"Did you ever hear about anyone being upset about that?" Sloane asked. "About certain people being held up as success stories while others were struggling?"
Nora hesitated. "Not directly. But there was this one woman, Lauren Mitchell. She was in a different cohort than me, but word got around about her situation."
Kate sat up straighter. "What happened with Lauren Mitchell?"
"She opened a business right after finishing the program… some kind of consulting service. It failed after four months. She blamed Second Act for it, said the program set unrealistic expectations and took her money without delivering the results they promised."
"Did she take any action?" Kate asked.
"She tried to sue Crawford and the program," Nora said. "I don't know all the details, but I heard she hired a lawyer and everything. The suit was dropped eventually."
"Do you know why it was dropped?"
"No idea. But Lauren was pretty angry about the whole thing. She felt like she'd been sold a dream that turned out to be a lie."
Kate made detailed notes on her phone while Sloane asked a few follow-up questions. But after the information about LaurenMitchell, everything else was mundane. As Sloane ended the call, Kate then ran a quick Google search for Mitchell.
“Look at this,” Kate said, showing Sloane her phone. "Lauren Mitchell… former attorney who sued the program."
"And the suit was dropped," Sloane said. "We need to find out why."
Kate stood up, her coffee cup empty. "I think we need to talk to her… and not just on the phone. Someone who's angry enough to sue, who blames the program for her failure, who might be resentful of people like Holmes and Thornton who succeeded where she didn't… that feels pretty big."
"I'll pull her information from the records," Sloane said, already turning to her laptop.
Kate looked at the list of names on Sloane's desk, at the notes they'd taken from both phone calls. The picture was getting clearer. Most people who went through Second Act Success never opened businesses. Of those who did, most failed quickly. The fact that both victims had been thriving in their first year was unusual enough to make them targets for someone's resentment.
And right now, Lauren Mitchell seemed to fit the bill.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Sloane found Lauren Mitchell's information in less than ten minutes. She had searched the Second Act Success records first, finding Mitchell's participant file with an old address and phone number. A quick online search revealed that Mitchell had returned to practicing law and was now working at a small family law firm called Mitchell & Associates on the west side of Richmond.
Kate could have found all of it on her own, but she was still very impressed with Sloane’s tenacity, speed, and determination.
"She's back to practicing law," Sloane said, reading from her laptop screen. "Family law, specifically. Looks like she has her own practice."
"So, let’s pay her a visit," Kate said.
The drive across town took twenty minutes through mid-morning traffic. Kate drove while Sloane pulled up what information she could find about Mitchell's business. The website was simple and professional, listing services for divorce, custody disputes, and adoption cases. There were no reviews or testimonials, which suggested the practice was relatively new or at least newly online. One of the prominent taglines referred to the apt attention and a personal touch that bigger firms could not provide.
They found the office in a converted house on a quiet street lined with similar buildings that had been turned into small businesses. The neighborhood was one of those that had both an older feel to it, but with a modern sort of twist. The house was painted pale yellow with white trim, and a small wooden sign hung beside the front door that read "Mitchell & Associates, Family Law."
Kate and Sloane climbed the steps to the front porch. The door was unlocked, and they entered into what had once been a living room but was now a reception area. The space was tiny, but cozy, with a small desk positioned near the window and two chairs arranged against the opposite wall. A bookshelf held legal texts and a few framed certificates. Everything was tidy and well-organized, the kind of space that suggested its owner was trying to make the most of limited resources.
A woman in her early fifties sat at the desk, working on a laptop. She had shoulder-length brown hair pulled back with a clip and wore a navy blazer over a white blouse. She looked up when they entered, and Kate recognized Lauren right away from her pictures on the website.
"Can I help you?" Lauren Mitchell asked.
Kate pulled out her credentials. "Ms. Mitchell? I'm Agent Kate Wise with the FBI. This is Agent Erica Sloane. We'd like to ask you some questions about the Second Act Success program."
Mitchell's expression shifted immediately. The professional politeness vanished, replaced by something harder and more guarded. "I should have known someone would come asking aboutthateventually." She shook her head and then gave the agents her full attention. “What do you need to know?”
"We're investigating the deaths of Patricia Holmes and Rachel Thornton," Sloane said.
Mitchell looked shocked for a moment, her eyes wandering, “My God… I’d heard about Rachel. But Patricia, too? Jesus, when did that happen?”
“Two nights ago,” Sloane said. “Did you know both of them?”
