"And what would you do?" Adrian Saunters, the district attorney in the capital crimes unit, asked Micaela Barboza. "How would you rule here?"
He walked around her desk and stood behind her. Micaela was not exceptionally comfortable with this. She turned around in her chair, which improved the situation only marginally. Now, she had to look up at her boss. It was not a good feeling. She stood up to speak to Saunters eye to eye.
Better, she thought.
"I," she said, 'would charge him. With inciting murder.'
"You realize this amounts to an all-circumstantial case?" he asked critically.
"Of course. We have two issues here," she replied. "First, we must assume that Cantu hired a hitman who has yet to be identified. On the other hand, we have no witnesses who saw the crime."
"I agree," Saunters agreed. "So the indictment is shaky, isn't it?"
"Yes and no. If we look only at the individual evidence, they do not add up to a coherent picture. But if we take an overall assessment, the individual pieces of the puzzle fit together to form a complete picture."
Saunters seemed to be more convinced. He weighed the individual pieces of information they had against each other. "And if you're wrong, what would be the consequences?" he asked.
"I'd say Cantus' career would be over. He'd probably never be able to fully rehabilitate himself. Something always sticks. Whether it's right or not doesn't matter."
"That's right. Something always sticks," Saunters replied. 'But what would be the consequences if you are right and we don't press charges? I mean, if we drop it and don't follow up?'
"Then three things would probably happen. We would let an official who was probably involved in a great injustice long ago get away with it," Micaela began.
"That's a given," Saunters replied. 'Long since statute-barred and therefore no longer justiciable.'
Micaela thought about whether she should object because Cantus's involvement in the Granther experiment had such serious consequences for the children involved. But she decided against it. Formally, her boss was simply right. "Okay, let's leave that out. Then, we would let a murderer go free next. And," she added, 'we might not prevent a second murder, namely a future attack on Garner."
"I agree. And third?' Saunters asked. "What would happen third?"
"Cantu would probably become the next mayor of Boston."
"Correct. I agree with you, except for the first point, which is irrelevant. And it shouldn't guide your feelings either. Impunity is impunity, for whatever reason."
"So what do we do now?"
"More research," Saunters replied, frowning. "The evidence is too patchy for me; it's all thin. It won't hold up in court." He walked around the desk towards the office door. "Since yesterday, we've been monitoring Cantus's cell phone, and the cyberpunks are sifting through his computers. Bring me more concrete evidence that supports the indictment and can't be torn apart by the defense in court. Something that even the best criminal defense attorney can't argue away." He opened the door with his back to Micaela. But as he was walking towards the hallway, he turned to her again. 'And then, Micaela, we'll file the charges.'
xxx
As much as Ashlyn hated how slowly everything was progressing, she was delighted that Dominic was succeeding with the youth welfare office. Not only was the current boss on her side, or instead on the side of the children, but if all went well, they would soon have enough documents to show the extent to which Cantu was responsible for what happened. She was also curious to see how the DA's office was progressing with its investigations. She wanted to report back to Micaela by tomorrow at the latest. She made a note in her calendar when her cell phone rang. Ashlyn recognized the number at first glance: it was Kamil Gazal. In fact, she had long since expected the clan leader to call again. She had saved his employee from prison and almost certainly prevented a disaster. But the clan chief had become unusually quiet after Ashlyn had not given him the information he wanted about the events in her office.
"Counselor," Gazal greeted her in his calm and deep voice. I want to thank you for taking care of my employee."
So today, he started on that track, Ashlyn thought. 'That was my job,' she replied soberly. 'No more, no less.' Ashlyn had no interest in developing a personal relationship with Boston's most notorious crime boss.
"Well, that may be," Gazal replied without being immediately irritated by Ashlyn's tone. 'Nevertheless, it was not a matter of course.'
"And I already told you, it was mainly a matter between Mr. Mazin and me," Ashlyn interrupted.
"Of course it was. And I don't want to bother you or waste your time. I want you to know that I owe you a favor. So if you ever need my help, don't hesitate to ask me."
"Thank you for the generous offer," Ashlyn replied with a cynical undertone that could not be overheard because it was important to her to make it clear once and for all that she did not value such promises. "But I'll pass."
"Well, as you say," Gazal replied, before ending their conversation with the words, "We'll see!"
xxx
Monica Johnston was personally interested in helping Dominic Burke with his research. Investigating this injustice and, above all, the question of what role her agency had played in it had become her top priority. In the past few days, she had spoken to numerous colleagues about the Granther experiment. To her horror, she had even discovered that some of the foster parents selected by the Department of Child and Family Services had criminal records for sex crimes. She would not hesitate to do everything in her power if there was anything she could do to ensure that this was never repeated.
She looked at her watch. She and Dominic Burke had an appointment with the head of the state archives, Helene Rowland, at eleven o'clock in the morning.
"Good morning, Ms. Johnston. How are you?" She promptly heard a familiar voice behind her. When she turned around, she looked into Dominic Burke's bright, smiling face.
"Hello, I'm glad you're here. Then let's go up to see Helene Rowland right away."
Dominic nodded, and together, they made their way to the office of the head of the agency.
Rowland's assistant led them directly to a meeting room, where shelves filled with reference books reached the ceiling.
A moment later, a side door to the room opened, and a tall woman dressed in an elegant gray pantsuit entered. She looked in her early sixties, had dark hair tied back in a bun, and wore glasses to match her outfit.
