C26: Evidence
[12th Precinct]
The interrogation room stayed quiet for a few seconds after Travis finished speaking.
Kate closed the folder slowly and pushed herself up from her chair. "We need proof," she said while looking directly at Adisa. "Everything you told us sounds insane enough already. A dead playwright making panic toxins, corrupt investigators, a theatre owner trying to poison hundreds of people during a live performance…" She folded her arms tightly. "Without hard evidence, the DA will laugh us out of the office."
"Earlier, our team checked Aston's apartment, and all they found was a couple of notes," Travis said. "So, we need his diary."
"My apartment," Adisa replied. "Hidden behind a loose panel under the kitchen sink." He looked up at them again. "The diary is there."
Kate immediately reached for her phone while Travis opened the interrogation room door.
A few minutes later, Esposito stood outside the bullpen listening carefully while Kate explained the situation in a low voice. The further she got into the explanation, the more his expression shifted between disbelief and concern.
"You're telling me this guy built a chemical horror show and planned to gas a theatre tomorrow night?" Espo asked.
"That's exactly what I'm telling you," Kate replied.
Espo rubbed the back of his neck slowly. "Man, every time I think this job can't get crazier…"
Travis handed him the apartment address. "Get the diary. Meanwhile, we'll check up with Lanie. I hope she found some drug traces from Aston's body."
Espo took the paper. "Got it."
As Espo headed toward the elevators, Ryan walked past holding a cup of coffee and noticed the tension immediately.
"Why does everyone suddenly look like we're preparing for the apocalypse?" Ryan asked.
Travis looked toward him while grabbing his jacket again. "Long story. We'll ruin your afternoon with it later."
Ryan blinked once. "That somehow worries me more."
...
[Morgue]
The cold air inside the morgue wrapped around them the second the doors opened.
Lanie stood near one of the examination tables with a tablet in one hand and reading glasses resting lower on her nose than usual. Several chemical reports were spread across the counter beside her, along with tissue samples sealed inside evidence containers.
She looked up as Travis and Kate walked in.
"Well," she said while pulling off the glasses slowly, "Right on time."
Travis stepped closer to the table. "Tell me you found something."
Lanie gave him a long look first. "You know, most people start with hello before demanding miracles from me."
"Hello, sweetheart," Travis replied immediately with his confident smirk. "You got something for me?"
That earned the faintest smile from her before she sighed and tapped the screen of her tablet.
"I almost didn't," she admitted. "Whatever compound Aston was exposed to, it was hidden extremely well inside his bloodstream. I missed it three separate times because the breakdown pattern looked natural at first glance."
Kate frowned slightly. "Natural how?"
Lanie walked around the table and pulled up several chemical scans on a monitor mounted against the wall. "The compound degrades rapidly after death. By the time standard toxicology runs its tests, most of the active traces already resemble elevated stress hormones and damaged neural stimulants." She crossed her arms while staring at the screen. "If I wasn't specifically looking for abnormalities connected to fear response chemicals, I probably would've signed off on another cardiac arrest."
Travis's expression hardened slightly. "But you found it."
"On the fourth pass," Lanie replied. "Tiny residue traces embedded deep in the adrenal tissue." She zoomed further into the scan. "Whoever designed this thing knew exactly how toxicology works."
Kate stared at the monitor for a moment before looking toward Lanie again. "Can you prove it wasn't accidental exposure?"
Lanie nodded once. "Repeated exposure patterns are all over his nervous system. This wasn't a one-time contact. Aston had been absorbing small doses over a long period." She glanced toward Travis.
Travis rubbed his jaw slowly while processing everything. "So now we have chemical confirmation."
"If we add the diary with this toxic report and Adisa's testimony, we have enough for an arrest warrant, or at least a search warrant," Kate added.
"Depends on how far our pink suit guy's reach is," Travis said.
Lanie leaned back against the counter and looked at both of them closely. "Okay," she said slowly, "somebody needs to explain why a dead theatre writer has designer panic toxins in his body."
Kate looked toward Travis briefly before answering.
"Because apparently New York wasn't stressful enough already."
Lanie blinked once. "That is not an explanation. That sounds like the opening line of a terrible documentary."
Travis grabbed one of the reports from the counter and skimmed through it quickly. "Aston developed airborne compounds that trigger paranoia, panic attacks, hallucinations, and eventually nervous system collapse after prolonged exposure." He looked back toward her. "The theatre owner planned to use it tomorrow night during a live performance."
The room went quiet.
Even Lanie stopped moving for a second.
"You're serious," she said finally.
"Unfortunately," Kate replied.
Lanie slowly removed her gloves and tossed them into the disposal bin nearby. "Okay," she muttered while shaking her head once. "I officially miss the days when our murderers just stabbed people."
...
