Jake greeted his brothers, introducing Sterling. Everett and Dillon were surprised but kept their opinions to themselves, maintaining a polite demeanor towards her.
Noah had already taken a seat, talking to Dillon and Everett. Drew and Bethany quietly pointed out who each person was to Molson who had never met any of the Ramesly clan before.
“You’re the tabloid reporter who splashed my mother’s personal business all over the papers,” Molson said in disgust as he recognized Sterling’s name. “Who asked you to come?”
“I did,” Drew spoke up as he helped Bethany take off her coat. “Everyone, this is my brother Molson.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Sterling decided an apology was the best way to smooth things over since she was trying to help the family.
“You should be,” Molson looked at Sterling like she was a bug he wanted to step on. He pressed a finger to his temple. “Margot ain’t all there. It wasn’t right to take advantage of her like that.”
“I didn’t know,” Sterling stated softly. It was going to take a long time for her to gain anyone’s trust in the Ramesly family after her previous career. She gave Jake’s hand a warning squeeze to let her handle this when he took her hand in his. His brother Everett raised an eyebrow at the contact. “I apologize.”
“That’s enough,” Jake warned Molson.
“What? You all cozy with her after all that trash she wrote about you in her paper?” Molson challenged Jake with a touch of disbelief. Sterling had made her career writing about the Ramesly family’s drama in a speculative fashion. She had put all their photos in the paper, had made cutting comments and generally stirred up a lot of trouble.
“We talked, and we worked it out,” Jake said clearly with a tone of voice that brooked no argument.
“Leave her alone Molson,” Drew remonstrated his brother as he seated Bethany. “We need all the help we can get to prove Michael’s innocence and David’s guilt.”
“Proof?” Molson laughed bitterly. “I got proof. I recorded the man himself bragging about how he put Michael in jail. You got Bethany remembering Pop cleaning drugs off the floor of a boat with her daddy. He tried to kill her cuz he’s a sociopath. Then there’s the paper trail from all that drug money he run through his own company. Don’t all this count for something?”
“Nowhere on the recording does David identify himself,” Drew calmly explained. “This makes the origin of the voice dubious and you’re not exactly character witness material Molson. While we could prove that Ted had a hand in attempting to kill Bethany, we couldn’t pin anything on David especially now that the pharmacy tech who filled the prescriptions has turned up dead. Bethany’s repressive memories are admissible to court but won’t hold up under questioning. Any jury will discount them. Just because money has been laundered through the company doesn’t mean that David did it. The finger could be pointed at a number of individuals, including Michael.”
“That’s bull!” Molson exploded, pacing the room.
“I didn’t say I agreed with it,” Drew growled back. “I’m just saying what the FBI has said to discount everything. Look, I don’t like this any more than you do. If we were handling the case, I’d bring all of this up and we might be able to charge David. Individually, it’s inconclusive. Together, it’s all very damaging. However, when I spoke to Agent Lawe, he said none of it was pertinent to their case. Unless we can get something to stick, Lawe won’t look at it.”
“What we need is solid proof,” Everett inserted into the conversation.
“Short of a full confession, I don’t see how that’s going to happen,” Drew rubbed his face, exhausted. He’d been putting in extra hours, trying to come up with any sort of solution while Agent Lawe did his best to blow Drew off. “We all know David is smug and conceited, but I don’t think he’s going to let me record him boasting about his victory.”
“I have a different angle,” Sterling hesitated to bring it up. “I don’t have proof yet. It’s only a theory.”
“What is it?” Max asked hopefully.
“A theory,” Molson was sarcastic. “Lotta good that will do.”
“Let her speak,” Jake gave Molson a hard look, putting a hand on Sterling’s shoulder.
She waited a moment to get their attention. “I have someone looking into FBI Agent Lawe’s financials.”
“What?” Max was surprised. “You think Dad’s bribing him?”
“Is that even legal? Looking into someone’s financials?” Bethany asked curiously. “Can you do that?”
“No, it’s not legal,” Drew answered with a frown. “Which means anything you find is inadmissible in court.”
“True,” Sterling conceded. “However, if Lawe is accepting bribes from David, we would be able to find out. If this is the case, then perhaps some reason can be manufactured to look into the money trail and get them caught?”
“That’s crazy,” Noah leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. “An FBI agent accepting bribes. It would mean the end of his career if he really is.”
“It would mean prison time,” Drew commented coldly. It was no secret that he didn’t like Lawe. “The reality is, Lawe isn’t likely to jeopardize himself for money.”
“It’s just a theory,” Sterling offered.
“One that doesn’t hurt to confirm or rule out,” Jake supported her. “If Lawe is accepting bribes and we can prove it, what happens to the case?”
“The whole case would be suspect and have to be re-evaluated,” Drew shrugged, rubbing a hand over his face. “It would implicate David and he could be arrested again as any deal the FBI made with him might be made void if Lawe had a hand in it. However, there is still the evidence against Michael. That doesn’t go away unless someone confesses that they planted it. That’s a highly unlikely scenario. Not only that, we must have just cause to go before a judge to get evidence legally to implicate that Lawe is accepting bribes or planting evidence. If we can’t find just cause, the evidence is inadmissible and useless.”
“Then it doesn’t help Michael at all?” Noah asked grimly.
“No, it doesn’t,” Drew was quiet. He felt their situation was hopeless. He spotted Molson leaving and frowned. “Where are you going?”
Molson paused at the door. He was tired of listening to them chatter about what wouldn’t work. “To do something! I got contacts too. I’m gonna start asking some hard questions and see what happens.”
Drew sighed in frustration. He still wasn’t sure about this plan of Molson’s to try to free Michael. “You really think your gangbanger friends are going to help?”
“Won’t know until I ask,” Molson stated as he pulled the door shut behind him.
