“You planning to write a book?”
“Maybe.”
“You're not going to find anything here.”
“That isn't your decision.”
He stopped.
Elena nearly walked into him.
“You should understand something,” he said. “Bellhaven isn't some office in the capital. We deal with real people. Real criminals.”
“I know.”
“You don't.”
“I know enough.”
His voice hardened.
“You come here with a clipboard and think you understand policing.”
Elena looked at him.
“I don't carry a clipboard.”
For the first time, he looked uncertain.
She opened her folder.
“I carry evidence.”
Rourke stared at her.
“What evidence?”
“You'll find out.”
She walked past him.
That was when he made his first mistake.
He underestimated her.
And it was the mistake that would eventually bring his entire career down.
The next morning, Elena began the audit.
She did not start with Rourke.
She started with complaints.
She requested use-of-force reports from the previous five years.
The department produced thirty-eight.
She knew there should have been sixty-one.
She requested arrest records.
The numbers didn't match the dispatch logs.
She requested body-camera footage.
Several files were missing.
Every missing record had one thing in common.
Sergeant Daniel Rourke had either supervised the officer involved or signed the final review.
Elena made no accusations.
She simply wrote notes.
At 10:30 a.m., a young officer named Marcus Bell entered the conference room.
He looked nervous.
“You're the auditor?”
“Yes.”
He closed the door.
“Can I talk to you?”
“Of course.”
He remained standing.
“I shouldn't be here.”
“Why?”
“Because if Sergeant Rourke finds out—”
“He already knows you're here.”
Marcus swallowed.
“You don't understand what he's like.”
“I've read his disciplinary record.”
“That isn't the same thing.”
Elena waited.
Marcus finally sat.
“There are things in this department that don't make it into reports.”
“What things?”
“Force.”
“Unreported force?”
He nodded.
“Threats. Intimidation. Officers changing reports after the fact.”
“Why?”
“Because Rourke tells them to.”
“Do you have proof?”
Marcus looked at the door.
“I have a copy of something.”
He removed a flash drive from his pocket.
Elena did not touch it.
“What is it?”
“Body-camera footage.”
“From which case?”
“The one involving Mrs. Lillian Ward.”
Elena recognized the name.
Lillian Ward had filed a complaint eight months earlier.
The official report said she had resisted arrest.
The complaint had been dismissed.
“Why is that footage important?”
Marcus's voice dropped.
“Because the report is a lie.”
Before Elena could respond, the door opened.
Rourke stood there.
Marcus immediately stood.
“Sergeant.”
Rourke looked at him.
“Get back to work.”
“Yes, sir.”
Marcus left.
Rourke entered and closed the door.
“What did he give you?”
“Nothing.”
“You're lying.”
“You're entitled to your opinion.”
Rourke stepped closer.
“You think because you're from the state office, you can walk into my department and accuse people?”