In a separate part of the investigation, Foster's financial review revealed transfers involving political campaign accounts and firms connected to local officials. The public discussion quickly expanded to suggest that entire courtrooms had been purchased by corrupt officers. Carter warned her team against language that outran the proof. A campaign contribution was not automatically a bribe, and even a suspicious payment needed evidence of a corrupt agreement before it could support a criminal charge. Investigators traced the transfers, interviewed intermediaries, and sought relevant records through proper legal process.
Over time, evidence emerged against several individuals outside the police department. Some had arranged payments through businesses that appeared legitimate. Others had helped misclassify property seized during searches or had passed confidential information to people connected to the drug network. The inquiry into judicial and prosecutorial misconduct was carefully separated from the case against Mitchell to avoid conflicts and preserve fairness. The government did not have to prove that every institution was corrupt to show that some officials had abused their offices.
Morrison's lawyers argued that the investigation was politically motivated and that his conversations had been taken out of context. He denied directing officers to harass residents or manipulate records. Carter expected those defenses. She instructed the team to preserve favorable and unfavorable material alike, including documents that could support innocent explanations for some meetings. Building a fair case required the discipline to record facts that did not fit the easiest narrative.
Meanwhile, Marcus began meeting with a child therapist recommended by the family-support team. He was reluctant at first. He thought therapy meant someone believed there was something wrong with him. Maya explained that a person could go to a doctor for an injured knee and speak with a counselor for memories that kept hurting. On the first visit he said very little. On the second he drew a picture of the ruined birthday cake with a black line across the table and a tiny figure of his father kneeling in front of it.
The therapist asked what the black line represented. Marcus said it was where the birthday had stopped. She asked him to draw what happened afterward. He hesitated, then added his mother holding him and a woman in a federal jacket approaching from the path. Finally he drew himself and his father at home eating pizza. The therapist did not ask him to replace the bad memory with a happy one. She helped him understand that the day had more than one part and that none of the frightening things were his fault.
James attended several sessions with him. Once Marcus asked whether his father could have stood up sooner. The question had been waiting between them since the park. James explained that he was trying to keep everyone safe while the officers were angry and armed. He also admitted that adults sometimes had to make decisions without knowing how those decisions would turn out. Being an FBI agent did not make him able to see the future.