"Hello, everyone," she greeted them in a firm and confident voice. "Thank you for coming here in person to view the files. Of course, we could have sent them to you."
"Hello, Mrs. Rowland. We're delighted to be here, and thank you for seeing us right away. We thought it would be faster this way. Besides," Johnston added, "I've never been to your office myself. It's an impressive building, with an even more remarkable trove of documents."
Rowland had to laugh heartily before replying with a conspiratorial look: "You have no idea how right you are in your assumption. As head of the state archives, I enjoy certain privileges and have spent many evenings rummaging through long-forgotten files. It's amazing what you can find there."
"That sounds very interesting," Dominic now joined the conversation. 'And maybe you will grant us a private tour into the heart of your collection at another time.'
"That, Mr. Burke, is at this moment promised," Rowland replied and pointed to the table. "Please sit; my colleague will be here with the files soon. He went through them all last night."
After all three had sat down at the table, there was a knock at the door, and a middle-aged man entered the room. Rowland rose and went to meet him. They conferred briefly, and Monica Johnston thought she saw something like surprise on the face of the agency director. She exchanged a few words with her colleague and returned to the table.
With raised eyebrows and a tone of regret and despair, she said, "I have to apologize. But my colleague has just informed me that the car with the Granther files has disappeared. The car is still there, but the files are all gone."
xxx
"The files are gone?" Ashlyn asked with a furrowed brow as she walked into her kitchen and took a bottle of water out of the fridge while holding the phone to her ear with her other hand. "The files that would have revealed all the details of those responsible?"
"All gone," Dominic replied.
"That only leaves the information Micaela got from her colleagues. And, of course, the leads that lead to the Darknet," Ashlyn added, running her hand through her hair. "Which brings us back to square one. We have nothing except a tired suspicion, shadily obtained traces of a possible assassination attempt, and some third-hand information. Or, in other words, not a single actionable clue."
"Not quite; there is one more thing," Dominic replied.
Ashlyn frowned even more profoundly. "And what might that be?"
"On the day Booker disappeared after his pub visit, Marcus Cantu was at a campaign event less than ten minutes away. A political get-together, so to speak. So if we stick to our questions about motive and try to find out who benefits from the details of everything that happened that day not coming to light, Cantu is still our top candidate."
"I know," Ashlyn replied, slightly annoyed, and closed her eyes for a second. "But what does that help us? He has taken on a killer if the Darknet information is accurate. So it wouldn't matter if he happened to be around. Besides, he had already taken the offensive in public and admitted that he had also worked in the area then. However, he is currently only presenting himself as a peripheral figure, as an opposing employee. Without evidence that he bore much more significant and comprehensive responsibility, it would be difficult for us to challenge his claim. But if we could prove it, it would probably be highly damaging to him. Because he would not only be a reluctant recipient of orders but also be primarily responsible for the implementation of the experiment. And we would have a motive again. Because then he would have every reason to eliminate all traces that stand in the way of his career. Files. And witnesses."
"Then let's investigate his surroundings. I'll get to work on his staff and see if I can figure it out," Dominic added after a few seconds.
Ashlyn took a sip from her cup and breathed deeply. "Good, do that. I'll meet with Micaela again and see what the investigation into the Booker killing and Cantus' activities on the Darknet has revealed." Ashlyn ended the call and paused after turning to look into the confused eyes of her girlfriend Kim, who had apparently come out of the bedroom a few seconds earlier.
"So you're seeing Micaela Barboza again?" Kim stated with an icy tone.
Ashlyn closed her eyes for a moment and exhaled slowly. 'For professional reasons.'
Kim nodded slowly and pulled the corners of her mouth down. "Which have been piling up since you took on this mandate, and know that Micaela is involved."
Ashlyn smiled cynically and shook her head as she headed towards the bathroom. "I don't have time or desire to argue with you about something that doesn't exist."
"Oh, okay," the teacher replied, nodding eagerly. 'I'm sorry, I just noticed that you're spending more time with your --' She paused and suddenly laughed. "Now I almost said your ex-girlfriend because that's how it seems to me! That you spend more time with your former colleague than with me, your girlfriend, since you took on this mandate."
"This is not about you or me, Kim!" Ashlyn replied louder, and Kim drew in her chin in surprise. The blonde was also surprised at herself. Even though she often came across as combative in court, she was the complete opposite in her private life. "Damn it, this is about a man who went through hell as a child and, in all likelihood, not only he but hundreds of other children and teenagers because a jerk named Marcus Cantu supported Granther and is now doing everything he can to cover up this damn shit. I am trying to get justice for Tim Garner, and all the others who were placed in the care of pedophile foster parents back then. So yes, I am meeting with Micaela again because we are working hand in hand with the DA's office. I thought, of all people, you would be able to understand it the most!"
Kim pressed her lips together and gritted her teeth. Of course, she more than understood Ashlyn's commitment; after all, she was the teacher who worked with children day in and day out and would do everything in her power to ensure that one of her charges received justice if she learned that something terrible like sexual abuse had happened to them.
Ashlyn took a deep breath and accepted Kim's silence as consent. She looked at the clock on the kitchen wall and frowned; it was already seven o'clock in the evening. "It may be late," she murmured as she walked past the brunette towards the bathroom. So don't wait up."
Kim nodded slowly, licked her lips, and blinked back the tears in her eyes after the statement.