Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Union Station Federal Courthouse
Tacoma, Washington
Union Station rose against the skyline like something out of another era, a Beaux-Arts masterpiece with a massive copper dome oxidized to a soft green patina. The building’s reflection rippled brightly across the Thea Foss Waterway just beyond as downtown Tacoma hummed around them.
Allie and Jason entered the historic structure.
Inside, marble stretched in every direction.
Their footsteps echoed as they walked down a massive hallway until they were directly underneath the rotunda, the sound magnified by vaulted ceilings two stories high.
Light filtered down from the dome above and cast geometric shadows across the polished floors.
Allie had been in this building half a dozen times, and it never failed to make her feel like she should be whispering.
They reached the elevator bank and rode up to the fourth floor, which was occupied by the U.S. Attorney’s office. The receptionist directed them to follow a young man who led them to a conference room where three people were waiting. Allie noted their drawn faces as they entered.
A woman with dark hair pulled back in a loose ponytail stood up and extended her hand. “I’m Sarah Park, Assistant U.S. Attorney. Thank you for coming.”
“Agents King and Bishop,” Jason said.
Allie shook her hand in turn, noticing Park’s firm grip despite the visible strain on her face.
“This is Diane Miller,” Park continued, gesturing to an older woman with silver-streaked hair and red-rimmed eyes. “She’d been Thomas’s secretary since he started. Everyone calls her Dee-Dee.”
The secretary managed a small nod but didn’t speak.
“And Jim MacKenzie, one of our senior paralegals.” Park indicated a man who appeared to be in his forties. He wore wire-rimmed glasses and had draped his suit jacket over the chair behind him.
They all took seats around the polished table. The room smelled faintly of coffee and paper, reminding Allie of their own conference room.
“We appreciate you meeting with us,” Allie began. “We know this is difficult.”
Park nodded. “Yes. Thank you. Before we get started, Elias Thorne—our U.S. Attorney—is currently overseas. He wanted me to pass along that this office will assist your investigation in any way possible. Whatever you need.”
“We’ll take you up on that,” Jason said.
Allie studied the three faces across from her. Dee-Dee kept her eyes down, holding a tissue to her nose. MacKenzie sat rigidly with his hands folded on the table, and Park seemed to be holding herself together through sheer will.
“How long had each of you worked with AUSA Sterling?” Allie asked.
“Five years for me,” Park said.
“You must have been pretty young,” Jason noted. Allie agreed. The attorney didn’t look like she was too much older than she was.
Park nodded. “I was. Not quite fresh out of law school, but not too far off. I tried my hand at private practice, but decided I wanted to do something that mattered.” Her voice faltered slightly.
“Thomas actually convinced me to apply here. He said prosecution was more fulfilling than defending white-collar criminals for billable hours.”
“And how about you, Dee-Dee?” Allie asked her gently, aware of how upset the woman seemed to be.
“Eight years,” she whispered, her voice catching.
She pressed the tissue harder against her nose.
“He was... he was a good man. Kind. Always remembered birthdays, asked about my grandkids.” Her voice broke on the last word, and she pressed her lips together and composed herself before continuing.
“Sorry. I just can't believe he's gone.”
MacKenzie reached over and squeezed Dee-Dee’s hand before answering. “Seven,” he said, “although I’d known of him for years, of course. If you went up against him, you knew you better be prepared.”
Allie made a note and then addressed the three of them. “What can you tell us about him professionally? His work style, for example, and how he approached his cases?”
Park squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them and looked at Allie directly.
“Thomas was one of the best attorneys in this office. He was thorough and methodical. He didn’t cut corners, and he didn’t take cases lightly.
His conviction rate was excellent, but that’s because he only moved forward when the evidence was solid. ”
“He wouldn’t prosecute just to prosecute,” MacKenzie said. “If the case had holes, he’d tell you. He cared about getting it right, not just getting a win.”
“And what was his caseload like?” Jason asked. “What areas did he focus on?”
“Financial crimes, mostly,” Park said. “White-collar stuff. Fraud, embezzlement, public corruption. He had a background in accounting before law school, so he understood the numbers better than most of us. That made him invaluable for complex cases.”
