Unofficially, it was becoming one of the biggest corruption cases in the county.
For six months, Judge Whitmore had quietly reviewed documents suggesting that Meridian Development had acquired hundreds of acres of public land through fraudulent appraisals.
The company had powerful lawyers.
Powerful investors.
Powerful friends.
And according to documents Whitmore had discovered only three days earlier, someone inside the courthouse had been helping them.
That was why he had arrived at 6:15 that morning.
He wanted to see who accessed the sealed case files before the hearing.
He had found something disturbing.
Someone had entered the records room at 5:42 a.m.
The security system showed that the person had used a court employee access card.
But the employee whose name appeared in the system was not working that day.
Evelyn Harper.
The clerk.
When Whitmore saw her enter the courtroom carrying the docket, he knew he had to ask her a question.
"Ms. Harper."
She looked at him.
"Yes, Your Honor?"
"Where were you at 5:42 this morning?"
Her expression froze.
"At home."
"Are you certain?"
"Yes."
"Your access card was used in the records room."
Evelyn looked genuinely shocked.
"My card was in my purse."
"Then someone has a duplicate."
Marcus stepped forward.
"Judge, should we secure the records room?"
Whitmore nodded.
"Immediately."