At this, Harrison’s chin jerked back as the air rushed out in a gasp. “He did what?” he shouted.
Pete grinned. “It seems your son has continued not only in your footsteps with creative contracting and business practices, but he has continued a very lucrative side business of dealing in designer drugs. And he’s willing to throw you under the bus.”
Ignoring Harrison's sputtering curses, Jeremy continued with methodical precision. "We're working on warrants for all your financial records. Your accountant's going to have some very interesting conversations with federal agents."
"This is speculation," Harrison's attorney interjected, but Terry could see doubt creeping into her confident demeanor.
"Is it?" Pete slid a printed transcript across the table like he was dealing a winning hand. "This is your son's statement. Signed and witnessed. He's given us chapter and verse on the entire operation."
Harrison's face went pale as he scanned the document, his hands trembling slightly as he read his son's betrayal laid out in black and white. Every aspect of their money-laundering scheme was detailed with the precision of someone desperate to save himself, regardless of the cost to his family. The devastation was written clearly across the older man's features as he realized the magnitude of Harry's confession.
"I want a moment with my client," the attorney said quickly, her professional composure finally cracking.
After five minutes of hushed conversation behind the closed door, Harrison's demeanor changed completely. When Jeremy and Pete returned, the fight had gone out of him like air from a punctured tire.
"My client wants certain conditions for his testimony—" the attorney began.
"We've got what we need, and we'll get the rest." Jeremy curtly cut her off. "The best he can do is cooperate and hope that offers him some consideration with the judge."
The room filled with heavy silence while Terry waited, watching for the moment when Harrison's pride finally gave way to self-preservation.
"It started with Harry," Harrison said finally, his voice carrying years of regret and exhaustion. "He got involved with drugs in college. Not just using... but dealing. High-end stuff to rich kids who could afford premium products. I had no idea. None. He wasn't raised that way. We worked hard and expected our son to do the same. No shortcuts. He knew that when he graduated, he'd have a guaranteed job with the company."
Harrison looked up into the mirror, and Terry felt certain the man knew he was being watched, that his confession was being recorded and analyzed by multiple agencies. Terry leaned closer to the glass, knowing they were finally getting to the truth behind years of criminal activity.
"When he got caught, we were devastated. I couldn't believe it. Then I was contacted by an attorney who said he could make the charges disappear. But there was a price." Harrison's laugh was bitter and hollow. "There's always a price."
"What kind of price?" Jeremy pressed, his voice carefully neutral.
"The attorney had contacts with drug suppliers. Cartels, maybe... I don't know. I didn't ask questions because I didn't want to know the answers." Harrison rubbed his face with both hands, suddenly looking every one of his fifty-plus years. "All I knew was that someone was now pulling my strings, and I had to do what they said or watch my son go to prison."
"How does the money laundering work?"
"They give us cash. I assume it's drug proceeds that need to be cleaned. We inflate our construction contracts by whatever amount is needed, pay the subcontractors their actual fees, and the difference is returned to the attorney who coordinates everything. We keep 30 percent, they get 70."
Pete leaned forward with renewed interest. "What's the attorney's name?"
Harrison hesitated, then grimaced. “Marcus Webb.”
Terry knew the DEA agents would be very interested in calling in Webb. It would be a connection that could potentially trace back to cartel operations across multiple states.
"And Harry? Did you know he was still dealing drugs?"
The devastation that crossed Harrison's face was genuine and complete. "What do you mean, still dealing?"
"Your son's been selling high-end drugs to college kids this whole time. Using his fraternity connections to set up deals. He didn’t know there would be a party at the house. He just thought it was an easy way to get them into the hands of the man who rented the property. Someone he’d met at a fraternity event and had connected with to distribute drugs at ODU."
Harrison's hands clenched into fists, his knuckles white with the force of his grip. "That party? I sacrificed everything to keep him out of prison, and he was still in the business? We were just supposed to take the cash they gave us, cook the books between our subcontractors or vendors. No one was supposed to be the wiser." His voice rose with genuine anger and betrayal. "It wassupposed to be easy, almost no risk. How could my son be so goddamn stupid?"
There was no good answer to that question, so neither detective addressed it. Terry leaned back in his chair and sighed, recognizing the universal tragedy of a father's love being exploited and betrayed.
As a father himself, he understood wanting what was best for your children, but he also believed in teaching them to make good choices and face the consequences. His shoulders relaxed slightly as he remembered Toby telling him to go chase the bad guys, and a low chuckle escaped his chest. He hoped his son would always feel that way about justice and doing the right thing.
He watched through the glass as Pete and Jeremy returned to Harry's interview room, and this time the young man's composure cracked completely under the weight of his father's revelations and his own mounting legal jeopardy.
"Yes, okay, Dad doesn't know about the dealing," Harry sobbed, his expensive facade crumpling like wet cardboard. "I never told him I was still in the business. He just tells me what money needs to be laundered, and I apply it to our housing contracts. The dealing was my own thing. Easy money from rich college kids who wanted the good stuff."
Terry had heard enough. They had confessions, financial evidence, and two suspects ready to flip on their contacts higher up the chain. The Blackwood money-laundering operation was finished, and the investigation would now move to federal prosecutors who could pursue the larger cartel connections.
