properties.
One of them
belonged to Gavin’s wife.
Another had belonged to the neighbor who testified against Gavin.
Three more were tied to families whose complaints against county officials had disappeared years earlier.
The investigator spread the documents across the table.
“This was never just about one murder case,” she said.
Mitchell studied the map.
“What were they building?”
“Not building,” she replied. “Buying before anyone knew what the land was worth.”
She tapped the first contract.
“A private energy consortium wanted underground storage access beneath this region. The county fast-tracked low-value acquisitions before the public announcement.
Anyone who refused to sell became a problem.”
Gavin looked up.
“My wife refused.”
The investigator nodded.
“She owned part of a tract they needed.
Her mother had authority over some family records, but not the final signature. Your wife found the side payments.
She found the contracts. She realized the prosecutor’s investigator,
