Alicia's investigation was moving on a separate track. At first she had approached the problem as a collection of troubling incidents around one restaurant. Then a florist named Evelyn Parker showed her an old settlement agreement from a business Collins Development had pressured out of a different block. The document barred Evelyn from discussing the negotiations but did not prevent her from reporting suspected crimes to investigators. She gave Alicia the names of two other former shopkeepers, and one of those men produced invoices showing payments to a supposed compliance consultant who had connections to Derek's company.
Alicia took the information to a federal civil rights investigator she trusted, Special Agent Rafael Rodriguez. They had previously worked together on an unrelated case involving public corruption, and he knew Alicia well enough to insist on clean boundaries. Because she was personally acquainted with Marcus, she would document her observations and provide leads, not direct interviews or decide which evidence entered a prosecution file. Rodriguez assembled a small team to test the allegations independently.
The team found a pattern that extended across several years. A dozen small businesses, most owned by Black families, had received offers from Collins-affiliated buyers shortly before suffering unusual inspection complaints, service interruptions, or sudden landlord disputes. Some had closed. Others had sold their leases at steep discounts. A few owners had accepted confidentiality provisions because they needed money to leave town and did not believe anyone would listen to them otherwise.
A hardware store operator named Isaiah Boone told Rodriguez about an electric panel inspection that had appeared the day after he declined a purchase offer. A barber named Vernon Reed described being followed home and warned that his children might have trouble staying in their school district. A former bookkeeper for one of Derek's contractors handed over copies of invoices that appeared to compensate people for performing "site pressure" and "reputation stabilization." Those terms meant little alone, but combined with dates and witness accounts they began to form a recognizable method.
Alicia learned that Derek had been expanding his property holdings with investment money tied to an ambitious redevelopment plan. Every surviving independent business along Peach Street represented a negotiating obstacle. Soul Food Sanctuary mattered more than its narrow frontage suggested because its lease included access to a rear service lane needed for the next phase of construction. Derek could build around Marcus, but doing so would cost far more than the ten thousand dollars he had offered.
"So the diner isn't simply old-fashioned to him," Rodriguez said when Alicia explained the property layout. "It's expensive to leave in place."
"And the people inside it are cheap to frighten," she replied. "Or he thinks they are."
The federal investigation had enough preliminary evidence to request records from several contractors and the development company. A cooperating witness, Derek's former business associate Paul Vance, agreed to provide lawfully recorded conversations after consulting his own lawyer. Agents also obtained judicial authorization for limited investigative steps that were not disclosed to Alicia or Marcus while they remained sensitive. The resulting files were reviewed by federal prosecutors before anyone discussed using them in another proceeding.