services operating from overseas servers. Untraceable accounts. Corporate-level strategy."
Claire slid a document across the table. "Fiona traced financial transactions through three shell companies. The money trail ends here."
The paper showed incorporation documents for Equinox Media Solutions LLC. Lawson scanned the dense legal text until reaching the registration information. Principal address listed as 1440 Broadway, New York. Same building as Hutchinson & Associates.
"The law firm where Blackwell clerked." Lawson looked up from the paper. "This proves connection but not causation."
"There's more." Claire produced another document. "Fiona dug into the firm's senior partnership."
A professional biography filled the page. Thomas Hutchinson, founding partner. Harvard Law graduate. Twenty years specializing in corporate law and crisis management. The photograph showed an older version of a face Lawson recognized instantly.
"Ray Hutchinson's brother." The connection crystallized. "Thomas Hutchinson is funding Blackwell's podcast."
"Not directly." Fiona leaned forward. "The money flows through elaborate channels. Plausible deniability preserved. But the trail exists if you know where to look."
Lawson processed the implications. Ray Hutchinson had been involved with Monica. His brother ran the law firm where Blackwell clerked. Now, it seemed that firm funded Blackwell's investigation into Monica's murder through hidden channels.
"This isn't coincidence." The pieces aligned too perfectly. "Blackwell's entire investigation is orchestrated by Hutchinson."
"Which changes the fundamental nature of her podcast." Fiona closed her laptop. "This isn't ethical journalism."
Claire gathered the documents into a neat stack. "The question becomes why. What does Hutchinson gain from publicizing his brother's connection to a murdered detective?"
"Control of the narrative." Lawson stood, unable to remain seated. "Episode Three presented Ray as the heartbroken lover. Portrayed him sympathetically despite having a clear motive."
"Classic misdirection." Fiona nodded. "Focus audience attention on one story while obscuring another."
"But what story are they hiding?" Claire tapped her fingers against the table. "What's valuable enough to justify this elaborate scheme?"
Lawson thought of Monica's files. The list of corrupt officers. Hutchinson's name circled with a question mark. The surveillance photos proving someone had discovered their relationship.
"Reputation." Lawson paced along the windows. "Ray Hutchinson works Narcotics. Access to major cases. Connections to high-level investigations."
"And his brother represents clients who might benefit from such connections." Fiona completed the thought. "Corporate clients with potential legal exposure."
"Or clients looking to protect investments." Claire added another possibility. "Hutchinson & Associates specializes in crisis management for companies facing criminal investigation."
The implications expanded with each observation. Ray Hutchinson positioned inside law enforcement while Thomas Hutchinson managed damage control outside. Perfect symbiosis for clients needing protection from prosecution.
"I need to know which investigations Ray Hutchinson touched." Lawson pulled out her phone. "Which cases he might have influenced."
"That requires department access." Claire raised an eyebrow. "Records you don't officially have."
"I know someone who does." Lawson dialed Eli Parks' number. The call went to voicemail. She left a message requesting urgent contact.
"The temporary restraining order against Blackwell's podcast goes before Judge Werner this afternoon." Claire checked her watch. "Without evidence of direct harm to an ongoing investigation, he'll likely deny it."
"Even with proof she's funded by interested parties?"
"Legally irrelevant unless we can prove malicious intent." Claire shrugged. "Freedom of the press protects even financially motivated journalism."
Fiona gathered her materials. "I need to file my story before the Chronicle's deadline. This connection deserves public exposure even if courts won't intervene."
"Wait." Lawson placed her hand on Fiona's laptop. "Publishing now alerts Hutchinson that we've uncovered his involvement. We lose tactical advantage."
"My editor expects copy tomorrow by noon." Fiona checked her phone.
"Give me time." Lawson maintained eye contact. "Time to verify Ray Hutchinson's case involvement. To strengthen the connection before exposing it."
Fiona hesitated. "Deadline journalism waits for no one."
"This isn't about journalism anymore." Lawson kept her voice level. "Monica died investigating corruption. Her files contained evidence that someone inside the department protected criminal interests. If Ray Hutchinson connects to those same cases—"
"You think he killed her." Fiona's expression sharpened. "That his brother is now using Blackwell to control the narrative around her death."
"I think a twenty-four-hour delay won't destroy your story but might help build mine."
The room fell silent except for the ticking wall clock. Claire watched the exchange without intervention. Fiona weighed professional opportunity against Lawson's request.
"Twenty-four hours." Fiona finally nodded. "Not one minute more."
Lawson released her hold on the laptop. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet." Fiona packed her bag. "This information becomes public tomorrow regardless of what you discover. The Hutchinson connection deserves exposure even if Ray's involvement remains unproven."
"Understood."
Fiona gathered her notes in a single, neat motion and was gone, the door sealing shut as neatly as she’d left the conversation.
"She'll wait exactly twenty-four hours." Claire gathered the remaining documents. "No journalistic courtesy beyond that."
"I need department access." Lawson checked her phone again. No response from Parks. "Ray Hutchinson's case history. Personnel file. Anything connecting him to Monica beyond his recorded statement."
"That requires a warrant or internal investigation." Claire organized file folders into her briefcase. "Neither of which you can initiate without evidence."
"Then I need to find evidence."
Claire studied her for a long moment. "What aren't you telling me?"
Lawson considered how much to reveal. The storage unit discovery remained too volatile to fully share. "Monica left files. Documentation of department corruption. Officers taking payoffs from criminal organizations."
"Where are these files now?"
"Secure location." The partial truth came easier than expected. "But they don't explicitly name Ray Hutchinson. I need departmental records to connect him to the cases Monica investigated."
Claire closed her briefcase with twin snaps. "If such evidence exists, Blackwell likely has it already. Her resources clearly exceed yours."
"But her motives don't align with justice." Lawson moved toward the door. "She's building a story that serves her backers, not the truth."
Her phone chimed with a notification. Dead Air Productions: Episode Five: "The Officer's Statement" drops tomorrow at 9 AM. What Detective Lawson told authorities... and what she didn't.
Lawson's stomach tightened. The episode title suggested Blackwell had obtained her official statement from the night Monica died. The statement where she'd omitted critical details—their relationship, her drinking before the meeting, the fight that had separated them those final weeks.
"Problem?" Claire asked, noting her expression.
"Tomorrow's episode." Lawson showed her the screen. "Blackwell's focusing on inconsistencies in my statement to authorities."
"Painting you as an unreliable witness or potential suspect?"
"Either of which destroys my credibility." Lawson pocketed her phone. "Twenty-four hours just became more urgent."