Nobody walked out of the trees. Which meant whoever sent him was going to call.
I waited by the fountain for Lena to arrive, and I watched the two younger officers stand beside their own partner like they were afraid to breathe too loud.
I knew one thing for certain before she even got there. I was not going to be allowed to forget this day.
When Lena finally arrived, her car kicked up dust on the gravel path. She stepped out, her eyes scanning the scene with the practiced coldness of a veteran investigator. She didn't say a word to the trembling officers; she walked straight to me, her boots crunching rhythmically against the dirt.
"Marcus," she said, her voice barely a murmur. "Dispatch said Internal Affairs requested an independent evidence sweep at the north basin. I didn't think it'd be you waiting in the center of it."
"It's me," I replied, handing her my encrypted phone with the photo of the packet on the grass. "Briggs was acting on instructions. He didn't even try to hide the clumsiness of the plant. He just wanted a reaction."
Lena glanced down at the plastic bag lying untouched in the grass, then looked at Briggs, who was sitting hunched over on the wooden bench with his head bowed between his knees.
"The kid looks terrified," Lena noted, pulling a pair of sterile latex gloves over her hands. "Not like a professional plant. More like someone gave him a choice between ruining his career or taking a shot at a General."