MacKenzie nodded agreeably. “Thomas could look at a balance sheet and spot irregularities in minutes. I’ve seen defense attorneys try to bury him in financial documents, thinking they’d confuse him. Never worked.”
Dee-Dee spoke in a soft voice. “He worked late most nights. I’d leave at five, and he’d still be at his desk, going through files. Sometimes I’d come in the next morning and find him already here.”
“Did he seem stressed recently?” Allie asked. “Worried about anything?”
The three exchanged glances. Park shook her head.
“Not that I noticed. Thomas was always focused, but he wasn’t anxious.
He seemed... normal. We had lunch together last Tuesday, and he said he wanted to take his wife to the San Juans for their anniversary.
” The reality of that comment hung in the air for a moment.
“Was he working on anything particularly sensitive recently? Any cases that might have drawn unwanted attention?”
Park exchanged a glance with MacKenzie. “Thomas handled a range of cases. Financial crimes attract a certain kind of defendant—people with resources, connections. Nothing that stood out as especially dangerous, but...”
“But what?” Allie prompted.
MacKenzie adjusted his glasses. “He was persistent. When he got his teeth into something, he didn’t let go. That made him effective, but it also meant he stepped on toes. He wasn’t aggressive for the sake of it, but he didn’t back down when he believed he was right.”
“Whose toes did he step on?” Jason asked.
“Defendants, obviously. Defense attorneys who didn’t appreciate his attention to detail. Occasionally witnesses who didn’t want to cooperate.” MacKenzie shrugged. “The usual suspects in any prosecution. But Thomas kept things professional. He didn’t antagonize people unnecessarily.”
“Anyone specific come to mind?” Jason asked. “Someone who might have held a grudge against him?”
The three of them fell silent. Park stared at the table, her fingers tracing the wood grain. Dee-Dee shook her head slowly as fresh tears swelled. MacKenzie frowned, clearly running through memories.
“Not off the top of my head,” MacKenzie finally said. “He was professional. He didn’t make it personal, and most people respected that even when they were on opposite sides.”
Allie made another note. “We’ll need to look at his caseload. Current cases and recent ones.”
“Of course,” Park said. “Whatever you need.”
“What about his relationships within the office?” Jason asked. “Any conflicts? Professional disagreements?”
Park shook her head firmly. “Thomas got along with everyone here. He mentored younger attorneys, collaborated well with other AUSAs. If there were disagreements, they were about legal strategy, not personal issues. And he helped me when I started,” she added.
“He kindly showed me the ropes and introduced me to contacts at the FBI field office and local PD. He didn’t have to do that, but he did. ”
“Did he have enemies outside the courtroom?” Allie asked. “Personal issues, financial problems, anything that might make him vulnerable?”
“Not that I knew of,” Park said. “His marriage was solid, with two kids in college. Seemed financially stable as far as I could tell.”
MacKenzie cleared his throat. “Thomas wasn’t flashy. He didn’t need to prove anything to anyone. He just did the work and went home to his family.”
They continued for another ten minutes, covering Sterling’s habits, his routines, and whether he ever mentioned feeling threatened or unsafe.
The picture that emerged was of a dedicated prosecutor who maintained clear boundaries between work and home, who earned respect through competence rather than charisma, and who didn’t collect enemies.
MacKenzie suddenly straightened in his chair, and his brows pinched together. “Wait. There was something last week.”
Allie locked in. “What?”
“An argument. I’d forgotten about it until just now.” The paralegal removed his glasses and cleaned them with the edge of his shirt in a nervous gesture. “I was coming back from lunch. Tuesday, I think. There was a commotion near the elevators down in the atrium.”
“What happened?” Jason asked.
“Thomas was arguing with Tony Bianchi. He’s the regional director for the local longshoremen’s union at the Port of Tacoma.” MacKenzie replaced his glasses. “It got pretty heated. Enough that people were stopping to watch.”
Allie felt her attention sharpen. “Did you hear what they were arguing about?”
