My meetings and interviews with authorities in Arizona and Southern California have gone about as far as they can. I don’t expect anything else of significance to surface from that effort.
I now set my sights on Silicon Valley, where I hope to find and interview friends and colleagues of Carson, people who knew him socially, casually, and in business dealings, and people who worked with him professionally. I also want to talk to Gordon’s life partner, Tracy, whom Carson met when she traveled to Middle Valley. There’s been talk that she was asking for a portion of the proceeds from the liquidation of the video game company that he founded with Gordon.
I come armed with an initial list of eight people that I plan to find and contact one at a time. I’m hoping to build on that network and extend my reach even further.
The interviews are all similar and are seeking the same information:
How and where did you meet Carson? How long did you know him? When did you last see Carson? Were you aware that he traveled to Middle Valley?
Was your interaction with Carson minimal or extensive? Was it technical, financial, or managerial? Was it smooth or was it difficult?
Did you see Carson often? Were your meetings always work-related, or did you also meet for activities outside of work?
Do you know where Carson is at this time? Do you know how to get in touch with him? Do you know of anyone else who might be in touch with Carson and whether they might share that information?
Are you aware of Gordon’s fate? How did Carson handle the loss of his business partner? What is your impression of Carson’s mental health?
First on the list is Gordon’s life partner, Tracy, who suggests she’d heard Carson may be living in Vietnam, where he could avoid US authorities and law, but she wasn’t certain.
As for the rest, the meetings have taken a toll on my meal budget, but I have been able to secure most of them. I have to say, they’ve offered valuable information, even provided names of additional people who might be able to help. The highlights:
- The original list of people involved with Carson in some capacity has grown from eight to 11.
- Most seem to have encountered him within the last five years, several just before his move to Middle Valley, but none recently.
- Some had frequent professional contact with Carson in recent years, mostly about managing finances. Interactions had become demanding and difficult for everyone.
- No one except Gordon spent time with Carson outside of work when the company was still in operation.
- Most people seemed to be aware that Carson had moved overseas in recent months and touted the trend toward taking tech-based start-ups to Vietnam. It was just like him, they said, to be ahead of the curve.
- No one had contact information for Carson.
- A number of those interviewed were aware of Carson’s relationship with Gordon and how it had become quite strained in the last year or so.
- The consensus was that Carson had been quite stressed before the move to Middle Valley.
- No one, however, expressed that Carson might have been directly responsible for causing physical harm to Gordon.
So, I head home with enough information for a book, though I know I’ll have guardrails on length, as I always do. More importantly, though, this information can be passed to Silas and Merc to inform their investigation and, if I’m lucky, get Carson out of Middle Valley’s crosshairs for good.