Crawford's expression shifted to something between defensive and calculating. "I already gave you access to the graduate records. What more do you need?"
"Everything," Sloane said. She moved further into the office, her eyes scanning the space. "We have three dead women, Mr. Crawford. Another died today… Susan Hayes. All of them were graduates of your program, all of them featured in your promotional videos. Whatever's happening is connected to Second Act Success—there’s just no ignoring that now. And we need to see the full picture."
"I understand your concern," Crawford said, "but some of that information is proprietary.” Kate could see that he was panicked now, unsure how to handle this new development. “But business plans, financial records, those are protected materials. I can't just hand them over without proper legal documentation."
He’s going to ask for a warrant,she thought. She knew it wouldn’t be a problem to get one, but that would waste hours.Considering the time of day, they may not even get it until tomorrow.
Kate pulled out her phone. "I can have a warrant here within the hour,” she lied. “But that's going to look bad for you and your program. Alternatively, you can cooperate now and show us you're trying to help solve these murders. I mean… if you have nothing to hide, what’s the issue?”
Crawford hesitated, his jaw working as he considered his options. Kate could see the conflict playing out on his face. He didn't want to give them access, but he also didn't want to appear obstructive in a triple homicide investigation.
"Fine," he said finally. "But I need to review what you're looking at. Some of these documents contain sensitive information about other participants, people who have nothing to do with this investigation. I need to protect their privacy. That means you can look at whatever you need, but youcannottake photos."
"That's not how this works," Sloane said.
Crawford's hand moved again toward his laptop, and this time Kate saw the intention in the gesture. He wasn't closing it to protect privacy. He was planning to delete something.
"Mr. Crawford…" Kate warned.
But Crawford was already moving. His fingers hit the keyboard, and Kate saw windows start closing on the screen. He was accessing files, deleting them or moving them or doing something to obscure evidence.
Sloane moved faster than Kate would have thought possible. One moment she was standing near the doorway, and the next she was across the office. Crawford saw her coming and did his best to run away. But he took three long, running strides toward the door when Sloane held out her forearm. She connected with Crawford's chest in a stiff blow that caused both feet to come off of the floor and sent him sprawling backward hard. In awrestling match, she was quite sure this move was called a clothesline.
Kate stared in shock. Sloane was thin, almost fragile-looking with her slight frame and delicate features. But the speed and strength she'd just displayed suggested something else entirely. Crawford hit the floor hard, the impact knocking the wind out of him. He lay there gasping, his eyes wide.
"What the hell?" he wheezed.
Sloane stepped over him and grabbed the laptop, pulling it away from his reach. "You were destroying evidence."
Kate recovered from her surprise and moved quickly to Crawford, pulling out her handcuffs. "David Crawford, you're under arrest for obstruction of justice."
"But I haven’t done anything!" Crawford protested, but his voice lacked conviction. He was still trying to catch his breath from Sloane's blow. “You can't just arrest me!”
Kate knew it was a flimsy charge and that if he was taken in, he’d be released within a matter of hours. But for now, it seemed like the wisest move. Besides… just what in the hell had he been deleting?
"I absolutely can," Kate said, pulling his arms behind his back and securing the cuffs. "You just attempted to destroy evidence in a federal murder investigation. That's a felony."
She hauled Crawford to his feet and guided him forcefully into one of the chairs across from his desk. He slumped in the seat, his face red with a mixture of embarrassment and anger.
"Sit there and don't move," Kate said. "Whatever you were trying to hide, we're going to find it. Try to run, and that’s an additional charge to hold you on."
“I don’t… God, I don’t understand what the hell is happening!”
Ignoring him completely, Sloane had already opened the laptop and was scanning through the open windows. "He wasin the cloud storage. Looks like he was trying to move files to a hidden folder. But I’m not exactly a tech whiz. W may have to call in for an assist."
Kate moved to stand beside her, looking at the screen. Several file directories were visible, with names like "Program Records 2021-2024," "Participant Submissions," and "Business Plan Archive." One window showed a file transfer in progress, but Sloane had interrupted it before it could complete.
"Stop the transfer," Kate said.
Sloane's fingers moved across the keyboard, canceling the operation. "Okay, got it. The files are still in the original location…. oh, but it looks like a few were successfully transferred."
From his chair, Crawford made a sound of frustration. Kate glanced at him and saw defeat settling into his expression. Whatever he'd been trying to hide, he knew now that they weren’t too far away from finding it.
Kate pulled up another chair and positioned it next to Sloane so they could both see the laptop screen. The office felt different now, charged with tension and the promise of revelation. Outside the windows, the evening had deepened into full darkness, the city lights creating a backdrop of illuminated buildings and streets.
"Start with the participant submissions folder," Kate said.
Sloane navigated to the directory and opened it. Inside were dozens of subfolders, each labeled with a year and cohort number. She clicked on one at random, labeled "2023 - Cohort 3," and found herself looking at a collection of PDF files.
