“He gave me his name before Reed came out,” Piper says. “It’s Peter Graham, and he has a website.” She points to her monitor.
“There’s something familiar about him,” Durango says.
Durango and I step behind her and stare at her screen. The website comes up for a podcast calledWrongly Accused.
“It looks like this is his second season,” Piper says. She clicks on a link for season one. “His first season claimed a guy was wrongly accused. He appealed based on the information Peter found during his investigation,” she reads. “Let’s find out if that appeal was successful.”
She searches the man’s name, and several news stories come up. We scan them quickly.
“He represented himself, and his appeal was denied. Peter was accused of fabricating most of his so-called new evidence,” Piper summarizes.
“Wow, so he got some guy’s hopes up based on lies?” Durango asks.
“That’s what it sounds like,” Piper says.
“Then why is his podcast still popular? Shouldn’t he have been canceled or something?” I ask.
Piper clicks a few more times. “Nope, he’s independent. He answers to no one, apparently.”
“Great. We have some guy who will make up evidence to get ratings, claiming that Stacy is innocent. That shouldn’t be a problem,” I say.
Piper continues to read more, but I’ve seen enough.
“Peter claimed he never lied, but his source did. And that’s probably why people are still listening. Unfortunately, his podcast is the fourth most popular right now,” Piper says. “People seem to like it.”
“Has he put out any episodes about Stacy?” Durango asks.
“Yes, one so far. The description states it includes aninterview with her. And there is another item here he calls ‘Breaking News.’”
I lean over as Piper clicks on the link. A video of Reed telling him to get out is already posted and getting a lot of views.
“What the hell?” Durango asks. “How is that up already?”
“It only takes a minute at most to upload a short video,” Piper says.
Durango shakes his head. “I get that, but he posted it? A video? Without explanation?”
I scan the comments. All are pretty much negative and claiming Reed is hiding something.
“He doesn’t need an explanation. Public opinion is going to fill that in on their own,” I say.
“What an asshole,” Durango says.
A woman steps into our office, and I tense up. She’s wearing a black suit and appears more FBI agent than podcaster, but I could be wrong.
“Hello, I’m here to see Mr. Reed. My name is Agent Stevens.”
I relax. Thank goodness. This will be work-related.
“Yes, he’s expecting you,” Piper says.
Reed’s door opens, and he steps out. “Stevens, good to see you again. Come on in. Axel and Durango, please join us.”
Good. I’ll be getting a new assignment and can leave. If a podcaster is sniffing around, I’d rather not be here. I was worried Reed would put me on desk duty after the explosion last week. Aside from a few stitches on my upper backthat are healing nicely, I’m fine. Reed worries about our mental health. I understand why, but I’ve been in much worse situations.
Although part of me worries about Savvy, but Maria did confirm Savvy was staying with her, and she would be safe.
Durango sits next to Stevens. I take a seat on the other side of her.
