Chapter 4 - Follow the Money
With an arrest warrant looming over his head, Marcus couldn't go home, and he couldn't stay at the precinct. He was officially a rogue cop.
He met Sarah at a dusty diner on the outskirts of Phoenix. She slid a manila folder across the table.
"I dug into the Sun Ridge Neighborhood Watch," Sarah whispered. "It's not just bored housewives complaining about paint colors. Brenda Carmichael set up an LLC for the HOA's 'beautification funds.' Over the last year, two million dollars have washed through that account. Small, untraceable deposits."
"Money laundering," Marcus muttered. "For who?"
"The Jimenez cartel. They operate out of the industrial park near the border. And here's the kicker: Captain Miller’s brother-in-law owns the accounting firm that audits the HOA."
Marcus stared at the cold coffee in his mug. The "trespassing violation." Leo had stumbled onto a cash drop. Miller was the cartel's inside man, using a gated community's HOA as a secure, unassuming location to move dirty money. When Leo snapped that photo, he became a fatal liability.
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"They couldn't just kill a cop's kid," Marcus said, the realization sickening him. "So they tried to discredit me. If I attacked Brenda on camera, I'd go to jail, lose my badge, and Leo's story about seeing dirty cops would look like a desperate kid trying to save his disgraced dad."
"We need that tablet, Marcus. It's the only proof."
