Captain Daniel Mercer arrived at the precinct the following morning at 7:10 a.m.
He looked exhausted.
His tie was slightly crooked, and he carried a cup of coffee that he barely touched.
He had spent most of the night trying to contact people who had stopped answering his calls.
First, Richard Harlan.
Then the deputy chief.
Then a city attorney who had previously handled departmental contracts.
Nobody wanted to discuss the investigation.
At 7:35 a.m., Olivia Brooks entered the main office.
She placed her bag beneath her desk and switched on her computer.
Mercer watched her from across the room.
"Detective Brooks."
She looked up.
"Captain."
"My office. Now."
Olivia stood.
Sarah Mitchell glanced at her, but Olivia gave a small nod before following Mercer.
Once inside, he closed the door.
"Where were you last night?"
"Working."
"Where?"
"Outside the city."
"With Lieutenant Reed?"
Olivia didn't answer.
Mercer walked around his desk.
"Let me make something clear. I know you've been accessing materials related to the Price case."
"Those records are part of an authorized investigation."
"Authorized by whom?"
"Internal Affairs."
"Internal Affairs doesn't run this precinct."
"No. But it has authority to investigate departmental misconduct."
Mercer stared at her.
"You think you're doing something noble."
"I'm doing my job."
"You have no idea how much damage you're causing."
Olivia remained silent.
Mercer opened a drawer and removed a folder.
He placed it on the desk.
Inside was a disciplinary recommendation.
Olivia recognized her name.
"Effective immediately, I am recommending your temporary suspension."
She looked at the document.
"On what grounds?"
"Failure to follow command directives. Unauthorized investigative activity. Conduct detrimental to the department."
"Have you reviewed the evidence supporting those allegations?"
"I have."
"Then you know they're false."
Mercer leaned forward.
"You're making enemies you cannot afford to make."
Olivia looked directly at him.
"Is that a threat?"
He stepped back.
"Don't twist my words."
"Then explain them."
For a moment, Mercer seemed unable to respond.
He walked toward the window.
"When I became captain, this department was in terrible shape. We had limited funding, high crime rates, and officers leaving every month. I spent years building relationships with the city council and securing resources."
Olivia listened.
"Northstar helped us. They provided equipment, surveillance technology, and security personnel. We needed those services."
"Did they provide them?"
Mercer turned.
"What?"
"The services listed in the contracts. Were they actually delivered?"
Mercer looked away.
"Some arrangements were informal."
"Did you approve payments for work that wasn't performed?"
"No."
"Did you authorize the deletion of the Price recording?"
"I already told you that footage was lost."
Olivia took a small photograph from her notebook.
It showed Mercer standing beside Harlan in the parking lot.
He looked at it.
His face went pale.
"Where did you get that?"
"From the original surveillance recording."
Mercer sat down.
For the first time, he looked old.
"Olivia, you need to understand something."
"I understand that you were at the scene of an arrest that resulted in a twelve-year prison sentence."
"I didn't know what Harlan was doing."
"Then why did you meet him?"
"I was responding to a call."
"Why did you give him a document?"
Mercer rubbed his face.
"Because he told me the operation had been approved."
"What operation?"
He didn't answer.
Olivia waited.
Finally, Mercer spoke.
"Northstar was providing intelligence on suspected drug activity. Harlan said Price was connected to a larger distribution network."
"And the firearm?"
"I don't know."
"You were standing there when Harlan removed it from the vehicle."
Mercer looked up.
"I didn't see that."
"The recording shows you arriving before the arrest. It shows you speaking to Harlan. It shows you handing him something. It shows you receiving a document."
Mercer stared at the photograph.
Then he whispered:
"That recording shouldn't exist."
Olivia felt a chill.
"Why?"
"Because I personally ordered the original copy destroyed."
She didn't move.
"Why would you do that?"
Mercer closed his eyes.
"Because the recording showed something else."
"What?"
He opened his eyes.
"An officer who wasn't supposed to be there."
Olivia leaned forward.
"Who?"
Mercer looked toward the office door.
Then he said a name.
"Deputy Chief Robert Vance."
Olivia recognized it immediately.
Vance was one of the most influential officials in the department. He had supervised the special enforcement unit and had been responsible for several of Northstar's contracts.
Mercer continued.
"He was the person who arranged the operation. Harlan was following his instructions."
"And you?"
"I was told to approve the paperwork."
"Did you know Price was innocent?"
Mercer looked down.
"No."
Olivia studied him.
"Do you know who planted the weapon?"
Mercer shook his head.
But his expression suggested he knew more than he was admitting.
Then his desk phone rang.
He answered.
"Mercer."
A voice spoke on the other end.
Olivia couldn't hear the words.
But she watched Mercer's expression change.
His eyes moved toward her.
Then he slowly lowered the receiver.
"Detective Brooks."
"Yes?"
"Deputy Chief Vance wants to see you."
Olivia picked up her notebook.
"Now?"
Mercer nodded.
"He says it's urgent."
Olivia walked toward the door.
Before she left, Mercer spoke again.
"Olivia."
She turned.
"Whatever happens in that office, don't let him get you alone."