[Captain Montgomery's Office]
Travis and Kate stepped into Montgomery's office. The captain was standing near the window with a file in one hand and reading glasses resting lower on his nose. He looked up the second they entered and immediately caught the expressions on their faces.
That alone told him this was not going to be a normal conversation.
Montgomery slowly closed the file and placed it on his desk. "Every time you two walk in looking like that, my blood pressure gets worse," he muttered while motioning toward the chairs. "Sit down and ruin my afternoon properly." He sat down.
Kate sat first while Travis stayed standing near the desk for a moment, arms folded loosely as he gathered his thoughts.
Montgomery noticed immediately. "That bad?"
Travis let out a slow breath. "Depends on how much you like psychological terror attacks and airborne panic drugs."
The captain froze for half a second.
Then he blinked once. "I'm sorry, what?"
Kate explained everything from the beginning. The unfinished theatre production, Amara's death, Aston's experiments, the compounds hidden in incense and stage smoke, Adisa's confession, Adewale's involvement with cartel networks, and the planned attack during tomorrow night's performance.
Montgomery just listened quietly while rubbing the bridge of his nose like he already felt the migraine forming behind his eyes.
When Kate finally finished, silence settled across the office for several long seconds.
Then the captain leaned back slowly in his chair and stared at both of them.
"I spent five years in this department as a Captain," he said quietly. "Do you know how many times I've heard detectives walk into my office with theories involving cults, poison gas, and theatrical chemical warfare?"
Travis tilted his head slightly. "I'm guessing more than zero if you're asking it like that."
"Exactly zero," Montgomery replied flatly.
Travis gave a small nod. "Fair enough."
Montgomery looked toward Kate. "And you believe this?"
"I believe the evidence," Kate answered immediately. "Lanie confirmed the compounds in Aston's body. Adisa gave us names, methods, motives, and the planned attack location. Espo is retrieving the diary now."
Montgomery's fingers tapped once against the desk before going still again.
"If this diary checks out," he said carefully, "then we're talking about domestic terrorism levels of bad."
Travis finally pulled one of the chairs back and sat down across from him. "It gets worse."
Montgomery narrowed his eyes slightly. "There's more?"
"Adewale has cartel connections," Travis explained. "According to Adisa, the fear compound was being tested as a destabilization tool. Poison rival organizations slowly, create paranoia inside their ranks, then take over what survives afterward. So, we might soon see street gang wars. It's going to be busy for a while."
The captain stared at him for a moment.
"That sounds insane."
"Yeah," Travis admitted calmly. "Unfortunately, insane doesn't mean impossible."
Montgomery pushed himself out of his chair and walked toward the window. Outside, the city moved like it always did. Cars, noise, people rushing through another ordinary day, completely unaware of what might be sitting under the surface.
He folded his arms tightly.
"If even half of this is true," he muttered, "we cannot afford mistakes."
Kate nodded once. "That's why we came straight to you."
Montgomery turned back around. "What's your move?"
Travis answered first. "Search warrant on the theatre and Adewale's office. Quietly." He leaned forward slightly now, focus sharpening. "If we hit the place too loudly before we secure evidence, he'll burn everything."
Kate picked up immediately after him. "We also need to identify everyone connected to the original investigation into Amara's death. Corrupt cops, medical staff, and coroners. If Adisa's telling the truth, this cover-up reached further than one theatre."
Montgomery looked between both of them carefully.
"You realize this can blow up politically."
Travis gave a faint shrug. "Corrupt people usually hate sunlight. Besides, law is law. People will hate cops for a while if things get public, so if you can pull some strings and take care of things internally and send those bastards behind bars, all is good. If they walk free after we gather all the evidence, ping their bank details and all those things... Well, that won't be good."
"That attitude is exactly why Internal Affairs keeps getting ulcers every time your name appears in paperwork," Montgomery muttered.
A small smile pulled briefly at Kate's mouth before disappearing again.
The captain walked back toward his desk and sat down again with a heavy sigh. "Get me that diary and I'll get that warrant. And..." He looked at them both. "Be careful on this one."
Right then, a loud knock hit the office door before Ryan pushed it open halfway.
"Uh… Captain?" Ryan said while looking between all three of them. "Espo just called."
Montgomery asked, "What happened?"
Ryan's expression tightened.
"He found the diary."
Kate stood up instantly. "And?"
Ryan swallowed once.
"The apartment was on fire when he got there. He got the diary, but he got some burn injuries and was attacked by a street gang. Luckily, there was a squad car in the area. They took down three suspects, and one of them escaped."
Kate and Travis looked toward the Captain.
"It has begun," Travis said as he stood up. "Get that warrant. We'll make sure our pink guy doesn't escape or shift anything out." He then looked at Ryan. "Tap his phones and find his location and dig into his financial details. There has to be a slip-up now that he knows we're after him. Meanwhile, Kate and I will go to the theatre. He's gonna pay the price for attacking our friend."
...
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