Chapter 19
Carson spread the twelve case files across the dining table, creating a makeshift investigation board with photos, timelines, and notes. It was Saturday morning, and he’d been at it for three hours already.
Nora emerged from the bedroom, phone in hand, and stopped when she saw the setup.
“You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“The obsessive detective thing.” She moved closer, studying the files. “Tell me you slept at least a little bit last night.”
“Some.”
“How much is some?”
“Three hours. Maybe four.” He rubbed his eyes. “I can’t stop thinking about this. Twelve women, Nora. Twelve that we know of. All reporting crimes. All having evidence disappear under Shaw’s watch. How many more are there that we haven’t found yet?”
Nora set down her phone and wrapped her arms around him from behind. “I know. And I know you need to solve this. But you also need to take care of yourself. You’re no good to those women if you burn out.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re running on four hours of sleep and too much coffee.” She pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “Take a break. Have breakfast with me. Then we can look at this together. Fresh eyes might help.”
Carson wanted to argue. Wanted to say he didn’t need a break, that he was fine, that he could handle this.
But he’d promised Nora he’d stop shutting her out. Stop obsessing to the point of self-destruction.
“Okay,” he said. “Breakfast. Then you can help me find the pattern.”
“Good. Because I already have theories.”
“You do?”
“I’m an accountant, Carson. I find patterns in data for a living. This is just a different kind of data.”
***
Over scrambled eggs and toast that Nora made—because Carson absolutely would have burned it—she studied the files.
“Okay, so twelve cases spanning Shaw’s tenure. All women. All with evidence mysteriously disappearing.” She made notes on a legal pad. “What were the time frames?”
“Spread out over about fifteen years. Shaw was captain for twenty years total, but these cases are all from his last fifteen.”
“So something changed fifteen years ago. He either got involved in something, started protecting someone, or...” She paused. “Or he was being paid to make evidence disappear.”
“That’s what I’m thinking. But paid by who? And why these specific cases?”
Nora pulled the files closer, reading through victim statements. “All different types of crimes. Stalking, assault, home invasion, harassment. Different perpetrators—or at least, no obvious connection between suspects.”
“I checked. None of the suspects knew each other. Different backgrounds, different locations, different MOs.”
“But Shaw knew all of them?” Nora looked up. “What if Shaw wasn’t protecting one person? What if he was protecting multiple people? Like...he was running some kind of service. Make evidence disappear for a price.”
Carson stared at her. That was exactly the kind of outside-the-box thinking he needed.
“That would explain why the cases are so different,” he said slowly. “Why there’s no pattern in the crimes themselves. The pattern is Shaw.”
“Right. So the question is, who was paying him? And how did they know to approach him?” Nora tapped her pen against the pad. “You don’t just randomly approach a police captain and ask him to destroy evidence. There has to be a connection.”
“A middleman. Someone who knew Shaw was corrupt and connected him with people who needed evidence to disappear.”
“Or multiple someones. This could be a whole network.” Nora’s eyes widened. “Carson, what if Eugene and Dan knew about this? What if that’s how they operated for so long without getting caught?”
Carson’s blood ran cold. He hadn’t made that connection. But it made sense. Eugene had been stalking women for years—Avery Shone, the other victims in Nora’s building, probably more they hadn’t identified yet. And he’d been careful. Professional. Like he knew how to avoid leaving evidence.
Like someone had taught him.
“I need to talk to Dan,” Carson said, standing abruptly. “He’s been cooperating with prosecutors. Maybe he’ll tell me about Shaw.”
“Wait.” Nora grabbed his arm. “Don’t go off half-cocked. If Shaw is dirty and Dan knows about it, you need to be strategic. Figure out what to ask. How to approach it.”
She was right. Carson forced himself to sit back down.
“Okay. Strategic. What do we know for sure?”
They spent the next hour mapping out what they knew versus what they suspected. Facts versus theories. Evidence versus hunches.
By the time they finished, they had a clearer picture:
Facts:
Twelve cases with missing evidence during Shaw’s tenure
All evidence destruction authorized by Shaw
All victims were women reporting crimes against them
No obvious connection between perpetrators
Theories:
Shaw was being paid to destroy evidence
Multiple people were using Shaw’s services
There was a middleman connecting criminals to Shaw
Eugene and Dan may have been part of this network
“We need more evidence,” Nora said, scowling at the list. “Right now, this is all circumstantial. You need proof Shaw was taking money, proof of who paid him, proof of the network.”
