The rain had been falling over Blackwood City for nearly three hours.
Inside the Central Police Department, however, everything seemed perfectly ordinary. Officers moved between desks, phones rang every few minutes, and the smell of burnt coffee filled the air. It was just another night shift.
Officer Ethan Cole sat behind his desk, leaning back in his chair while scrolling through a report on his computer. At twenty-eight, Ethan was one of the youngest officers in the department. He had joined the force three years earlier, believing that the badge on his chest meant something more than a uniform and a paycheck.
He still believed in justice.
At least, he thought he did.
"Hey, rookie! Stop pretending to work."
Ethan looked up.
Sergeant Daniel Reeves, a broad-shouldered officer with gray hair and nearly thirty years of experience, stood several feet away holding a paper coffee cup.
"Very funny, Sergeant," Ethan replied with a smile.
Reeves laughed.
"You're lucky I'm in a good mood tonight."
Ethan turned back toward his computer.
Then the entrance doors opened.
A woman walked into the station.
She was dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit, with a white shirt underneath. Her dark hair fell neatly around her face, and her expression was cold, controlled, and almost impossible to read.
She didn't look like someone who had come to report a stolen car.
She didn't look nervous.
In fact, she looked as though she already knew exactly what was going to happen.
The woman walked straight toward the reception area, her heels clicking against the polished floor.
"Good evening," Ethan said, standing up. "How can I help you?"
She looked at him without smiling.
"I need to speak with whoever is in charge."
Ethan glanced toward Sergeant Reeves.
"May I ask what this is regarding?"
The woman reached into her black handbag.
For a brief moment, Ethan thought she was going to show him an identification card.
Instead, she opened a small black leather wallet.
Inside was a golden badge.
Ethan's smile disappeared.
He leaned closer.
The badge carried an official-looking emblem, but there was something unusual about it. The design was older than the badges normally issued to federal agents, and a small inscription appeared beneath the central symbol.
SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS DIVISION.
Ethan looked up.
"Ma'am, what department are you with?"
The woman closed the wallet.
"That is not a question you should be asking me."
Her voice was quiet, but there was something in it that made Ethan straighten his back.
He looked toward Sergeant Reeves again.
For the first time that evening, the older officer was no longer smiling.
His coffee cup had stopped halfway to his mouth.
"Who is that?" Reeves asked.
Ethan turned toward him.
"She says she needs to speak with the person in charge."
Reeves slowly approached the counter.
"Can I see your identification?"
The woman studied him for several seconds.
Then she opened the wallet again.
Reeves stared at the badge.
His face changed.
It was subtle at first. A slight tightening around the eyes. A small movement of his jaw. But Ethan noticed it.
The sergeant knew something.
Something he desperately wanted to keep hidden.
"Where did you get that?" Reeves asked.
The woman tilted her head.
"That's an interesting question, Sergeant."
"Answer me."
She didn't move.
"Twenty-three years ago, a detective named Robert Hayes disappeared while investigating an internal corruption case. His disappearance was officially classified as a voluntary departure."
Reeves said nothing.
The woman continued.
"Three days later, his partner was found dead in his apartment. The case was closed within forty-eight hours."
Ethan looked between them.
He had never heard of Robert Hayes.
But the way Reeves reacted made him realize that this was no ordinary investigation.
"Ma'am, perhaps we should move somewhere private," Ethan suggested.
The woman turned toward him.
"What is your name, Officer?"
"Ethan Cole."
She looked at the nameplate on his uniform.
"How long have you been working here, Officer Cole?"
"Three years."
"Then I suggest you remember something very carefully."
She stepped closer.
"Not everyone wearing a badge in this building is on the side of the law."
Ethan frowned.
Before he could respond, Sergeant Reeves suddenly stepped between them.
"That's enough. You need to leave."
The woman looked at him.
"Are you refusing to cooperate with a federal investigation?"
"I'm refusing to entertain someone who walks in here waving a suspicious badge."
For the first time, the woman smiled.
But it wasn't a friendly smile.
"Good. I was hoping you'd say that."
She reached into her handbag again and pulled out her phone.
Ethan watched as she dialed a number.
The call connected almost immediately.
"This is Agent Victoria Morgan," she said. "I'm inside the Blackwood Central Precinct."
She paused.
Then her expression became completely serious.
"Yes. He's here."
Another pause.
"All of them."
She ended the call.
Ethan swallowed.
"Agent Morgan, what's going on?"
Victoria looked directly into his eyes.
"Officer Cole, I need you to do exactly what I say."
"What?"
"Do not trust Sergeant Reeves."
Ethan turned around.
Reeves was standing behind him.
And now the older officer was reaching for his shoulder.
"That's enough, son," Reeves said softly.
But before Ethan could turn around, Reeves grabbed him from behind and pulled him away from the desk.
"Sergeant! What are you doing?"
"Stay quiet!"
Ethan struggled.
Victoria stepped forward, her hand moving toward her handbag.
"Let him go, Daniel."
The room suddenly became silent.
Even the officers working at the far end of the station stopped typing.
Reeves froze.
Ethan looked at him.
"Wait... you know each other?"
The older sergeant slowly released his grip.
Victoria stared at him.
"Twenty-three years, Daniel. Twenty-three years of hiding."
Reeves looked down at the floor.
Then he whispered something that made Ethan's blood run cold.
"You should have stayed dead, Victoria."
Ethan's eyes widened.
Victoria didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she reached into her handbag and placed a photograph on the counter.
It showed three people standing outside the same police station.
A young Daniel Reeves.
A man Ethan had never seen before.
And a woman who looked exactly like Victoria.