He looked toward Daniel Reed.
The officer was standing beside a federal agent, his hands secured while investigators documented the equipment he had carried during the encounter. His earlier arrogance had disappeared. He looked exhausted, frightened, and increasingly aware that the people he had expected to protect him might soon abandon him.
Jack approached him.
JACK MORGAN: "Officer Reed, I need you to think carefully about what happens next."
Daniel looked away.
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "I've already told you. I was following instructions."
JACK MORGAN: "You planted evidence on me. You assaulted me. You removed me from the street and tried to question me privately. Those were your decisions."
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "You don't understand what I was dealing with."
JACK MORGAN: "Then explain it."
Daniel swallowed.
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "There were people above me. People who could make my life impossible if I refused to cooperate."
JACK MORGAN: "Who?"
Daniel glanced toward Adrian Shaw, who was standing near Lieutenant Hale and speaking with two federal investigators.
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "I can't say their names out here."
JACK MORGAN: "You can say them in a recorded interview with legal counsel present."
OFFICER DANIEL REED: "You think that will protect me?"
JACK MORGAN: "I think the truth is your only chance of explaining your part in this."
Daniel looked down at the pavement.
For a moment, Jack thought the officer might finally cooperate. Then Daniel shook his head and fell silent.
Jack did not press him further.
Fear could make people behave irrationally, and a frightened witness was rarely useful until they understood that the people they feared no longer controlled every available option.
Jack turned away and rejoined Laura.
JACK MORGAN: "Separate Shaw from the other officers. I want his communications preserved, but don't confront him with the full list yet."
LAURA BENNETT: "You think he'll try to destroy evidence?"
JACK MORGAN: "I think we should assume that anyone connected to this operation knows the investigation is closing in."
Laura signaled to the agents near Shaw.
They approached the deputy commissioner and asked him to accompany them to a nearby office while they clarified several matters concerning the investigation.
Shaw's face remained composed.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SHAW: "I have nothing to hide. I've cooperated with every request so far."
LAURA BENNETT: "Then this should be straightforward."
Shaw looked at Jack.
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SHAW: "Agent Morgan, I hope you understand the damage an unfounded accusation can cause to an entire department."
JACK MORGAN: "I understand the damage a deliberate false arrest can cause to an innocent person."
Shaw said nothing.
For the first time, he appeared to recognize that Jack would not be persuaded by professional language or institutional authority.
The deputy commissioner was escorted away.
Jack watched him disappear through the entrance, then turned toward the federal vehicles.
The investigation had entered a new phase, but the most urgent question remained unanswered.
Where was Daniel Foster?
An hour later, the federal team had established a temporary command center in a secure office building several blocks from the police station. Maps, photographs, interview notes, and recovered digital records covered the conference table. Analysts worked at laptops while agents coordinated search teams by telephone.
Jack stood near the window, reviewing a map of Westbridge.
Laura entered carrying a printed report.
LAURA BENNETT: "We found something."
JACK MORGAN: "Foster?"
LAURA BENNETT: "Not yet. But traffic-camera footage shows his car leaving his apartment district last night. It traveled west toward an industrial area, then disappeared from the public camera network."
JACK MORGAN: "Did he drive?"
LAURA BENNETT: "The image is too unclear to confirm the driver. However, the vehicle was later seen near an abandoned distribution warehouse owned by a company called Meridian Logistics."
Jack turned from the window.
JACK MORGAN: "Who owns the company?"
Laura placed the report on the table.
LAURA BENNETT: "Officially, a holding company registered outside the state. The beneficial ownership records lead to a private investment group with several contracts involving municipal services."
JACK MORGAN: "Any connection to Shaw?"
LAURA BENNETT: "Two of the group's executives donated to a police charity he chaired. One also served on an advisory board that reviewed departmental procurement."
Jack studied the company name.
Meridian Logistics had not appeared in the original investigation. It was not a police contractor in the usual sense, and it had no obvious reason to be involved in evidence handling. Yet the company's warehouse was close to the route Daniel Foster's car had taken before disappearing.