Describe her. Simon did. Mid-50s. Business clothes. Controlled manner.
No visible company identification. Lena wrote every detail. Did she give you the note too? Maya asked. It was already attached under the handle.
Did she say anything about Apex Meridian? No. Did she mention the courthouse? She said the case had to reach you personally before you went inside. Denise asked, "Was anyone else with her? " "No. " Did you see how she arrived?
No, she was already there. Maya leaned forward slightly. Did anyone tell you a police officer would be waiting? Simon looked genuinely confused. No.
Did anyone mention courthouse security? No. Did anyone tell you the case might be intercepted? No. Lena closed her legal pad.
Simon looked between them. Am I in trouble? Not with us, Maya said. But we may need you to confirm what you told us today. He nodded.
I will. After Simon left, Denise watched through the window until he reached his car. He's either telling the truth or he's very good. He's telling the truth about most of it, Lena said. Denise looked at her.
Most he knew he was using Grey Line property he no longer worked under. That makes him cautious. It doesn't make him part of the larger plan. Maya looked at the notes. What about the booking service?
Lena had already started searching. Within an hour, she found corporate records linking the service to a private investigation firm. That firm had handled work for lawyers representing Apex Meridian. Denise leaned back. Still too clean.
Maya read the connection twice. Yes. Denise frowned. Why? Because if Voss wanted us to discover he sent the case, he couldn't have left a better trail.
Lena looked at the description Simon had given of the woman in the parking structure. So maybe Voss didn't send it. Maya closed the file. Then someone else did and Voss may have learned about it before we did. That possibility changed the investigation.
The Courier Trail no longer answered the question of who had built the trap. It only showed that more than one person may have known the case was coming. The following morning, Maya filed a narrow request asking Judge Price to authorize an examination of the sealed case without opening it. She wanted the exterior photographed under controlled conditions and any identifying marks documented before either side could challenge its origin. Voss opposed the request.
His filing argued that any examination risked disturbing potentially privileged property belonging to Apex Meridian. Maya noticed the contradiction immediately. Voss had spent days arguing that nobody could establish where the case came from. Yet, he was now objecting as though its connection to Apex Meridian was already known. Judge Price allowed a non-invasive inspection.
Nolan joined Lena in the courthouse evidence room while Maya Denise council for Apex Meridian and a court clerk observed. The charcoal case remained sealed on the table. Nolan photographed the lock, hinges, exterior shell, and tamper seal before examining the printed markings under magnification. The case itself is ordinary commercial equipment, he said. Anyone could buy one.
Denise looked at the combination lock. And the lock, different manufacturer. It was added later. Lena pointed toward the seal. What about that?
Nolan adjusted the magnifier. There's a batch code. The attorney representing Apex Meridian stepped forward. Do not remove anything. I'm not removing anything, Nolan said.
I'm reading what's already there. He wrote down the code and photographed it. Later that afternoon, Nolan called the firm. The seal matters. Maya put him on speaker.
How much? The manufacturer sells that product to a lot of companies, but the batch code can be traced through distributor records. Part of that shipment went to Apex Meridian. Denise looked at Lena. Can we prove this particular seal came from their inventory?
Not yet, Nolan said. We can prove the same batch was supplied to them. That's all I'd say under oath. Maya appreciated the restraint. That's enough for now.
After the call, Lena opened Mercer's incident report beside the first draft obtained through Discovery. I found another problem. She placed both versions on the conference table. In Mercer's original draft, the case was described as a sealed container of unknown origin. In the final report, the language had changed to suspected unauthorized Apex Meridian corporate records.
Denise read the sentence twice. He added the company name. Yes, Maya looked at the dates and system stamps. After the encounter, after we were already inside the courthouse, Mercer had never opened the case. He had not seen the note.
Maya had not told him the message mentioned Apex Meridian yet. The final report named the company directly, who accessed the report between these two versions. Maya asked. Lena turned her laptop toward them. Deputy Chief Robert Keane.
The system audit showed that Keane had opened the report before final submission. Denise frowned. Maybe he reviewed it. Supervisors do that. They do, Lena said.
But look at the version history. Several phrases changed after Keane's access. Questioned. Basis for detention. Became delayed lawful security instructions.
Declined consent to search became refused lawful direction. The reference to Apex Meridian appeared in the same revision period. Maya read the edits without speaking. Denise looked at her. That isn't proofreading.
No, it's not just Mercer anymore. It hasn't been just Mercer for a while. That afternoon, Harold Bennett came to the office after learning about the seal. He sat across from Maya in the conference room while Denise and Lena joined them. You're saying part of the packaging may have come from Apex.
The seal batch was supplied to Apex Meridian, Maya said. That doesn't prove the case came from inside the company, but it makes it possible. Yes. Harold looked toward the evidence photographs. Do you think what's inside is real?
Maya considered the question. I believe somebody was afraid of where it might end up. That isn't the same answer. No, because I don't know yet. Harold nodded.