“Good,” I said. “Confidence makes people sloppy.”
Whitmore checked his watch. “Hearing starts in twenty minutes. We should review final sequence.”
We moved inside. Away from cameras. Into the conference room that Adrian had secured for pre-hearing preparation. The marble corridors smelled like centuries of legal proceedingsand fresh polish. Everything designed to make you feel small. Temporary. Subject to systems older and more powerful than individual grievance.
I'd spent three years learning to hate that feeling. Now I was using it.
Margaret spread documents across the table. “The evidence chain is clean. Financial trail showing payments from Harrow to Webb, from Webb to evidence handlers, from handlers to witnesses. All documented. All verified. All backed by Webb's sworn testimony.”
“Webb's holding?” I asked. “Not going to recant at the last second?”
“Webb is secured,” Adrian said. Voice carrying undertones that suggested I didn't want details. “He'll testify. Whether he wants to or not.”
I decided not to ask how Adrian had ensured that. Some things were better left as implications.
Whitmore pulled up another document. “Witness intimidation logs. Showing pattern of pressure applied to anyone who threatened to expose the network. Your partner's widow. Ethan Pierce. The courthouse staff who initially flagged irregularities. All documented through communications we recovered.”
“And the sealed-files?” Dom asked. He'd been quiet until now. Just watching. Processing.
“Detailed breakdown of every case Harrow corrupted. Including Lily Rourke's murder and Detective Crawford's death. Showing how evidence was suppressed, autopsies altered, witness statements removed. The methodology is identical across all cases. Proves systematic corruption, not isolated incidents.” Margaret smiled. “Harrow can't claim this was mistakes or overzealousness. The pattern is too clear.”
“What about his defence?” I asked. “What's his angle?”
“He's claiming prosecutorial discretion. That all evidence suppression was legitimate use of sealing powers to protect ongoing investigations or sensitive witnesses.” Whitmore's expression was grim. “And he'll try to paint you as compromised. Former cop with grudge. Man who associated with criminals. Who broke into government facilities. Who fabricated conspiracy to deflect from your own corruption.”
“Let him try.” I kept my voice level. “Every accusation he makes, we have counter-evidence. Every character attack, we have documentation proving otherwise. He wants to make this about me instead of the evidence? Fine. I'll make him prove every claim.”
“Be careful,” Margaret warned. “Harrow's very good at this. Very good at making lies sound like truth. At weaponising doubt.”
“So am I. Difference is I'm not lying.” I checked my watch. “Fifteen minutes. Anything else I need to know?”
Adrian and Margaret exchanged a look. Something passed between them. Calculation. Decision.
“There's one complication,” Adrian said finally. “The committee chair. The one overseeing Harrow's impeachment.”
My stomach dropped. “Who is it?”
“Lord Justice Pemberton.” Adrian's voice was flat.
The room went very quiet.
“You're telling me,” I said slowly, “that the man presiding over Harrow's impeachment is the same man Harrow killed to protect. The one whose bribe network we documented. The one who ordered both murders.”
“Yes.” Margaret's expression was grim. “We discovered it during discovery phase. Tried to get him recused. Filed motions. Presented evidence of conflict of interest. All denied. Pemberton's too powerful. Too connected. And he's positioned himself as the voice of judicial integrity cleaning house.”
“Pemberton sacrifices Harrow publicly. Looks like he's rooting out corruption. Meanwhile he's controlling the process. Making sure the evidence never touches him directly.” Dom said. Voice cold with understanding
“Correct.” Whitmore pulled up Pemberton's photograph. Distinguished. Grandfatherly. “Even if we prove Harrow's guilt, Pemberton decides the consequences. And he's very good at ensuring consequences serve his interests.”
I stared at the photograph. Memorising every detail. Every line. Every microexpression I'd need to read when facing him in person.
“Can we expose him?” I asked. “During the hearing? Force the connection into the open?”
“Not without proof that directly links him to the murders. Right now we have evidence of his bribe network. Of financial connections to Harrow. But nothing that definitively proves he ordered Lily and James killed.” Margaret's frustration was visible. “We're close. But not close enough.”
“So we watch Pemberton judge Harrow's corruption while hiding his own.” The rage in my chest was cold. Controlled. “And even if Harrow falls, the machine survives because Pemberton remains clean.”
“Unless we find more evidence,” Dom said. “Unless we force Pemberton to make a mistake.”
