Rain had turned the streets of Bellhaven into mirrors.
The old courthouse reflected in puddles beneath the yellow glow of streetlamps. Police cruisers rolled slowly through intersections, their tires whispering over wet asphalt. Somewhere downtown, a train sounded its lonely horn.
It was nearly midnight when Elena Cross stepped out of a gray sedan across from Bellhaven Police Department.
She carried no umbrella.
She wore a dark coat, simple black trousers, and a leather satchel that looked too ordinary to attract attention.
That was exactly what she wanted.
Elena stood beneath the courthouse awning and looked across the street.
The police department occupied a three-story brick building that had once been a post office. A bronze plaque beside the entrance read:
BELLHAVEN POLICE DEPARTMENT
SERVICE — INTEGRITY — JUSTICE
She stared at the word integrity.
Then she looked down at the folder in her hand.
Inside were thirty-seven names.
Thirty-seven complaints.
Twenty-two disciplinary reports.
Nine cases that had mysteriously disappeared.
And one name that appeared again and again.
Sergeant Daniel Rourke.
Elena checked her watch.
11:47 p.m.
She had arrived twelve minutes earlier than scheduled.
That was deliberate.
Auditors learned early that people behaved differently when they knew they were being observed.
She crossed the street.
A patrol car passed without slowing.
Elena entered the police station through the public entrance.
The lobby was nearly empty.
A desk officer looked up.
“Can I help you?”
“I’m here to see Sergeant Rourke.”
The officer glanced at the clock.
“At midnight?”
“I was told he would be working late.”
“Who told you?”
Elena smiled.
“That would be difficult to explain.”
The officer frowned.
Before he could ask another question, footsteps echoed from the hallway.
Daniel Rourke appeared.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, and perhaps forty-five.
His uniform was immaculate.
His silver badge reflected the fluorescent lights.
He stopped when he saw Elena.
“You're the woman from the state office.”
Elena nodded.
“Ms. Cross.”
“I know who you are.”
“Good.”
Rourke looked at the folder.
“You picked an interesting time to arrive.”
“I wanted to see the department after hours.”
“This isn't an inspection appointment.”
“It isn't.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Then what exactly are you doing here?”
“Observing.”
Rourke laughed.
“You people always use fancy words.”
Elena remained calm.
“And you people always think paperwork is the whole story.”
The desk officer looked between them.
Rourke's smile disappeared.
“Come with me.”
Elena followed.
She noticed everything.
The security cameras.
The evidence room.
The hallway leading to Internal Affairs.
The locked door at the end of the corridor.
The officer sitting alone behind a computer.
The stack of complaint files beside the printer.
She remembered each detail.
Rourke noticed.