Finn calculated. “Roughly $400,000 over fifteen years.”
Carson’s jaw clenched. “That’s a lot of extra income.”
“Could be legitimate. Side business, investments, inheritance—”
“Or payments for services rendered.” Carson leaned over Finn’s shoulder. “Can you trace where the deposits came from?”
“They’re all cash deposits made in person at various bank branches. No electronic trail.” Finn frowned. “That’s suspicious in itself. Who deposits cash anymore? It’s like he was deliberately avoiding a paper trail.”
“Because he knew what he was doing was illegal.” Carson pulled out his phone and texted Captain Holloway:Need to meet. Found financial evidence.
“What about phone records?” Carson asked. “If Shaw was coordinating with criminals, there have to be calls.”
“I’d need a warrant for that. And to get a warrant, we need probable cause. Right now, all we have is suspicious deposits.”
“The twelve cases with destroyed evidence plus $400,000 in unexplained cash deposits—that’s probable cause.” Carson knew he was pushing a line, but if what he was thinking was true, it was worth it.
“For a civilian, yes. For a former police captain?” Finn shook his head. “We need more. A judge will want to see a clear connection between the deposits and the destroyed evidence.”
Carson swore under his breath. Finn was right. They needed more. He hated playing it by the book sometimes.
“What about Shaw’s movements?” he asked, desperate to find the smoking gun. “Where he’s been since he retired?”
“Arizona. Phoenix area. But he travels a lot according to his credit card statements.” Finn pulled up more records. “Frequent trips back to Washington. Like, monthly trips.”
“Why would a retired cop visit Washington every month?”
“Good question.” Finn highlighted the dates. “And look, some of these trips coincide with evidence destruction dates. Not all of them, but several.”
“So he’d fly in, authorize evidence destruction, fly back out.”
“Possibly. Or he maintained connections here. Kept his hand in things even after retirement.”
Carson’s mind raced. This was bigger than he’d thought. Shaw hadn’t just been corrupt during his tenure. He’d continued whatever operation he’d been running even after leaving the force.
Which meant there might be cases with missing evidence that occurred after Shaw retired. Cases where someone still in the department was doing Shaw’s work for him.
“Finn, pull all cases with missing or destroyed evidence from the past five years. Since Shaw retired. See if there’s a similar pattern.”
Finn looked up from the computer, frowning. “You think Shaw has someone on the inside still doing this?”
“I think Shaw built something. A system. And systems don’t just stop because one person leaves.” Carson stood. “I need to talk to Holloway. Get authorization to dig deeper.”
“Be careful, man. If there’s someone in the department helping Shaw, you don’t know who to trust.”
“I trust you. I trust Holloway. That’s enough.”
***
Captain Holloway’s expression grew darker as Carson laid out everything they’d found.
“$400,000 in cash deposits. Monthly trips to Washington. Destroyed evidence dates matching some of his visits.” Holloway leaned back in his chair, scrubbing his hand across his shadowed jaw. “This is bad.”
“It gets worse. I think Shaw might still be operating. Someone in the department could be helping him.”
“You have proof of that?” Captain’s stare was intense, as if asking Carson if he was going to do this by the book or not.
“Not yet. But I will.” Carson pulled out a list. “I need warrants. Shaw’s phone records. Travel records. Access to his property in Arizona. And I need to interview Dan Morrison again. See if he knows anything about Shaw.”
