Chapter 31: Ralphie Pearce IV
Present-day.
Sam’s hotel room.
Levi was lying sideways on the bed, a hand propped under his head for support. Hazel eyes glued on Sam. Sam leaned back on the headboard of her Hotel bed, making herself comfortable. It was a long story after all.
"As you already know, I worked in the FBI before. During those years I worked at the Headquarters working on several cases. It was a year before I resigned from my position when Wright and I crossed paths." she said.
A sigh escaped her lips as she recalled the details, "I was originally at their satellite office for a seminar when the lead forensic Dr. Woods invited me to look at a fresh case with him. It was a case involving a family, the Lawsons." Levi noted how her eyes darkened at the mention of the name as if she was back there.
"The couple, Meredith and Philip were driving to Philpott Lake that summer with their 6-year-old son, Henry." Sam clenched her jaw; images were flashing in her mind. Images of that very crime scene so fresh like she was reliving it then.
Levi noted how her eyes reddened at the mention of the child. He can’t blame her, nobody enjoys dealing with a homicide that involved kids.
"Their vehicle was found abandoned at the side of the road. Their bodies a mile away in the woods. Execution style, two bullets at the back of their heads." She scoffed as if a bullet to the head of a child would make dealing with the case easier. It wasn’t.
She recalled looking at that small body on the examination table. The coolness of the steel surface in that cold morgue was nothing in comparison to the feel of that body under her touch. He was so small, her mind kept repeating then.
"Philip Lawson was involved in some corporate scam. He’d scammed millions of dollars to several small businesses. So, we figured the motive must be linked to that" she further explained.