Page 63 of Dead Air
"That's absurd," Claire interjected. "Lawson's been with us since before the broadcast began."
"I'm not the one making these decisions." Parks kept his jaw tight, the disagreement flashing for a second before he smothered it. "Officially, you shouldn't be here at all, Detective."
"You’re the one who called me here," Lawson shot back.
Across the crime scene, a young man sat on a concrete barrier, wrapped in a shock blanket despite the humid evening air. Mid-twenties, hipster beard, oversized glasses, his expression vacant while a uniformed officer attempted to take his statement. He clutched a laptop against his chest like a shield.
"Blackwell's assistant?" Lawson nodded toward the young man.
"Dylan Everett." Parks consulted his notes. "Audio engineer and production assistant for Dead Air. Found him knocked out cold."
Fiona studied the assistant with journalistic interest. "He's protecting that laptop like it contains gold."
"Evidence techs are waiting on a warrant before seizing it." Parks checked his watch. "Should come through any minute."
Claire straightened her blazer. "I'll handle this."
She approached the assistant with confident strides, lawyer mode fully engaged. Parks raised an eyebrow but didn't interfere as Claire introduced herself to both the assistant and the officer taking his statement.
"Is she going to?—"
"Get information before the police confiscate everything?" Lawson finished Parks' question. "Almost certainly."
They watched as Claire spoke intently to Dylan, who nodded repeatedly before unlocking his laptop. The officer looked uncertain but stepped back as Claire sat beside the assistant, both now focused on the screen.
"Clever," Parks admitted. "The kid might talk to a friendly attorney before police pressure shuts him down."
Lawson turned her attention back to the crime scene. "Blood spatter analysis?"
"Consistent with blunt force trauma. Not immediately fatal based on volume and distribution." Parks pointed toward a knocked-over chair. "Attacker approached from behind. First blow stunned but didn't incapacitate. Trace evidence suggests a struggle and the vic's movement toward that pillar where the second impact occurred."
"Professional?"
"Very." Parks directed her attention to subtle scuff marks near the elevator. "Controlled extraction. No panicked movements or hesitation patterns. They knew exactly when and how to grab her."
Fiona joined them after photographing the scene with her professional camera. "Security in this building is a joke. Multiple blind spots in camera coverage. Stairwells without monitoring. Several potential extraction routes."
"Perfect location for a planned abduction." Parks nodded in agreement. "Question becomes, how did they know Blackwell would broadcast from here?"
"Inside information." Lawson studied the makeshift studio setup. "Someone knew her schedule."
Claire returned from her conversation with Dylan, expression tense with urgency. "We need to watch this now."
She led them to a quiet corner away from the main investigation activity. Dylan followed reluctantly, still clutching his laptop but now willing to share its contents. He opened a media player showing a document titled "Episode 7 Draft Script - The Cop Who Killed the Truth."
"Blackwell was working on the next episode even before broadcasting tonight's." Claire pointed to the timestamp. "Last edited three hours ago."
Dylan spoke for the first time, voice barely above a whisper. "She always prepared multiple episodes in advance. Said it was insurance in case something happened to her."
"Smart woman." Fiona positioned herself to record the screen with her phone.
Dylan scrolled through the document, revealing bullet-point notes rather than a polished script. Sections highlighted in yellow indicated incomplete research. Red text marked areas required additional source verification.
"There." Lawson pointed to a section labeled "Richardson Connection."
Dylan clicked on the subheading, expanding a section of detailed notes about former Captain Tom Richardson. Connections to the Rafferty investigation. Meeting schedules with Ray Hutchinson during periods when evidence disappeared from the case files. Financial transactions between offshore accounts linked to shell companies controlled by Thomas Hutchinson's law firm.
"Jesus," Fiona whispered. "She was building a case against Richardson."
