An ex-con, Nora Dockson has a soft spot for underdogs like her former cellmate. She got her law degree so she could rescue her ex-cellie and others who made bad deals with a flawed system.
So how did Wesley Mitchell jump to the top of her potential client list?
Mitchell’s no underdog. Man’s so well-connected, for years he evaded punishment for killing unarmed civilians. Only after the FBI and the Justice Department stepped in did a jury find him guilty of two hot-blooded murders. Mitchell deserves his 65-year prison sentence.
But did the feds fight dirty to convict him?
Nora has to check it out. What she discovers challenges all she believes.
“[A] fascinating … series”
— Stephen Campbell, CrimeFiction.FM
Book Excerpt
An octopus rots from the center . . .
Assistant US Attorney Tom Okamoto paused while inhaling his power breakfast to lecture Nora.
“You may not know this,” he informed her, “but you’re sitting in one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States. A lot of immigrants moved in during the past two decades. People of Hispanic or Latino origin comprise half Parma, Washington’s population. Police shootings of civilians here are a direct result of local law enforcement’s failure to keep up with that growth.”
He bit off a chunk of toast and washed it down with more coffee. “The department became a joke when Roger Jefferson took over.”
“In 2000,” she interjected, a biscuit halfway to her mouth. “Chief of police until shortly after you got federal indictments against four members of his department. At that point, he took early retirement.”
“I can’t take credit for getting rid of the chief,” Okamoto admitted. “The city manager chose not to investigate the charges against Jefferson. So we’ve got no actual evidence of how badly he screwed things up.”
He glanced around the room, spotted their server, and raised his empty mug to signal he wanted a refill.
“There’s a Japanese proverb that fits the situation,” he continued. “‘An octopus rots from the center out.’ That was Parma PD as run by Chief Roger Jefferson. The corruption started with him and spread to the rest of his idiot deputies. The tragic outcome was Wesley Mitchell’s slaughter of two unarmed Latinos. Everyone in Parma should thank God that the feds stepped in.”
