Kate pulled up a browser and searched for Margaret Ellis's business. It took several tries with different search terms before she found what she was looking for: a defunct website for a company called Ellis Consulting Solutions, archived on a wayback site.
The business had launched in January 2021, just two months after Ellis left Crawford's program. The website showed a professional setup offering business consulting services using what Ellis called "proven frameworks for sustainable growth." Kate recognized elements from the comprehensive plan in the service descriptions.
But the website had only been active for seven months. By August 2021, it was gone.
Kate searched for bankruptcy records and found Margaret Ellis listed in a Chapter 7 filing from September 2021. The documents showed a complete financial collapse: business debts, personal loans, credit card debt that suggested someone who'd invested everything into a venture that failed spectacularly.
"Her company lasted less than a year," Kate said quietly. "She went completely bankrupt."
"Jesus…all while Crawford was using her framework to create success stories for other people," Sloane added. Her voice had an edge to it. "People like Rachel Thornton, Patricia Holmes, and Susan Hayes. Seems like that would give her plenty of reason to be upset."
As Kate considered this, her phone buzzed on the desk. She picked it up and saw the time: 6:47 p.m.God, how did it get so late?she wondered. The buzzing had come from a text from Allen, and when she saw it a flare of guilt instantly passed through her.
Everything going okay?he had texted.
She quickly typed out a message, hating the way it sounded:"I'm so sorry. Not going to make it home for dinner. This case is breaking open. I'll explain everything later."
Allen's response came almost immediately in the form of a simple thumbs-up emoji.
Kate stared at the screen for a moment. Just a thumbs-up. No "okay" or "be safe" or any of the usual responses. Was he irritated with her? Only two days had passed since taking this case, and she’d been at home at a reasonable hour last night. Maybe, she supposed, he was being haunted by memories of so many past cases that her kept her away from home for what felt like days on end. The thumbs-up felt dismissive, like he was too annoyed to type out an actual response.
She set the phone down, trying to push away the guilt. She'd have a conversation with Allen later. Right now, three women were dead, and she was finally seeing the complete picture of why.
"These cuffs are cutting into my wrists," Crawford said from his chair. It was the first thing he'd said in nearly fifteen minutes.
Kate looked at him and realized something she should have spotted earlier. They'd cuffed him, arresting him for obstruction. And by the book, that meant they couldn't just leave him sitting in his office while they continued their investigation right in front of him.
"We need to get him out of here," Kate said to Sloane. "If we've arrested him, we need to process him properly."
Sloane nodded, letting out a weary sigh. "We should drop him at the field office. Let them handle the booking and put him in an interrogation room. We can interview him more thoroughly later."
“Later?” Kate asked.
"After we talk to Margaret Ellis," Kate said. She stood up and looked at Crawford. "Do you know where Ellis is living now?"
Crawford hesitated, then shook his head. "I haven't had contact with her since she resigned."
"That's convenient," Sloane said. She then looked to Kate and said, “I’ll call it on and get the address. Would you mind escorting Mr. Crawford to the car?
Kate walked over to Crawford and helped him stand. She noticed that he was trembling slightly, and he stumbled a bit as he got to his feet. She steadied him with one hand on his arm and gently nudge him toward the door.
"Let's go," Kate said.
She guided Crawford toward the door as Sloane started putting in a request for Ellis’s address on her phone. Paula, who was still leaning awkwardly against the wall, looked up as they passed.
"Thank you for your help," Kate said to her. "This would have taken forever without your help."
Paula nodded, her expression still angry but also sad. "I hope you catch whoever did this. Those women didn't deserve to die because of his…hisgreed."
They walked Crawford through the office and down the stairs to the parking lot. The evening air was cold, and Crawford shivered in his button-down shirt. Kate opened the back door of their vehicle and helped him inside, making sure he was secured properly. Sloane was done with her call, making her way to the driver’s side door.
“Got the address,” she said. “Ellis lives in Mechanicsville.”
“So twenty minutes away,” Kate said. “Close enough for a visit at this time of day, I’d say.”
Sloane took the driver's seat while Kate climbed into the passenger side. As they pulled out of the parking lot, Kate looked back at the Second Act Success building, its glass façade reflecting the streetlights. Sloane nodded and turned onto the main road, heading toward downtown Richmond. In the back seat, Crawford sat silently, his head bowed. He knew what they'd discovered, knew that his carefully constructed program had been built on stolen work. And now it seemed there was a good chance that because of his theft, three women were dead.
Kate pulled out her phone and opened a new search window, looking for any additional information on Margaret Ellis. They needed to know everything about her before they knocked on her door. Because if Ellis was their killer, they were about to confront someone who had nothing left to lose.
