Ethan waited.
Mitchell looked toward the open doorway.
Then back at him.
“Ask for the body-camera footage from the arrest.”
Ethan's expression changed slightly.
“Which arrest?”
“Mercer's.”
“From the complaint?”
“Yes.”
Ethan nodded.
“I'll ask.”
Mitchell looked relieved.
But as Ethan walked away, he wondered why Mitchell had not simply included that information in the file request.
He also wondered why the detective had looked toward the hallway before saying it.
At 10:04 that morning, Ethan received the first package.
It was delivered to his temporary office by a uniformed officer.
No name.
No department envelope.
Just a plain brown folder.
Ethan looked at it.
“Who gave you this?”
The officer shook his head.
“Found it outside the office.”
“Where?”
“On the floor.”
Ethan took the folder.
“Thank you.”
The officer left.
Ethan closed the door.
He placed the folder on the desk.
Then he waited.
He had learned long ago that suspicious packages rarely became less suspicious because you opened them quickly.
He checked the outside.
No return address.
No handwriting.
No obvious markings.
He opened it.
Inside was a single printed photograph.
A security-camera image.
It showed the front lobby of Lakewood Police Department.
The timestamp read 6:54 a.m.
Ethan looked closer.
There he was.
Walking through the front doors.
The photograph had been taken before Mercer approached him.
On the back of the photograph, someone had written four words.
“YOU WERE BEING WATCHED.”
Ethan stared at the sentence.
He turned the photograph over.
Nothing else.
He placed it on his desk.
Then he looked toward the office window.
The blinds were closed.
He stood and walked to the door.
He opened it.
The hallway was empty.
Ethan closed the door again.
He returned to his desk.
The question was no longer whether someone had been watching him.
The photograph proved it.
The question was why.
At 10:31, Commissioner Hayes entered his office.
“You look serious.”
Ethan handed her the photograph.
She read the message.
Her expression changed.
“Where did this come from?”
“I don't know.”
“Who gave it to you?”
“A patrol officer.”
“Name?”
Ethan told her.
Hayes immediately picked up her phone.
“Don't.”
Ethan stopped her.
She looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because if someone inside this building is sending me information, I don't want to scare them away.”
Hayes lowered the phone.
“You think it's from an employee?”
“I don't know.”
“You think Mercer sent it?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Ethan looked at the photograph.
“Someone who knew where I would be.”
Hayes sat down.
“This morning was supposed to be simple.”
Ethan almost smiled.
“It stopped being simple at six fifty-three.”
Hayes looked at him.
“You were intentionally early.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to see the station before anyone knew I was there.”
“And now?”
Ethan put the photograph down.
“Now I think someone else wanted to see me before I knew they were there.”
Hayes was silent.
Then her phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Her expression tightened.
“What?”
She answered.
“Hayes.”
She listened.
Her face slowly became more serious.
“Are you certain?”
A pause.
“Send it to my office.”
She ended the call.
Ethan waited.
“What happened?”
Hayes looked at him.
“Someone accessed the security camera system at 6:53 this morning.”
Ethan looked at the photograph.
“What camera?”
“The lobby camera.”
“When?”
“Six fifty-three.”
Ethan said nothing.
Hayes continued.
“Your photograph was exported at 6:54.”
Ethan stared at the image.
“So someone inside the building pulled the footage almost immediately after I arrived.”
“Yes.”
“Who has access?”
Hayes hesitated.
“Several people.”
“Names?”
She gave them.
Ethan wrote them down.
“Mercer?”
“Yes.”
“Deputy Chief Langley?”
“Yes.”
“IT?”
“Yes.”
“Commission staff?”
“Yes.”
“Professional Standards?”
“Yes.”
Ethan looked at the photograph again.
“Anyone else?”
Hayes shook her head.
“Not officially.”
That word stayed with Ethan.
Not officially.
He had heard it before.
Usually it meant someone had access they weren't supposed to have.
Ethan folded the photograph and placed it back inside the brown folder.
“I want the access logs.”
Hayes nodded.
“You'll get them.”
“And I want the original footage preserved.”
“Already ordered.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Good.”
She stood.
“Chief.”
He looked up.
“I need to tell you something.”
Ethan waited.
Hayes closed the office door.
“Mercer isn't the only person who has a problem with your appointment.”
Ethan remained silent.
“Who else?”
Hayes shook her head.
“I don't know yet.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Because two weeks ago, someone on the city council received an anonymous letter.”
“What did it say?”
Hayes hesitated.
“It said the department would become unstable if you were appointed.”
Ethan's expression remained calm.
“Did it name me?”
“Yes.”
“What else?”
Hayes looked directly at him.
“It said you would uncover things that were better left alone.”
The room went quiet.
Ethan looked at the photograph again.
Then at the commissioner.
“Did you believe it?”
“No.”
“Do you now?”