At 8:30 p.m., Daniel Carter entered the federal interview room.
Chief Richard Morrison was sitting across the table.
His uniform had been replaced by ordinary clothes.
Without his badges, decorations, and formal jacket, he looked like an ordinary older man.
His gray hair was no longer perfectly arranged.
His expression was tired.
A defense attorney sat beside him.
Morrison looked up.
"Well, look who it is."
Daniel sat down.
"Good evening, Chief."
"Don't call me that."
Daniel paused.
"All right, Richard."
Morrison's attorney immediately intervened.
"My client will answer questions through counsel."
Daniel nodded.
"Of course."
He placed a folder on the table.
Inside were photographs, financial statements, internal communications, and copies of the recovered recordings.
Morrison looked at them.
"You're enjoying this."
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
"You think you've won?"
"I think the truth is finally being examined."
Morrison laughed.
"You don't understand how the world works."
Daniel leaned forward.
"Then explain it to me."
Morrison looked at him.
"For twenty-seven years, I kept that department running. I protected officers. I made decisions nobody else wanted to make."
"By changing evidence?"
"Sometimes difficult decisions are necessary."
"By destroying careers?"
Morrison said nothing.
"By intimidating witnesses?"
His attorney shifted in his chair.
Daniel opened another document.
"James Miller refused to falsify a report. You dismissed him."
Morrison stared at the table.
"Rebecca Hayes reported missing evidence. You opened an investigation against her."
Silence.
"The Henderson family tried to obtain footage proving their son had been mistreated. You made sure their complaints went nowhere."
Morrison finally looked up.
"You think those cases were simple?"
Daniel's expression hardened.
"They were simple enough for the people who were hurt."
Morrison shook his head.
"You were never supposed to understand the pressure of running a department."
Daniel answered quietly.
"You're right. I never had to run a department."
He paused.
"I only had to decide whether I was willing to lie."
Morrison's face changed.
Daniel continued.
"And I wasn't."
The chief looked toward his attorney.
The lawyer said nothing.
Daniel opened the final folder.
It contained the recording of Morrison and Whitmore discussing the possibility of framing Carter.
Morrison recognized the voices immediately.
His shoulders dropped.
"Where did you get that?"
"From your private backup system."
"I deleted those files."
"You deleted the copies you could access."
Morrison looked increasingly uncomfortable.
Daniel placed another photograph on the table.
It showed Whitmore and Morrison standing beside Robert Hayes at the Grand Meridian Club.
"Do you recognize these people?"
Morrison looked at the photograph.
"Yes."
"What were you discussing that evening?"
"Departmental business."
"Which departmental business?"
"I don't remember."
Daniel nodded.
"That's unfortunate. Because the recording suggests otherwise."
Morrison's attorney finally spoke.
"This interview is over."
Daniel closed the folder.
"That's your decision."
He stood up.
But before leaving, he turned toward Morrison.
"Can I ask you one question?"
The attorney looked displeased.
Morrison nodded slightly.
Daniel asked, "When you saw me standing in handcuffs last night, did you really believe nobody would come?"
Morrison looked at him.
For a moment, the chief seemed unable to answer.
Then he whispered, "I thought I had everything under control."
Daniel nodded.
"That's what everyone like you thinks."
He walked toward the door.
Behind him, Morrison spoke again.
"Daniel."
The young agent stopped.
"Yes?"
"Knox was following orders."
Daniel slowly turned.
"Orders don't erase responsibility."
Morrison looked down.
Daniel continued.
"Every person you hurt had a choice taken away from them. You had a badge, authority, and the responsibility to protect them."
He paused.
"Instead, you used all three to protect yourself."
Then he left.
Outside the interview room, Reed was waiting.
"How did it go?"
Daniel handed him the folder.
"He's beginning to understand."
"Understand what?"
Daniel looked through the glass window.
"That nobody is coming to save him."
Later that evening, Knox was interviewed separately.
Unlike Morrison, he was visibly angry.
He blamed the chief.
He blamed the department.
He blamed the pressure of the job.
But when investigators presented evidence showing that he had personally participated in several unlawful incidents, his explanations became less convincing.
Finally, he asked for a lawyer.
The interviews continued.
And by midnight, the federal investigation had enough evidence to recommend multiple criminal charges against the central figures.
But the most important moment was still waiting.
The public announcement.