Chapter 3 - The Cover-Up Unravels
By 8:00 a.m. the following morning, the Westbridge Police Department was under full lockdown by the State Integrity Unit. State agents were wheeling out server towers, filing cabinets, and digital storage units.
In the precinct’s interrogation room, Evelyn sat across from Officer Miller, the rookie who had turned off his body camera. Miller was trembling, a glass of untouched water sitting in front of him.
“Miller,” Evelyn said calmly, opening a thick blue dossier. “You’ve been on the force for eleven months. You have a wife and a newborn baby girl. If you lie to me right now to cover for Captain Ross, you will be charged with official misconduct, perjury, and felony obstruction. You will go to state prison, and your career will be over before it starts.”
Miller buried his face in his hands, breaking down into heavy sobs. “Ross made me do it! He said Dana was family and that the old lady was crazy! When Dana brought the bat into the station, Ross took it, wrapped it in a towel, and put it in Dana’s car! He told me to wipe the server footage from the hallway cameras!”
“Did you wipe it?” Evelyn asked, leaning forward.
“I tried!” Miller gasped. “But the system auto-backs up to the state cloud every three hours! I couldn’t delete the 2:00 a.m. block!”
Evelyn smiled grimly. She opened her laptop and clicked play on a retrieved video file.
The video clearly showed the back entrance of the precinct at 2:15 a.m. Captain Ross was seen receiving the bloodied baseball bat from Dana, walking into the evidence room, placing it in a plastic trash bag, and walking out to the parking lot to hide it in Dana’s vehicle. The video also captured Michael standing by the front desk, chuckling as Dana adjusted her fake bandage in the mirror.
“Thank you, Officer Miller,” Evelyn said, shutting the laptop. “Your cooperation just saved you from a ten-year sentence, though your law enforcement career ends today.”
Meanwhile, across town at Michael and Dana’s lavish suburban home, Dana was on the phone with her high-priced defense attorney, frantically packing designer bags.
“We need to leave state lines!” Dana screamed into the phone. “Evelyn is crazy! She’s using the Attorney General’s office against us!”
“Calm down, Dana,” Michael said, pacing nervously near the window. “Evelyn is just blustering. She can’t arrest us without a full grand jury indictment. Ross will handle the local charges—”
Before Michael could finish his sentence, the front door was kicked off its hinges with a thunderous crash.
“STATE POLICE! ON THE GROUND!”
Dozens of armed State Troopers swarmed the foyer, weapons raised. Dana shrieked, dropping her suitcase as she was slammed onto the hardwood floor and cuffed. Michael was thrown against the wall, his hands yanked behind his back.
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Evelyn walked through the broken doorway, stepping gracefully over the shattered wood.
“Grand jury indictments usually take weeks, Michael,” Evelyn said softly, watching her brother squirm in handcuffs. “Except when the prosecutor is the Special Counsel. The arrest warrants were signed thirty minutes ago.”
