Page 26 of Justice Denied

ChapterTen

Seth liked working in the quiet of a usually busy newsroom. WhileTheHerald’sstaff of eight was small, the crowded office space meant a louder work environment as the trio of advertising and classified ads reps made calls and the two other reporters spoke with sources. He’d awakened early, and, after a run through the pre-dawn air, had gone to Burke Lake to photograph the fishermen attempting to land the record catfish at dawn. Unfortunately, the fish they’d caught wasn’t the prizewinner, but he’d gotten some decent pics of their valiant effort. Then he headed to the office to research Jay Ainsley. As the sun rose higher, he read through the numerous articles centering around Jay’s death after being charged with embezzling nearly $10 million from Topher Robotics. He printed a few stories for background, then switched to investigating Topher Robotics.

The top search returns focused on Maxwell Technology’s bid for a hostile takeover of the family-run firm. Interesting. He hit print for the most comprehensive article, then delved deeper, going back more than fifteen years to see what the company’s status was prior to Jay’s embezzlement charge. Most of the stories centered around Topher Robotics’ new products, such as innovative prosthetics and automated robots for cleaning and delivery. Then one piece snagged his attention.

Founder of Topher Robotics Refuses to Step Down

Board insisting Peter Topher hand over the reins to his eldest son

STERLING, Va.—Peter Topher, who founded Topher Robotics in 1970 at a time when few were investing in robots, has said he will not relinquish his position as chairman of the board to his eldest son, Ryan Topher. Ryan has been tapped as the heir apparent to the company and had long been rumored to want to take the company public in order to expand its R&D department. This puts him at odds with his father, who has stated emphatically he does not want the family to give up its majority stake in the company.

The article quoted numerous sources, some named and some anonymous, adding credence to the growing rift between father and son. Seth thought he’d seen the company listed as one publicly traded, and when he checked, found that Ryan had won that round with the board. Digging deeper revealed the Topher family collectively held forty percent of the company’s stock and was still among the largest shareholders. The current list of executives on the Topher Robotics website showed Peter as emeritus chairman of the board with Ryan as CEO and his two siblings filling out the rest of the C-suite executive positions. Other Tophers, presumably the grandchildren of Peter, held middle management positions, while Avery Lassiter had been chairwoman of the board for the past decade.

Seth made notes about his findings, his mind spinning with possibilities. When he spotted Brogan, he hailed the reporter. “Got a sec?”

“Let me finish this text.” Brogan bent over his phone while Seth curbed his impatience. “Okay, what’s up?”

As succinctly as possible, Seth outlined the embezzlement case.

Brogan frowned. “Doesn’t seem like there’s a story if the accused is dead and the company isn’t pursuing it.”

“On the surface, yes, but then Jay Ainsley’s widow received this in the mail.” Seth handed photocopies of the envelope’s documents to Brogan. “Along with this note.” He slid over the note on top.

Brogan scanned it, then tapped the page. “But why send this to a dead man?”

“They didn’t.” Seth explained about the postmark on the envelope. “Must have gotten lost in the mail for fifteen years.”

As he’d hoped, that nugget of information snagged Brogan’s attention. “Interesting, but I’m not sure there’s much here beyond a quirky human-interest story about lost mail being delivered years later.”

“There’s more.” Seth mentioned the poisoning of Bingley and the death of the raccoon. “Jetta will let me know what animal control finds when they search her yard, but it appears someone tried to kill her dog.”

“There’s no direct connection between what happened to her dog and a case that doesn’t need solving.”

“Then there’s the note I found.” He showed his colleague a photo of the threatening words. “Plus, someone tried to run Jetta off the road yesterday.”

“Do the police have this info?”

“Yes.” Even as he relayed the info, Seth could see how flimsy it was.

“I get you’re concerned about Jetta’s safety, but we need something new to start an investigation.”

He blew out a breath in an attempt to tamp down his growing frustration. “You didn’t have anything new when you agreed to help Melender re-investigate the disappearance of her cousin—and she had been convicted of the crime.”

Brogan sighed. “That was different because we had a story angle about a convicted murderer trying to clear her name.”

“While I only have a daughter trying to clear her father’s name of a crime in which he was never tried or convicted.” He fisted his hands on his hips, irritation radiating throughout his body. “So when it’s a woman you’re interested in, you’ll go the extra mile, but not when it’s me?”

“If you’re asking if this merits an investigative story, then the answer is no. You need more than some bank statements and a spreadsheet.” Brogan gave the papers back. “But good to know you find Jetta interesting.”

Seth ignored the teasing note in his friend’s tone as the reporter hustled to his cubicle to pick up his ringing desk phone. He wouldn’t tell Jetta that Brogan passed on opening an investigation. He’d look into himself. After all, he majored in journalism and photography, and wrote short pieces forTheHeraldall the time. Granted, he’d never tackled a story this complex, but he knew how to research.

First, he had to check the rest of his assignments for the day. Fallon would not be happy if he dropped the ball on his work. Two popped up in his inbox—one at noon to snap a pic of the Rotary Club’s handing out its fall scholarship to a local student and the other right afterward to photograph the City of Fairfax mayor as she read to a group of kids for the elementary school’s fall fundraiser read-a-thon.

His cell buzzed and his heart twisted when he saw Jetta’s name as the sender.Settle down. She’s probably only telling you the results of the animal control sweep of her backyard.But his sensible admonition did little to slow his heart rate.

Do you have time to talk?

He frowned. That didn’t sound good. Maybe she would tell him to forget the whole investigation thing and to never darken her doorway again. In his experience, answering that question only led to disappointment. But putting her off wouldn’t change the outcome of the conversation, so instead of replying, he hit the call button.

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