Page 72 of Dead Air
"While officers died. While evidence disappeared. While cases went cold."
"While I played the long game." Richardson tapped a photograph showing Thomas Hutchinson emerging from the courthouse. "The leader wasn't a cop. It was someone who could control both investigations and prosecutions. Someone above departmental politics."
"Thomas Hutchinson." The name emerged as a statement rather than a question.
"Senior partner at Hutchinson & Associates." Richardson confirmed with a tight nod. "Corporate attorney with connections throughout the judicial system. Campaign contributor to judges and district attorneys. Legal counsel to businesses used for laundering operations proceeds."
Lawson studied the organizational chart Monica had created. Names connected through financial transactions and case interactions. Thomas Hutchinson was positioned at the top, with tendrils extending down through the police department, the district attorney's office, and local government.
"Monica discovered who was leading it." Richardson's voice softened with something resembling respect. "She traced the connections all the way to the top. But I never knew until after her death. I just received orders through the chain, never understanding how high it reached."
"Why should I believe you weren't part of it?" Lawson finally claimed the chair opposite Richardson, proximity to the evidence outweighing tactical considerations.
Richardson extracted a small recorder from his pocket. "Because I've been gathering evidence against them for five years."
He pressed play. A conversation between Thomas Hutchinson and Chief Wallace emerged from the tiny speaker. Discussion of evidence suppression in a recent narcotics case. Careful language about "procedural complications" and "witness reliability issues." Professional code for systematic obstruction.
"I've recorded dozens of conversations." Richardson stopped the playback. "Built case files on fifteen officers still active in the department. Documented judicial interference in twenty-eight criminal prosecutions. Assembled everything needed to dismantle the entire operation."
"Yet you never brought it forward." Lawson couldn't keep accusation from her tone.
"Bringing it forward meant exposing Monica's murder." Richardson met her gaze directly. "Which meant exposing your relationship with her. Your drinking the night she died. Everything I had protected you from."
Lawson leaned back, processing implications of Richardson's knowledge. "You told me you didn’t know about us."
"I lied. Of course I knew." A hint of paternal disappointment colored his response. "I requested you both for my division. Monitored your development as partners. Noticed when professional boundaries shifted to personal involvement."
"And said nothing."
"Department policy on partner relationships didn't interest me." Richardson shrugged. "Your effectiveness as investigators mattered more than administrative regulations."
Lawson processed this revelation while examining more of Monica's documents. The evidence before her represented years of careful investigation. Monica's initial discoveries. Richardson's subsequent expansion. A comprehensive map of corruption extending from street-level enforcement through the highest levels of the local judicial system.
"Ray Hutchinson killed Monica." Richardson's statement drew her attention back to him. "On his brother's orders. After she discovered their connection and threatened exposure."
"And you let him get away with it." The accusation carried five years of bottled rage.
"I protected you." Richardson's response came with unexpected intensity. "You loved her. They would have killed you too if they believed you shared her knowledge."
"So you buried evidence. Redirected the investigation. Ensured her case went cold."
"I kept you alive while building a case that could actually succeed." Richardson leaned forward. "Monica died because she moved too quickly with insufficient protection. I wasn't going to let you make the same mistake."
Lawson struggled to reconcile this version of Richardson with the calculating manipulator her investigation had suggested. The evidence before her supported his claims of working against the corruption network. Yet his methods had effectively obstructed justice for Monica's murderer. And Claire’s discovery still loomed: a career marked by seven transfers, each shadowed by suspicious deaths or disappearances. Was that a trail of coincidence—or a pattern deliberately planted to conceal his real work? "What about Blackwell?" She redirected to current events. "Ray Hutchinson's supposed suicide? My arrest warrant?"
"Thomas Hutchinson protecting his operation." Richardson's expression darkened. "Blackwell discovered toomuch. Found connections Monica had documented. Started asking questions that threatened the entire network."
"Including Ray's confession recording."
"Which Thomas couldn't allow to become public." Richardson nodded. "Ray had become a liability after Monica's murder. Guilt made him unpredictable. When Blackwell found him, Thomas decided both problems needed permanent resolution."
"He had his own brother killed." The calculated ruthlessness chilled Lawson despite her anger.
"Business decision." Richardson's clinical assessment reflected years observing the organization's operation. "Thomas values the network above all else. Family connections became irrelevant once Ray threatened operational security."
"And Blackwell?"
"Likely dead." Richardson's blunt assessment carried no emotional inflection. "Thomas doesn't leave loose ends when eliminating threats."
