THE LAST WITNESS Six Months Later The law moves slowly. Justice, when it finally arrives, does not apologize for the wait. It simply arrives. Aftermath || Justice || Raymond Doss || Resolution The trial of Frank Delaney began in April and lasted six weeks. Sara was not the lead prosecutor — that had been assigned … Read more
THE LAST WITNESS Thomas Greer Wakes Up A journalist who has been trying to tell a story for two years and has been put in a hospital for it does not, upon waking, ask if he’s alright. He asks if the story got out. Greer || Recovery || Truth || Justice Thomas Greer regained full … Read more
THE LAST WITNESS The Arrest There is a specific sound that the handcuffs make when a very powerful person’s hands are put in them. It is not a dramatic sound. It is the sound of twenty-five years ending. Arrest || Delaney || Justice || Climax The coordination took nine more days, which meant Sara was … Read more
THE LAST WITNESS What James Knew There are different ways to know a thing. Some of them are worse than not knowing. James || Truth || Betrayal || Confrontation She confronted him on Thursday evening, because she had run the evidence one more time on Thursday morning after a night in a hotel that Lore … Read more
THE LAST WITNESS The Second Attack The second time is never a warning. The second time is a message: we know where you are, and we are not afraid. Attack || Danger || Crisis || Baby They came on a Wednesday night, which was three days after the conversation with Lore and ten days after … Read more
THE LAST WITNESS The Federal Connection Federal jurisdiction is a powerful thing. It is also the kind of thing that can get you killed before it can help you. FBI || Federal || Investigation || Strategy Webb’s federal contact was a woman named Agent Diana Lore, who worked out of the FBI’s Chicago field office … Read more
THE LAST WITNESS Marcus Webb A good detective is someone who has made peace with the fact that most of what they do is look for what people are hiding. Including themselves. Webb || Alliance || Truth || Investigation He was already there when she arrived at the conservatory, standing on the path with his … Read more
Where the Trees Watch – Chapter 45 The Light Beneath Blackwood The moment Ryan shouted Emily’s name into the collapsing river, the entire forest answered. Light erupted upward through the black water beneath the vortex in blinding waves, not white light but thousands of fractured memories igniting together beneath the riverbed like stars waking inside … Read more
Where the Trees Watch – Chapter 44 The Story Blackwood Needed Someone to Carry Claire grabbed Ryan’s jacket the moment he stepped toward the river again. “You’re not doing this alone.” Her voice shook with fear and exhaustion, but the determination behind it remained firm enough to cut through the chaos surrounding the collapsing clearing. … Read more
Where the Trees Watch – Chapter 43 The Last Decision of Blackwood The entire forest moved at once. Towering black pines surrounding the clearing leaned inward toward the river while roots erupted violently through the earth beneath the fog. The ground shook hard enough to crack the riverbanks apart as Blackwood dragged itself toward the … Read more
