Gaines smiled.
"Chief, you're going to learn something about this department."
"I'm listening."
"People complain."
"People also tell the truth."
Gaines leaned back.
"Redding gets results."
"What kind?"
"The kind that keep streets quiet."
Elijah looked at him.
"Quiet isn't the same as safe."
Gaines's smile disappeared.
"You'll have to understand, Chief. Officers like Redding have been here a long time."
"So have problems."
Gaines stood.
"You'll create a lot of resistance if you start digging through old cases."
Elijah looked back at the file.
"I intend to."
Gaines stopped at the door.
"Then you'll need to decide whether you're trying to run this department or destroy it."
Elijah replied:
"I'm trying to make it worthy of the badge."
Gaines left.
Five minutes later, Elijah received a message.
Security footage from Market Street available.
He opened it.
The video showed the traffic stop.
Redding approaching the Mercedes.
Elijah stepping out.
Redding shouting.
Elijah speaking calmly.
Then the slap.
Elijah watched it twice.
Then a third time.
He noticed something.
Redding's body camera was off.
Again.
Elijah leaned back.
He picked up the phone.
"Internal Affairs."
A woman answered.
"Director Patel."
"Chief Mercer."
She sounded surprised.
"Already?"
"I need Officer Redding's body-camera activation history."
A pause.
"How far back?"
"Two years."
Another pause.
"Chief, that could take some time."
"Take it."
He hung up.
Then he opened another folder.
This one contained every use-of-force report filed by Redding.
Elijah began comparing them.
He found a pattern.
The cameras were often activated after physical contact.
Reports described suspects as aggressive before video began.
Witnesses were frequently omitted.
And in several cases, Redding claimed he had feared for his safety.
Elijah sat silently.
Then he called Mayor Brooks.
"I have a problem."
"What kind?"
"The kind that has been here for years."
The mayor sighed.
"Redding?"
"He's part of it."
"How big?"
Elijah looked at the files.
"I don't know yet."
Then he said something that would define the next year of Lakeford's history.
"But I'm going to find out."
The Evidence Speaks
For the next three weeks, Elijah worked quietly.
He didn't hold press conferences.
He didn't threaten anyone.
He didn't make dramatic announcements.
He simply gathered evidence.
That frightened people more than speeches ever could.
He ordered a complete audit of body-camera records.
He reviewed use-of-force reports.
He interviewed supervisors.
He spoke privately with officers who had never trusted Internal Affairs.
And he began visiting neighborhoods.
One evening, he walked into Delia's Phone Repair.
Delia Alvarez looked up.
When she recognized him, she nearly dropped the phone in her hand.
"Chief."
"Just Elijah."
She smiled nervously.
"I don't know if I should be talking to you."
"Why?"
She looked toward the window.
"Because people who complain about officers usually regret it."
Elijah sat down.
"Did Redding come here often?"
Delia nodded.
"Too often."
"What did he do?"
"Nothing I could prove."
"Try me."
She sighed.
"He'd come inside and stand around."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"Did he threaten you?"
"Not directly."
"What did he say?"
Delia hesitated.
"Once he told me that if I wanted my business to keep operating smoothly, I should remember who controlled the street."
Elijah wrote it down.
"Anyone else hear?"
"My brother."
"Will he speak?"
She shook her head.
"He's scared."
Elijah closed the notebook.
"I understand."
Delia looked at him.
"Do you?"
"Yes."
He stood.
"That's why I'm here."
Across town, Redding had learned that the chief was asking questions.
He wasn't worried.
Not yet.
He had survived too much.
One evening, he met with Captain Gaines in an underground parking garage.
"You need to slow him down," Redding said.
Gaines stared.
"You're talking to me like I work for you."
"I'm talking to you like we're on the same side."
Gaines laughed bitterly.
"There are no sides."
"There will be."
Gaines looked around.
"How bad?"
"He's reviewing everything."
"Let him."
"He's looking at the cameras."
Gaines went silent.
Redding lowered his voice.
"If he finds the old files, we're finished."
"What old files?"
Redding stared at him.
"Don't pretend."
Gaines walked away.
But he was already afraid.
Because he knew exactly which files Redding meant.
Three years earlier, an officer named Daniel Price had accidentally discovered a hidden database containing erased body-camera footage.
Price had reported it.
The files disappeared.
Price was transferred to a rural station.
Then resigned.
Elijah found him.
They met in a quiet café outside the city.
Price looked older than his thirty-two years.