"You didn't even know me."
Vance looked away.
The paramedics began moving the stretcher toward the station entrance.
Behind them, the tactical officers continued securing the scene.
The envelope was placed inside an evidence case.
The officers documented the reference number, the condition of the package, and the amount of cash visible through the transparent material.
A second investigator arrived carrying a laptop and a portable evidence scanner.
His name was Michael Reeves.
He was assigned to the department's internal investigations division.
Reeves approached Captain Reynolds.
"What's the situation?"
Reynolds explained the initial incident.
Then he showed him the envelope.
Reeves looked at the label.
His expression immediately changed.
"ROW NINETY-FOUR?"
"That's what dispatch transmitted."
Reeves examined the reference number again.
"Have you verified the complete distribution record?"
"Not yet."
Reeves opened his laptop.
"Then we need to do that before anyone releases this package."
Vance overheard the conversation.
"What distribution record?"
Reeves looked toward him.
"Officer Vance, you will have an opportunity to explain your actions later."
"YOU KEEP SAYING THAT. WHAT IS THIS ENVELOPE?"
Reeves turned back to the laptop.
He entered the reference number.
The system requested an additional verification code.
He found it on the printed receipt.
A few seconds later, a document appeared on the screen.
Reeves leaned closer.
Then he called Reynolds.
"Captain, you need to see this."
Reynolds approached.
"What is it?"
Reeves pointed toward the screen.
The record showed that the pension payment had been issued through a monitored distribution program.
Walter Harrison's payment was part of a special compensation settlement involving former municipal infrastructure workers.
The program had been established after an investigation into unsafe working conditions and unpaid retirement benefits.
Several years earlier, the city had discovered that hundreds of former employees had received incorrect pension calculations.
Some had lost thousands of dollars.
Others had spent years trying to obtain benefits that should have been paid to them.
Walter was among those affected.
His case had finally been resolved after a lengthy administrative review.
The payment he had collected that morning represented accumulated pension adjustments, unpaid benefits, and a final compensation installment.
But the important detail was not simply the amount.
The distribution had been registered under a controlled financial verification protocol.
Every payment package carried a unique identification reference.
Every banknote in the designated bundles had been recorded as part of the distribution documentation.
And the envelope's serial-number record had been transmitted to the central verification system.
Reeves examined the screen again.
"Captain, the numbers match."
Reynolds looked at him.
"All of them?"
"Yes."
"Then we have a complete record of the payment."
Reeves nodded.
"More importantly, we can establish that the money was issued to Mr. Harrison this morning and that the envelope was reported missing immediately after the incident."
Vance's face tightened.
"I DIDN'T STEAL ANYTHING."
Reeves turned toward him.
"Then you should have no difficulty explaining why the pension envelope was found inside your tactical vest."
Vance shook his head.
"I was securing it."
"Securing it from whom?"
"He was acting suspicious."
Reeves looked at the screen.
"Was the money reported stolen before you took possession of it?"
Vance said nothing.
"Did you have a warrant?"
"No."
"Did you receive an instruction from a supervisor to seize the envelope?"
"No."
"Did Mr. Harrison consent to you taking it?"
Vance's expression became increasingly uncomfortable.
"He refused to cooperate."
Reeves closed the laptop halfway.
"That does not answer the question."
Vance looked toward Reynolds.
"Captain, I need to speak with my union representative."
Reynolds nodded.
"That request will be documented."
Reeves returned to the evidence.
He scanned the envelope's reference code.
A second record appeared.
This time, the screen displayed an alert history.
There were two separate timestamps.
The first corresponded to the original pension withdrawal.
The second corresponded to Walter's emergency transmitter activation.
Reeves studied the information.
"Captain, there's another detail."
Reynolds moved closer.
"What?"
"The emergency alert was activated through the pension program's beneficiary protection system."
Vance looked up.
"What protection system?"
Reeves did not immediately answer.
Instead, he opened another document.
The screen displayed Walter Harrison's beneficiary profile.
There was a photograph.
His full name.
His registered pension account.
And a note explaining why the emergency transmitter had been issued.
Reynolds read the information carefully.
Then he looked toward Reeves.
"Is this connected to the original compensation investigation?"
Reeves nodded.
"Yes."
He turned the screen slightly.
"Mr. Harrison was one of the original witnesses in a financial misconduct investigation involving the city's pension distribution department."