NATHAN BROOKS: We should wait for the independent prosecutor's authorization.
CLAIRE BENNETT: Agreed. Get the preservation request submitted immediately.
The team prepared the necessary documents.
An hour later, the authorization was approved.
Federal investigators assembled outside the second warehouse.
The property was surrounded by a high fence.
Several security cameras were positioned along the perimeter.
A loading entrance stood at the rear of the building.
The main office was dark.
There were no visible employees.
Claire stepped out of the vehicle.
She looked at the building.
CLAIRE BENNETT: How many access points?
NATHAN BROOKS: Three. The main entrance, the loading entrance, and a service door on the eastern side.
CLAIRE BENNETT: Secure all three.
The federal team moved into position.
A technician examined the electronic lock.
A few moments later, the main entrance opened.
The building smelled of dust, cardboard, and industrial cleaning products.
Inside were rows of metal shelving.
Most of the shelves appeared empty.
But at the back of the facility, behind a partition, the investigators discovered a locked office.
The room contained a desk, two computers, several filing cabinets, and a large wall safe.
Claire examined the desk.
There were no personal photographs.
No ordinary office supplies.
Only folders, storage devices, and a collection of handwritten notes.
The first folder was marked:
NORTH RIVER - EVIDENCE DISTRIBUTION.
The second:
FEDERAL AUDIT SCHEDULES.
Claire opened it.
Inside were copies of inspection notifications, audit reports, and confidential correspondence.
Several documents contained her name.
She examined the first page.
It was a printed copy of the original federal inspection authorization.
The same document that Thomas Vance had forwarded to Edward Mitchell.
Claire turned another page.
A handwritten note appeared in the margin.
AGENT BENNETT. ARRIVAL CONFIRMED. PRIORITY: REMOVE ALL ORIGINAL RECORDS.
She placed the document on the desk.
NATHAN BROOKS: This confirms the notification.
CLAIRE BENNETT: Photograph every page.
Nathan's team began documenting the office.
A second investigator examined the wall safe.
After opening it under the authorized procedure, he found several envelopes.
Each envelope contained financial records.
Some were labeled with names.
Others carried case identification numbers.
One envelope was marked:
M. GRANT.
Claire opened it.
Inside were copies of payment instructions, legal correspondence, and several signed documents.
One document showed that Michael Grant had personally approved the closure of three criminal investigations after the corresponding evidence had been transferred to Riverstone.
Another contained a payment schedule.
The amounts were substantial.
Claire placed the documents on the table.
CLAIRE BENNETT: This is what we needed.
Nathan examined the signatures.
NATHAN BROOKS: These are original copies.
CLAIRE BENNETT: Preserve them separately.
Then another investigator called from the rear of the office.
FEDERAL AGENT: Agent Bennett, we found a second computer.
Claire approached.
The computer was still switched on.
Its screen displayed an open spreadsheet.
At the top was a title.
PROTECTION AND DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT.
The document listed several criminal cases.
Next to each case was a name and an amount of money.
But the most disturbing column was labeled:
PROSECUTION STATUS.
Some cases were marked DELAYED.
Others were marked CLOSED.
One entry was marked DESTROYED.
Claire leaned closer.
The case number was connected to a narcotics investigation involving a man who had been convicted two years earlier.
The conviction had relied heavily on evidence supplied by North River.
If that evidence had been altered or substituted, the entire case might have been compromised.
CLAIRE BENNETT: Nathan, we need to notify the independent prosecutors. Several previous convictions may require immediate review.
NATHAN BROOKS: I'll contact them.
Claire examined the spreadsheet further.
There were forty-two cases.
Not all involved narcotics.
Some involved fraud, bribery, organized theft, and public corruption.
The operation had been used to manipulate the outcome of criminal proceedings.
People who had committed serious offenses may have escaped prosecution.
Others may have been convicted using evidence that had been mishandled.
This was no longer simply an investigation into missing drugs.
It was an attack on the integrity of the justice system.
A sudden sound came from outside.
A vehicle had entered the property.
The security cameras showed a black SUV approaching the loading entrance.
Nathan moved toward the monitor.
NATHAN BROOKS: We've got someone.
Claire examined the vehicle.
She recognized it immediately.
It belonged to Richard Lawson.
CLAIRE BENNETT: Secure the entrance.
Two federal agents moved toward the front corridor.
The SUV stopped outside.
Lawson stepped out.
He carried a leather briefcase.