Ethan looked toward the device.
"What is that?"
"We don't know yet."
"Could it belong to my father?"
Vanessa looked at him.
"Possibly."
Harris suddenly interrupted.
"This is absurd."
Vanessa turned.
"What's absurd?"
"You're connecting unrelated events based on a dead man's name and a video recorded by a civilian."
"Do you know Thomas Cole?"
"No."
"Do you know Michael Reeves?"
"No."
"Do you know why someone using your radio ordered the elimination of a witness?"
Harris stepped closer.
"That transmission was not authorized."
"Then why did you know about the phone?"
"I didn't."
"You looked directly at it."
"I was following your gesture."
"You said you recognized the device before I told you what it was."
Harris shook his head.
"You're twisting my words."
Vanessa looked at Riley.
"Officer Riley, did you hear Lieutenant Harris identify the device?"
Riley shook his head.
"No, ma'am."
"Did he ask what it was?"
"No."
Vanessa turned back.
"Lieutenant, I believe we're finished talking."
Harris's jaw tightened.
"You can't order me around."
"No. But I can request that you remain at the scene while federal investigators arrive."
"Under what authority?"
Vanessa reached into her jacket and produced a second document.
A federal investigative notice.
"Under the authority of the ongoing investigation into evidence tampering, witness intimidation, and obstruction of a federal proceeding."
Harris looked at the document.
Then he looked at the badge.
His expression became cold.
"You think that piece of paper protects you?"
Vanessa folded the document.
"No."
She looked at him.
"The truth does."
PART 4 — THE HIDDEN DEVICE
A federal vehicle arrived seventeen minutes later.
Then another.
Two agents stepped out.
One was a broad-shouldered man in his forties named Special Agent Marcus Bell. The other was a younger woman with short blond hair, Special Agent Julia Foster.
Bell approached Vanessa.
"Are you injured?"
"No."
He glanced at her wrists.
"Those marks say otherwise."
"They're superficial."
"Who put the cuffs on?"
Vanessa nodded toward Riley.
Bell looked at the officer.
"Name and badge number."
"Officer S. Riley, badge 417."
"Partner?"
"Officer James Miller, badge 392."
Bell wrote both numbers down.
Then he looked at Harris.
"Lieutenant David Harris?"
"That's right."
Bell held up his identification.
"Federal Bureau of Investigation. You're not being arrested at this moment. But you're required to remain available for questioning."
Harris scoffed.
"Am I under suspicion?"
"Everyone at this scene is being interviewed."
Bell turned toward Vanessa.
"Where's the device?"
She pointed beneath the patrol vehicle.
"Do not touch it."
Foster crouched near the rear tire and examined the object from a distance.
"It's a smartphone."
"Can you identify the owner?"
"Not without processing it."
Bell nodded.
"Secure the area."
Two agents established a perimeter.
Riley watched silently.
Miller stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
Harris looked increasingly uncomfortable.
Vanessa approached Bell.
"There's a possibility this device was planted before the officers arrived."
"Based on the witness recording?"
"Yes. We have footage showing Harris meeting an unidentified man near the vehicle before the arrest."
Bell looked at the lieutenant.
"Is that true?"
Harris shrugged.
"I've already explained that I wasn't there."
Vanessa raised her phone.
"We have video."
Harris looked away.
Bell gestured toward Foster.
"Process the recording."
Foster took Ethan's phone and began documenting the original file.
Ethan watched anxiously.
"Is it going to be okay?"
Foster looked at him.
"We'll preserve it. You'll receive documentation showing that the original file was collected."
"Will I get it back?"
"Yes, after we create a verified forensic copy."
Vanessa stepped closer.
"Mr. Cole, I need you to stay with Agent Foster."
Ethan looked at her.
"Am I in danger?"
Vanessa paused.
Then she answered honestly.
"Yes."
His face tightened.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"Because I didn't know who you were."
"Now you do?"
"Not entirely."
Ethan looked confused.
Vanessa continued.
"But I know someone wanted you at this location. And I know they expected you to record something."
Ethan shook his head.
"I just stopped because I saw the broken window."
"That may be exactly what they wanted."
He looked toward the patrol vehicle.
"Then why would they let me record?"
Vanessa's expression hardened.
"Because they thought they could control what you recorded."
She looked at Harris.
"And they were wrong."
PART 5 — THE FIRST LIE
The officers were separated for interviews.
Riley was taken to a federal SUV.
Miller was escorted to a second vehicle.
Harris remained beside the patrol car under observation.
Vanessa stood with Agent Bell near the roadside.
"What's your assessment?" Bell asked.
"Riley may have been following a routine call. Miller's behavior is inconsistent. Harris knew about the hidden device before he should have."
"Do you think Miller is involved?"
"I think he knows more than he's saying."
Bell glanced toward the interview vehicles.
"What about the witness?"
"His father was Thomas Cole."
Bell stopped writing.
"Thomas Cole?"
"County evidence technician. Died twelve years ago in a reported traffic accident."
Bell stared at her.
"That's the name from the original Westbridge ledger."
Vanessa nodded.
"Exactly."
Bell lowered his voice.
"Then Ethan isn't just a witness."
"What do you mean?"
"His father handled the original evidence transfer."
Vanessa looked toward Ethan.
"Why wasn't that in the case file?"
"It was removed."
"By whom?"
Bell hesitated.
"We don't know."
Vanessa looked back at him.
"Then we need to find the original record."
Bell nodded.
"I've already requested it."
A moment later, Foster approached.
"Agent Carter, we have something."
She held up a tablet.
"The phone beneath the patrol car was recently activated."