Page 43 of Fatal Fame
“It was hard to discern.”
“Great. So, what's the order of operations?" McKenzie asked, settling into a chair and reviewing the team roster.
"Theo first. According to Callie, he seems the most nervous and might provide useful information about team dynamics. Then Sienna, then Camila. We’ll save Marcus for last."
Theo entered the conference room with the nervous energy of someone who'd spent the night expecting bad news. He was younger than Noah had expected, probably mid-twenties, with a pale complexion. "I want to be clear from the start," Theo said before anyone could ask a question, "I don't know what happened to Pierce. I was in my room all night working on equipment maintenance and didn't see him leave."
"Tell us about the last conversation you had with Pierce," Noah said, activating the recording equipment.
"Yesterday evening, maybe around 6:30. He was agitated about the threatening phone calls, but also keen on the lead he was following up on. Said he might have found someone willing to talk about the Hale case."
"Did he mention any names?"
"Not specifically. He’d been trying to reach Rebecca's ex-boyfriend, the cop who used to date her. Michael Torres. But the guy wouldn’t take his calls."
Noah exchanged glances with McKenzie. Torres had been on their list of people to interview, but Pierce's interest in him added urgency to that conversation.
"What about the team dynamics? Any conflicts or disagreements about how to proceed with the investigation?"
Theo shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "When isn’t there drama? Put five people in a van for weeks on end and you will have conflict. There is always tension about money. These kinds of investigations can get costly. Marcus kept talking about budget overruns and how the network was getting impatient for results. And Camila thought Pierce was being reckless, especially after the town hall incident."
"Reckless how?"
"Pushing too hard, too fast. Making enemies instead of building sources. Camila's background is in investigative journalism, and she kept saying Pierce was approaching this like entertainment instead of serious reporting. But hey, that’s us. One big happy family until we aren’t."
The interview continued for forty-five minutes, with Theo providing details about team relationships, Pierce's investigative methods, and the growing tensions that had developed as the investigation progressed. Nothing he said directly implicated any team member in Pierce's disappearance, but his descriptions painted a picture of a group under significant stress and disagreement about fundamental approaches to their work.
Sienna was next. "The online responses to Pierce's investigations have always been brutal," she reported. "He has lot of haters. We’ve received death threats, doxxing attempts, and coordinated harassment campaigns.”
“And here?” Noah asked.
“Someone's been organizing opposition to our presence here since the day we arrived, and they're using various methods to amplify negative sentiment."
"Any idea who?"
"Hard to say. Someone with knowledge of the community and access to resources," she said.
Sienna's interview revealed additional details about Pierce's final day, including his growing paranoia and his concerns about team members who might be sharing information with local sources. She also confirmed that Pierce had received multiple threatening phone calls, including one before she last saw him.
"He was scared," she admitted. "Pierce tried to hide it with bravado, but he knew he was in over his head after he was cracked in the jaw at the town hall meeting. The last thing he said to me was that if something happened to him, we should make sure his investigation notes got to Evelyn Cross."
Next up was Camila. She entered the conference room with the controlled tension of someone who'd spent years dealing with difficult sources and dangerous stories. Her background in investigative journalism made her more aware than the others of the genuine risks involved in pursuing controversial cases. "What can I say that isn’t clear already? Pierce was obsessed," she said without preamble. "I've worked with a lot of reporters over the years, and I know the difference between dedicated investigation and dangerous fixation. Pierce crossed that line days ago."
"Obsessed with what specifically?"
"Proving that the Hale murders were part of a larger conspiracy involving local law enforcement. Earlier on, he'd already convinced himself that solving this case would make his career, and he was willing to take risks that no responsible journalist would take."
Camila's account of Pierce's final hours included details about trying to get a meeting with Michael Torres, his growing conflicts with Marcus over money and approach, and his increasing isolation from team members who were concerned about his judgment.
"The last conversation I had with Pierce was a disagreement," she admitted. "I told him he was putting all of us in danger by pushing so hard against people who had the power to hurt us. He said I was being paranoid, that the truth was worth the risk."
"Did Pierce mention where he was going when he left the hotel?"
"He said he was going for a cigarette, a drive to clear his head. He said he was going to have one of us contact Torres and arrange to meet him at one of Torres’ real estate properties.”
“Did you? I mean, make that phone call?”
“No. We told him that wouldn’t end well. But I think he was planning to meet someone else, he had that focused energy he got when he was onto a story."
