“So something changed fifteen years ago. He either got involved in something, started protecting someone, or...” She paused. “Or he was being paid to make evidence disappear.”
“That’s what I’m thinking. But paid by who? And why these specific cases?”
Nora pulled the files closer, reading through victim statements. “All different types of crimes. Stalking, assault, home invasion, harassment. Different perpetrators—or at least, no obvious connection between suspects.”
“I checked. None of the suspects knew each other. Different backgrounds, different locations, different MOs.”
“But Shaw knew all of them?” Nora looked up. “What if Shaw wasn’t protecting one person? What if he was protecting multiple people? Like...he was running some kind of service. Make evidence disappear for a price.”
Carson stared at her. That was exactly the kind of outside-the-box thinking he needed.
“That would explain why the cases are so different,” he said slowly. “Why there’s no pattern in the crimes themselves. The pattern is Shaw.”
“Right. So the question is, who was paying him? And how did they know to approach him?” Nora tapped her pen against the pad. “You don’t just randomly approach a police captain and ask him to destroy evidence. There has to be a connection.”
“A middleman. Someone who knew Shaw was corrupt and connected him with people who needed evidence to disappear.”
“Or multiple someones. This could be a whole network.” Nora’s eyes widened. “Carson, what if Eugene and Dan knew about this? What if that’s how they operated for so long without getting caught?”
Carson’s blood ran cold. He hadn’t made that connection. But it made sense. Eugene had been stalking women for years—Avery Shone, the other victims in Nora’s building, probably more they hadn’t identified yet. And he’d been careful. Professional. Like he knew how to avoid leaving evidence.
Like someone had taught him.
“I need to talk to Dan,” Carson said, standing abruptly. “He’s been cooperating with prosecutors. Maybe he’ll tell me about Shaw.”
“Wait.” Nora grabbed his arm. “Don’t go off half-cocked. If Shaw is dirty and Dan knows about it, you need to be strategic. Figure out what to ask. How to approach it.”
She was right. Carson forced himself to sit back down.
“Okay. Strategic. What do we know for sure?”
They spent the next hour mapping out what they knew versus what they suspected. Facts versus theories. Evidence versus hunches.
By the time they finished, they had a clearer picture:
Facts:
Twelve cases with missing evidence during Shaw’s tenure
All evidence destruction authorized by Shaw
All victims were women reporting crimes against them
No obvious connection between perpetrators
