He provided it.
Grant wrote it down.
Then she looked at Victoria.
"Anything else?"
Victoria glanced toward the sedan.
"There's a tracking device beneath my vehicle."
Grant immediately became serious.
"Show me."
Victoria pointed toward it.
Grant crouched slightly, examining the device without touching it.
"How long has this been here?"
"Unknown."
Grant stood.
"Was your vehicle secured before tonight?"
"Yes."
"Could someone have accessed it?"
Victoria considered the question.
"Only a few people."
Grant looked at her.
"Who?"
Victoria paused.
"That's what I intend to find out."
Walker suddenly stepped forward.
"Director, with respect, this is getting out of hand."
Grant turned toward him.
"Sergeant, nobody asked for your opinion."
Walker's face tightened.
Grant continued.
"Your department has received multiple complaints involving roadside searches, missing property, and altered reports. We have been reviewing those cases for months."
Walker stared at her.
"You can't possibly believe every allegation."
"No."
Grant paused.
"But I believe the evidence deserves attention."
Collins looked increasingly uncomfortable.
"Director, I was simply following procedure."
Victoria turned toward him.
"Which procedure?"
He looked at her.
"The procedure for suspicious vehicles."
Victoria nodded.
"Then you won't mind providing the original report."
Collins said nothing.
"Or the dispatch recording."
Still nothing.
"Or the authorization that permitted you to search my personal belongings."
His eyes shifted toward Walker.
Victoria noticed.
Grant noticed too.
"Officer Collins," Grant said, "look at me."
He reluctantly did.
"Did anyone instruct you to stop this vehicle?"
Collins hesitated.
"No, ma'am."
Victoria remained silent.
Grant waited.
"Are you certain?"
Collins swallowed.
"Yes."
Victoria slowly took out her phone.
"Would you like to hear the recording?"
Collins looked at her.
"What recording?"
"The call you made to dispatch before approaching my vehicle."
Grant looked surprised.
"You recorded the dispatch communication?"
"Yes."
Victoria pressed play.
A male voice emerged from the speaker.
Collins's voice.
"Dispatch, this is Unit 214. I've got the vehicle. Same description. I'm making contact now."
Then another voice responded.
"Confirm the driver."
Collins answered.
"Female. Alone."
The recording continued.
Then Collins said something that changed everything.
"Tell Walker I found her."
Silence.
Grant slowly looked at Collins.
"Found who?"
Collins said nothing.
Victoria stopped the recording.
"That's what I'd like to know."
Collins looked toward Walker.
Walker looked away.
Grant's expression became almost frighteningly calm.
"Sergeant Walker, did you instruct Officer Collins to locate this vehicle?"
Walker shook his head.
"No."
Victoria tilted her head.
"Interesting."
She played the next recording.
A second voice appeared.
It was Walker.
"Don't make contact until you're certain. We need the badge first."
Grant looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
Walker stepped backward.
"I don't know."
Victoria looked directly at him.
"You don't know?"
He shook his head.
"That recording is out of context."
"Then explain the context."
Walker opened his mouth.
But nothing came out.
Grant closed her briefcase.
"Both of you are going to headquarters."
Collins looked terrified.
"Director, am I under arrest?"
Grant answered carefully.
"Your conduct is being referred for formal investigation. Until that process is completed, you are not to access departmental records or communicate with anyone involved in this matter."
Walker looked angry.
"You can't do that."
Grant turned toward him.
"I can."
Then she added:
"And I just did."
CHAPTER 5 — THE EVIDENCE ROOM
At 1:06 a.m., Victoria arrived at the Chicago federal investigation office.
The building was quiet.
Most of the staff had already gone home, but several investigators had been called back after the latest developments.
Victoria walked through the security entrance.
An agent named Marcus Reed approached her.
He was forty-two, tall, and usually cheerful.
Tonight, he wasn't smiling.
"Victoria."
"Marcus."
"We've got a situation."
"Tell me."
He handed her a tablet.
A photograph appeared on the screen.
It showed Lieutenant James Porter entering an underground parking garage.
Behind him was a man wearing a baseball cap.
Victoria recognized the man.
"Who is that?"
Marcus enlarged the image.
"Unknown."
"Can we identify him?"
"Not yet."
Victoria studied the photograph.
"Where was this taken?"
"Outside the evidence storage facility."
"When?"
"Forty minutes ago."
Victoria looked up.
"That's impossible. Porter was supposed to be inside the facility."
"He was."
Marcus swiped to another image.
It showed Porter standing beside an open evidence cabinet.