“He told me afterward that it was about an investigation he was overseeing the union’s pension fund.
He suspected Bianchi and his associates had been skimming millions from it.
” MacKenzie’s fingers drummed once against the table.
“But Bianchi was accusing Thomas of running a witch hunt designed to bankrupt the workers. Said he was trying to destroy the union.”
Jason’s pen hurried across his notepad. “How aggressive was this argument?”
“I guess it was fairly heated, but it didn’t break out into a full-on fight.
Their voices were raised, and there was a lot of finger pointing, mostly from Bianchi.
He got close enough that Thomas took a step back, and they were loud enough that security started moving in that direction, but it ended before they got there. Bianchi stormed off toward the exit.”
“What did Sterling do?” Allie asked.
“He stood there for a minute, then went back upstairs. When I asked him about it later, he said Bianchi was feeling the pressure. That the evidence was solid and Bianchi knew it.”
“What’s your read on Bianchi?” Allie asked him.
MacKenzie didn’t hesitate. “He’s a longshoreman.
Not to use a cliché, but the union’s his power base, and he’s not shy about protecting it.
He’s built up a lot of political capital, you know, connected to city council, county commissioners, and the like.
Thomas thought he was a bit too financially comfortable, considering his salary. ”
“Meaning?” Jason asked.
“Meaning the rumors about skimming aren’t new,” MacKenzie said. “Thomas wasn’t the first person to look into the pension fund. He was just the first one to actually start building a case.”
Park spoke up. “Tony Bianchi has a reputation. He’s protected that union like it’s his personal fiefdom. Anyone who threatens it usually backs off or gets buried in legal motions and political pressure. Bianchi’s got some power, for sure.”
Allie nodded. “And Sterling didn’t back off.”
“No,” Park said quietly. “He didn’t.”
Allie exchanged a glance with Jason. He gave a small nod.
“We’ll pay him a visit,” Allie said.
Park frowned, concern crossing her face. “Do you really think Tony Bianchi could be involved in Thomas’s death?”
“We’re following every lead,” Jason said evenly. “We can’t rule anyone out this early.”
Allie looked at MacKenzie. “I want all of Sterling’s cases over the last five years. Active, closed, everything.”
MacKenzie blinked. “That could be a couple hundred cases. Maybe more.”
“I understand.”
“Agent Bishop, that’s going to take time to compile. Each case has multiple files, documents, court records—”
Allie met his eyes steadily. “Then the sooner you start, the better.”
MacKenzie glanced at Park, who gave a small nod. He sighed, resignation settling over his features. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Today would be ideal,” Allie said.
“Today,” MacKenzie repeated, rubbing his forehead. “I’ll pull what I can from the database, but organizing it into something coherent will take longer.”
“Start with active cases and work backward,” Jason suggested. “Prioritize anything contentious or involving defendants with resources.”
“Understood,” MacKenzie said.
“Let’s start with what you have on Bianchi,” Allie prompted. “We’ll get the rest later.”
MacKenzie stared at the agents, but seemed to realize they weren’t going to leave without it. Allie and Jason stood, and the paralegal exited the boardroom. He returned a few minutes later and handed Allie a file.
“Thanks. We’ll be in touch about the rest.”
Park escorted them through the offices. Outside the conference room, the hallway buzzed with muted activity. “Thomas was a good man,” she said as they waited for the elevator. “If there’s anything else you need from us, anything at all, call me directly.” She handed Allie a business card.
“We will,” Allie said, and tucked the card into her jacket pocket.
The elevator doors opened with a soft chime. Jason and Allie stepped inside, and Park remained in the hallway, watching as the doors slid closed.
They descended in silence. When they stepped back into the marble atrium, Jason turned to her. “So, Bianchi first?”
“Bianchi first,” Allie agreed.
They walked through the grand hall, their footsteps echoing off the polished stone.
Allie pulled out the file as they headed toward Jason’s Charger. “I’ll skim this on the way.”
“Something tells me the regional director of a longshoremen’s union isn’t going to appreciate a visit from the FBI.”
“Probably not,” Allie said, opening the car door. “But we’re going anyway.”