I pull tax records. Even shell companies have to file, and buried in the EIN documentation there's always a responsible party listed for IRS purposes. Someone has to sign the forms, take legal responsibility, provide a social security number or personal identification.
There it is. Buried in the Schedule K-1 for Coastal Investment Partners: Richard Sullivan, listed as managing member with a Portland address.
My breath catches. Richard Sullivan—the man who attacked me in the parking garage, David Sullivan's brother, the one Shaw recognized immediately as having a grudge against the Brotherhood. Last night we knew someone controlled Cascade Services through layers of shell companies. Now I've broken through those layers, and Richard's name is right there in the tax filings.
He doesn't just have motive. He built the entire infrastructure to hide his crimes.
Adrenaline spikes sharp and immediate as the full picture crystallizes. I pull up Richard's financial history, cross-referencing it with the timeline we've already established.
Sullivan Transport existed for over a decade before filing for bankruptcy protection eighteen months ago. The company specialized in commercial logistics and freight services, competing for contracts with businesses throughout the Anchor Bay area and beyond. Revenue peaked five years ago at just over three million annually—respectable for a regional player, enough to support a comfortable lifestyle and steady growth.
Then the decline started.
I cross-reference their client list with the businesses that burned and with known Brotherhood-connected vendors. Richard bid on a contract to provide logistics services for Pete Garrett's storage facility—lost it to a Brotherhood-connected freight company. Six months later, he bid on delivery services for Beth Crawford's tattoo parlor supply needs—lost it to another Brotherhood vendor. The pattern repeats over and over: Sullivan Transport submits competitive bids, loses to companies the Brotherhood either owns or prefers to work with.
Financial records show systematic rejection and business failure. Money hemorrhaged as contracts dried up, as clients chose Brotherhood-connected vendors over Richard's services, as revenue declined quarter after quarter until bankruptcybecame inevitable. The final year shows desperate measures: reduced staff, sold equipment, loans taken out against personal property. Nothing worked.
Business filings shift from professional to defensive in the final quarterly reports before the company folded. Richard Sullivan blamed the Brotherhood for freezing him out of the market, for using influence to steer business away from his company, for destroying what he'd spent years building.
His company couldn't compete. That's reality. But reality doesn't matter when someone's nursing a grudge that turns violent.
He lost his company. Lost his contracts. Lost his livelihood. Decided the Brotherhood needed to pay.
Cascade Services was created six months after Sullivan Transport went under, registered with the same law firm, funded with money from sources I'm still tracing—probably personal assets liquidated during the bankruptcy, maybe loans from family. Richard used it as a shell company to hide his activities, to funnel payments that would eventually be traced back to Jonathan Hartley instead of himself.
The paper trail was designed to point investigators toward Hartley Industrial as the source of the fires, using Hartley's known grudge against the Brotherhood and his company's financial desperation as the perfect cover.
When I trace payments flowing from Hartley Industrial to Cascade Services, I find consulting fees and service contracts that existed only on paper. Richard created an entire false business relationship to establish the connection investigators would eventually find. Invoices for logistics consulting, freight optimization studies, supply chain analysis—all legitimate-sounding services that Hartley's struggling company would plausibly need. But none of the work was ever performed.
Then he killed Hartley when we got too close.
Shaw appears in the doorway carrying fresh coffee. He moves with that controlled stillness that marks his Marine Recon training, every step deliberate, every movement efficient. Watches me with the same intensity he brings to fire scenes, reading how close I am to breaking through.
"You've got something." Statement of fact rather than question.
"Richard Sullivan owns Cascade Services." I turn the laptop so he can see the corporate filings and ownership documents. "The man who attacked me, who's been threatening us—he created the shell company we've been tracking. His logistics company went bankrupt after losing contracts to Brotherhood-preferred vendors. He blamed your club for destroying his business, and now we know he built the entire financial infrastructure to hide his revenge."
Shaw sets the coffee beside my laptop and leans over my shoulder to study the screen, his body warm against my back. He goes completely still as he puts the pieces together, and I feel the shift in him—the civilian investigator receding, the Marine emerging. Controlled violence waiting for a target.
"Richard." His voice is flat and cold. "The bastard who attacked you in the parking garage. He was bitter after his company failed, made noise about the Brotherhood controlling the market and freezing out competition. Will offered to sit down and talk. Richard refused. Said he didn't need charity from the people who destroyed him."
"It wasn't charity he wanted." I pull up the timeline I've been building, showing how the fires correlate with Richard's business failure and the creation of Cascade Services. "He wanted revenge. Look at this pattern. Sullivan Transport loses a major contract to a Brotherhood-preferred vendor, and within weeks, that vendor's business burns. Over and over. Hesystematically targeted every business that benefited from the contracts he lost."
Shaw's hand settles on my shoulder, his grip firm and grounding while he studies the evidence. His knuckles are white against my sweater, tension radiating from him in waves. "He made the partnership offers himself. Pretended to represent the Brotherhood. Created the protection racket narrative to destroy our reputation while eliminating his competition."
"Exactly." I pull up more files. "When you and I started getting close to the Cascade Services connection, when the financial analysis started pointing toward the shell company, Richard killed Jonathan Hartley to eliminate the link. Hartley was supposed to be the fall guy, take all the blame for the arson while Richard walked away clean. But we connected the dots too fast, so he had to tie up the loose end."
Everything fits together with the kind of clarity that only comes when you've found the truth. Richard Sullivan created an elaborate revenge scheme designed to destroy the Brotherhood's reputation, eliminate business competition, and frame Jonathan Hartley for everything. He used his knowledge of business operations and his understanding of how investigators would trace financial evidence to build a false trail pointing away from himself.
Shaw pulls out his phone and dials Fire Marshal Davis, putting the call on speaker. Davis answers on the second ring, his voice rough with exhaustion.
"Riley. Tell me you've got something, because law enforcement is spinning their wheels trying to identify the arsonist."
"Mira broke it," Shaw says, his voice carrying quiet pride that makes heat pool low in my stomach despite the circumstances. "The arsonist is Richard Sullivan, David Sullivan's brother. He owns Cascade Services, the shell company we've been tracking.His logistics company went bankrupt after losing contracts to Brotherhood-preferred vendors, and he's been systematically burning businesses as revenge while framing Jonathan Hartley."
Davis is quiet for a moment, processing. "Richard Sullivan. I know that name. His company failed about eighteen months back. He made some accusations about unfair business practices and market manipulation, but nothing ever came of it."
"Because there was nothing to come of it," Shaw says flatly. "The Brotherhood doesn't control the market or freeze out competition. Business owners choose their vendors based on quality and reliability, and Richard's company couldn't compete. But he needed someone to blame for his failure, so he blamed us."
