The question was whether they were trying to stop Jack personally or prevent the entire investigation from reaching the next stage.
Before Jack could ask more, Laura received an urgent message from the command center.
She read it, then turned toward him.
LAURA BENNETT: "Shaw has requested legal representation. He has also denied knowing Victor Cross."
JACK MORGAN: "And Cross?"
LAURA BENNETT: "His office says he's traveling out of state. We haven't confirmed his location."
Jack looked toward the dark loading bays.
JACK MORGAN: "Find out where he's going. If he knows Foster has been recovered, he'll try to protect himself."
The team returned to the command center shortly before dawn.
Daniel Foster was receiving medical treatment under federal protection, and investigators had secured the warehouse's computer equipment and documents. Preliminary analysis revealed spreadsheets recording payments to several private accounts, along with notes that appeared to correspond to the suspicious arrests.
The records were incomplete, but they established a pattern that could no longer be dismissed as coincidence.
Payments were made shortly before certain arrests.
Evidence transfers occurred shortly afterward.
Complaints were followed by internal reviews that consistently cleared the officers involved.
Several payments had been routed through consulting companies connected to Meridian Logistics.
One account belonged to an organization associated with Victor Cross.
Another was linked to an intermediary who had previously worked in the office of Deputy Commissioner Shaw.
Jack studied the documents with Laura and the forensic accountant assigned to the case.
FORENSIC ACCOUNTANT: "We cannot yet establish that every payment was illegal. Some may relate to legitimate contracts. But the timing is suspicious, and several transfers correspond directly to the dates of the arrests."
JACK MORGAN: "What about the evidence records?"
FORENSIC ACCOUNTANT: "We found discrepancies in at least fourteen cases. The same internal user account appears repeatedly, including on days when the assigned employee was recorded as being elsewhere."
LAURA BENNETT: "Someone was using another person's credentials."
FORENSIC ACCOUNTANT: "That's one possibility. We need the original server logs to confirm it."
Jack leaned back in his chair.
The case was becoming clearer, but the people involved had built several layers of protection around their actions. Daniel Reed had carried out the street-level arrests. Administrative staff had processed the reports. Supervisors had approved the paperwork. Private companies had handled payments and contracts.
At each stage, a person could claim that they had merely followed an instruction or performed a routine task.
The system had been designed to make responsibility difficult to trace.
Jack knew that a successful prosecution would require more than a list of suspicious transactions. Investigators needed to connect the people, the payments, the evidence, and the decisions that had led to innocent people being arrested.
They also needed testimony from someone who understood how the operation had been organized.
Daniel Foster might provide that testimony.
So might Daniel Reed.
But the strongest evidence would come from the people who had believed themselves untouchable.
Later that morning, Daniel Reed requested a meeting with investigators.
Jack entered the interview room with Laura and a federal prosecutor. Daniel sat at the table wearing civilian clothes, his hands resting nervously in front of him. He looked older than he had the previous evening.
A lawyer sat beside him.
JACK MORGAN: "You asked to speak with us."
Daniel nodded.
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "I want to explain what happened."
FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: "You may do so through your attorney. Before we begin, understand that we are recording this interview."
Daniel glanced at his lawyer, who nodded.
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "I know."
Jack sat opposite him.
JACK MORGAN: "Start with the message you received before approaching me."
Daniel took a slow breath.
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "It came through an account I had used before. I was told to locate a man walking a dog and prevent him from leaving the district."
JACK MORGAN: "Who sent it?"
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "I was told it came from someone connected to the deputy commissioner's office."
JACK MORGAN: "Did Shaw contact you directly?"
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "Not at first."
JACK MORGAN: "Then who did?"
Daniel looked at his lawyer before answering.
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "Lieutenant Hale."
Laura wrote something in her notebook.
JACK MORGAN: "What did Hale tell you to do?"
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "He said the man might be connected to an investigation and that I needed to make sure he couldn't interfere with department operations."
JACK MORGAN: "Did he instruct you to plant evidence?"
Daniel lowered his eyes.