Chapter 3 - The Officer Who Came Too Quickly
Captain Reeves looked at my hand.
“Colonel Hart, release the evidence.”
I remained seated.
“Why was the case reassigned?”
His expression hardened.
“That is police business.”
“My daughter is the victim.”
“And you are interfering with an investigation.”
Detective Mills looked uncomfortable.
“Captain, we just opened a video involving Judge Mercer.”
Reeves turned sharply.
“I said this case is reassigned.”
That was enough.
I had spent thirty years reading command rooms.
You learned quickly when someone was protecting procedure.
You also learned when someone was protecting themselves.
Captain Reeves wasn’t angry because I was interfering.
He was afraid because we had seen something.
I looked at Rebecca Shaw.
“Did the hospital create the forensic copy?”
Rebecca nodded carefully.
“Yes.”
Reeves turned toward her.
“That copy needs to be surrendered too.”
The hospital attorney stepped forward.
“Under what authority?”
Reeves paused.
Only a second.
But it was enough.
“No warrant.”
The attorney folded his arms.
“Then the hospital will preserve its records.”
Reeves looked back at me.
“You are making a serious mistake.”
I almost smiled.
“People have been telling me that all evening.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Military rank doesn’t place you above civilian law.”
“I never said it did.”
I stood.
“It also doesn’t make me stupid.”
Silence filled the room.
Emily remained behind me.
I could feel her fear without looking.
Reeves took one step closer.
“This evidence is now part of an active investigation.”
“Then document the transfer.”
His jaw tightened.
“Excuse me?”
“Evidence number.”
I pointed toward the bag.
“Chain-of-custody form.”
Then toward Detective Mills.
“Signatures from everyone who has handled it.”
Reeves said nothing.
“Do that and I will cooperate.”
He stared at me for several seconds.
Then his phone vibrated.
He looked at the screen.
Something changed in his face.
He stepped into the hallway to answer.
Detective Mills lowered his voice.
“I’ve never seen him personally collect evidence from a hospital.”
“That makes two of us.”
Mills looked toward the door.
“He’s been on the department twenty-six years.”
“Does he know the Prescotts?”
Mills didn’t answer.
That was an answer.
Emily suddenly whispered.
“Mom.”
I turned.
She was staring at the computer.
“What?”
“There’s another folder.”
She pointed toward the bottom of the file list.
It was labeled simply with one letter.
R.
Rebecca clicked it.
Inside were scanned bank transfers.
Dozens of them.
Some amounts were small.
Five thousand dollars.
Seven thousand.
Ten thousand.
Others were enormous.
One hundred thousand.
Two hundred fifty thousand.
One transfer was sent to a company called Queen City Civic Consulting.
Detective Mills leaned toward the screen.
“I know that company.”
I looked at him.
“What is it?”
His voice became quieter.
“Captain Reeves’s wife owns it.”
The room went completely still.
Then the door opened.
Reeves returned.
This time, he wasn’t pretending to be patient.
“Give me the card.”
I looked at Detective Mills.
He looked at Rebecca.
Then he made a decision that would change his career.
“No, sir.”
Reeves stared at him.
“What did you say?”
Mills straightened.
“I said no.”
Reeves’s face darkened.
Mills continued.
“Until we determine whether you are referenced in evidence connected to this investigation, you should not have access to it.”
For one terrifying second, nobody moved.
Then Reeves reached toward the computer.
Rebecca immediately closed the laptop.
Security stepped between them.
Reeves looked around the room and realized the situation had changed.
Too many witnesses.
Too many cameras.
Too many people who had heard him demanding evidence without paperwork.
He backed toward the door.
“You have no idea what you’re doing.”
I looked him directly in the eyes.
“No.”
Then I glanced at the screen showing the payment to his wife’s company.
“But I think we’re beginning to understand what you’ve been doing.”
Reeves left.
Detective Mills released a breath.
Emily looked at him.
“What happens now?”
Mills stared at the closed door.
“We stop treating this as a domestic assault.”
He looked at the memory card.
“And we call people Captain Reeves cannot order around.”
Twenty minutes later, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation was contacted.
An hour after that, two federal agents were on their way to Mercy General.
But before they arrived, Emily remembered something else.
Something Ethan had said while she was locked inside the guesthouse.
She looked at me.
“Mom, the memory card isn’t the only copy.”
“Where is the other one?”
She shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Then her face drained of color.
May you like
“But Ethan does.”
And according to Emily, he had once told Brandon that if the Prescott house ever fell, they had a way to burn everyone else with them.