“Shaw’s financial records would show deposits. Large amounts of cash or unusual transactions.” Carson pulled out his phone. “I’ll have Finn pull Shaw’s banking history. See if there are any red flags.”
“And the middleman. If there’s someone connecting criminals to Shaw, there has to be a trail. Phone records. Email. Something.”
Carson looked at Nora with admiration. “You’re really good at this.”
“I find fraud for a living. This is just fraud with a badge.” She smiled. “Plus, I’m invested. Eugene terrorized me for months. If Shaw helped him do that by destroying evidence in other cases, I want him to pay.”
“He will.” Carson’s voice was hard. “I promise you, Nora. If Shaw’s dirty, I’ll prove it. And he’ll face justice.”
***
Monday morning, Carson met with Finn in a secure room at the station.
“You’re sure about this?” Finn asked, pulling up Shaw’s financial records on his laptop. “Going after a former captain? That’s career suicide if you’re wrong.”
“I’m not wrong. Look at the cases. The pattern is there.”
Finn held up his hands in surrender. “I’m not arguing. I’m just saying, be careful. Shaw has friends in the department. People who worked with him for decades. If you accuse him without solid proof, they’ll close ranks.”
“Then help me find solid proof.”
Finn typed rapidly. “Okay, let’s see what we’ve got. Shaw’s salary was public record. $120K annually when he retired. Pension of about $80K. Standard for a captain with his years of service.”
“What about deposits? Large amounts of cash?”
“Looking... Okay, this is interesting. Shaw had a savings account that showed regular deposits beyond his salary. Nothing huge. $2,000 here, $3,000 there. But consistent. Every few months for the past fifteen years.”
“How much total?”
Finn calculated. “Roughly $400,000 over fifteen years.”
Carson’s jaw clenched. “That’s a lot of extra income.”
“Could be legitimate. Side business, investments, inheritance—”
“Or payments for services rendered.” Carson leaned over Finn’s shoulder. “Can you trace where the deposits came from?”
“They’re all cash deposits made in person at various bank branches. No electronic trail.” Finn frowned. “That’s suspicious in itself. Who deposits cash anymore? It’s like he was deliberately avoiding a paper trail.”
“Because he knew what he was doing was illegal.” Carson pulled out his phone and texted Captain Holloway: Need to meet. Found financial evidence.
“What about phone records?” Carson asked. “If Shaw was coordinating with criminals, there have to be calls.”
“I’d need a warrant for that. And to get a warrant, we need probable cause. Right now, all we have is suspicious deposits.”
“The twelve cases with destroyed evidence plus $400,000 in unexplained cash deposits—that’s probable cause.” Carson knew he was pushing a line, but if what he was thinking was true, it was worth it.
“For a civilian, yes. For a former police captain?” Finn shook his head. “We need more. A judge will want to see a clear connection between the deposits and the destroyed evidence.”
Carson swore under his breath. Finn was right. They needed more. He hated playing it by the book sometimes.
“What about Shaw’s movements?” he asked, desperate to find the smoking gun. “Where he’s been since he retired?”
“Arizona. Phoenix area. But he travels a lot according to his credit card statements.” Finn pulled up more records. “Frequent trips back to Washington. Like, monthly trips.”
“Why would a retired cop visit Washington every month?”
“Good question.” Finn highlighted the dates. “And look, some of these trips coincide with evidence destruction dates. Not all of them, but several.”
“So he’d fly in, authorize evidence destruction, fly back out.”
“Possibly. Or he maintained connections here. Kept his hand in things even after retirement.”
Carson’s mind raced. This was bigger than he’d thought. Shaw hadn’t just been corrupt during his tenure. He’d continued whatever operation he’d been running even after leaving the force.
Which meant there might be cases with missing evidence that occurred after Shaw retired. Cases where someone still in the department was doing Shaw’s work for him.
“Finn, pull all cases with missing or destroyed evidence from the past five years. Since Shaw retired. See if there’s a similar pattern.”
Finn looked up from the computer, frowning. “You think Shaw has someone on the inside still doing this?”
“I think Shaw built something. A system. And systems don’t just stop because one person leaves.” Carson stood. “I need to talk to Holloway. Get authorization to dig deeper.”
“Be careful, man. If there’s someone in the department helping Shaw, you don’t know who to trust.”
“I trust you. I trust Holloway. That’s enough.”
***
Captain Holloway’s expression grew darker as Carson laid out everything they’d found.