A Long Road to Redemption

Chapter 28

Police work can be an exciting time full of dramatic moments. Armed officers swoop in and arrest the bad guys, searching vehicles and finding large amounts of drugs, weapons, and other contraband. The reality is that most police work is nothing like that at all. Sure, there are those heart-stopping moments, but many investigations occur sitting at a desk. It's a lot of looking at pictures, reviewing files, reading documents, and trying to find inconsistencies in what people say and the evidence. It looks easy on television. The investigator looks in a file or two and quickly spots what they are looking for to solve the case. In truth, investigations can take years.

That's where Taylor was now. He became suspicious of the Pierson shipping business years ago when a patrol officer discovered one of Pierson's trucks loaded with a large shipment of drugs. That in and of itself did not mean that the entire company was a front for shipping drugs, but it was the inconsistencies found in the driver's story. Like so many leads, though, the investigation went no further than the driver. Sure, drivers often take on illegal cargo without their bosses knowing. Slipping in contraband or hiding illicit substances in a legal shipment is easy. Considering how many large trucks are on the highways at any given time, it's easy to just blend into traffic.

Taylor continued investigating Leonard Pierson and his operation. Still, after so many years of finding nothing, he was close to giving up. There was enough evidence to keep Taylor interested but not enough to bring charges. It was frustrating. He knew something was there, but the case had no breaks.

Then came Lawson Pierson, a handsome, charming young man who seemed to be in line to inherit a readymade fortune. Lawson had just stayed under the radar of Taylor until he began to take a role in his father's business. The detective's impression of Lawson was that he was less sharp than his father. Lawson didn't seem the part of the untouchable crime boss. He was too high profile, living the life of the spoiled rich kid who refused to grow up. Taylor's few informants told him how Leonard lectured him repeatedly on why he needed to take business matters more seriously. For a while, he seemed to do just that.

Lawson's death bothered Taylor. The official death certificate mentioned nothing about the wound on the side of his head. The investigation record noted nothing about Lawson shoving Sidney against the railing or a scotch bottle. There was also no mention of the missing flash drive full of sex videos of Sidney and those other women. The official reports contradicted Taylor's investigation and were written to make Sidney look as guilty. Sidney made some terrible decisions that night. However, Lawson did his fair share to bring about his fate, but much of that was neatly erased from the record.

That was the part that got him the most. If the evidence obtained in the investigation was tampered with or manipulated, that spoke to a bigger problem in the department. He suspected that there was a mole in the department and probably many officers potentially on the Pierson payroll. It bothered him to no end that people he worked with daily were actively working against him. To Taylor, there were few things worse than a corrupt cop. It hurt to think who it might be in such a small department. No matter who it was, it was bound to be someone he knew, and that thought bothered him.

So what's the play here? A part of the investigation was interviewing witnesses and suspects. Taylor and Sullivan conducted the interviews, but except for the notes he made, the interview video and transcripts were nowhere to be found. Taylor knew it was a cover-up if he ever saw one.

Taylor decided first to try to find the original death certificate. Luckily, he knew that the county coroner wasn't trustful of computers and kept a hard copy of all his records. Next, he would go interview Sidney. She may not know anything about the illegal activities of the Piersons, but she could shine some light on Lawson. She may know about the places he traveled and the people he knew. Lastly, he needed to talk with his friend in the FBI. If the Piersons were transporting contraband across state lines, then the feds were probably investigating Pierson's operation.