Page 4 of Dead Air
LEAH:So how did the floodlight work? Who installed it? And why wasn't this discrepancy highlighted in the investigation?
[Brief pause]
LEAH:The questions only multiply from here. Surveillance footage from a nearby business shows multiple vehicles near the warehouse that night, vehicles never mentioned in police reports. Witness statements from homeless individuals who frequented the area describe seeing a man in a suit entering the warehouse hours before the meeting, statements later removed from the case file.
[Music softens]
LEAH:In the coming episodes, we'll explore these inconsistencies and more. We'll examine Detective Landry's relationship with her partner, which sources suggest wentbeyond professional boundaries. We'll investigate the Rafferty case and why it was so quickly abandoned after her death.
LEAH:And we'll reveal new evidence about a detective from the Narcotics division who had his own relationship with Monica Landry, a relationship that ended just days before her murder.
[Music builds]
LEAH:Someone knows the truth about what happened to Detective Monica Landry. Someone has kept that truth buried for five years.
LEAH:I'm heading to Savannah next week to continue this investigation in person. To walk the scene where Detective Landry died. To speak with those who knew her. To find the answers that have remained hidden for too long.
LEAH:This is Dead Air. The truth doesn't stay buried forever.
[Theme music plays out]
chapter
two
Lawson jolted awake,sheets soaked with sweat and twisted around her legs. Her heart pounded as the nightmare faded. The taste of copper filled her mouth. The clock read 3:17 a.m. Another sleepless night.
She rubbed her face and tried to slow her breathing. Five years since Monica's murder, but in her dreams, it happened yesterday. The floodlight, the gunshot, Monica falling. The blood spreading across her white shirt. The details never faded.
Her bedroom felt like an oven. The old air conditioner wheezed against Savannah's August heat. She kicked off the sheets and stared at the half-empty whiskey bottle on her nightstand. Six months ago, she would have poured a glass. A year ago, she would have skipped the glass. Tonight, she just traced the label with her finger.
Four months, two weeks, and three days sober. Her longest stretch since Monica died. The craving gnawed at her stomach like hunger, but something stopped her from opening the bottle. Maybe it was Richardson's warning after she'd shown up hungover the last time.
"You're more useful to the victims sober," he'd said.
She put the bottle back. Tomorrow meant another day of pretending she had her life together.
Her phone buzzed on the nightstand, lighting up the dark room. Who texted at this hour? She grabbed it and squinted at the screen.
A message from Claire Stevens:I think you're going to want to listen to this.
Claire was complicated. They'd started on opposite sides of the courtroom. Claire the defense attorney who'd overturned Anthony Bates' conviction, Lawson, the detective whose bad work had made it possible. That case should have made them enemies. Instead, it created an alliance built on respect. Lawson had pushed Claire to take a job with the DA's office after everything settled. Claire still thought about it, and they'd maintained a careful professional relationship.
Below Claire's text sat a link to something called "Dead Air" with the subtitle: The 10-999 Tape.
Lawson's blood turned cold. 10-999. Officer down.
Her finger hovered over the link. This wouldn't be good. She took a deep breath and tapped the screen.
The podcast loaded. A black and white logo appeared before a woman's voice filled the room.
"Welcome to Dead Air. I'm Leah Blackwell, and this is the first episode of our new season: 'Silence in Savannah.'"
Lawson sat up straight, every muscle tight.
"Five years ago, Detective Monica Landry was murdered at the old paper mill warehouse on the eastern edge of Savannah. The case remains officially unsolved. No arrests. No suspects named publicly. But tonight, we're going to hear something that's never been released."
A pause, then audio that made Lawson's stomach drop.
