Chapter 3 - The Federal Hammer
Monday morning arrived with a bitter, biting wind that swept through the streets of Westbridge.
I walked into the Westbridge Police Department at exactly 8:00 A.M.
I was no longer dressed in a wet sweater and jeans.
I wore my dark, tailored federal suit, my FBI badge clipped prominently to my belt.
The shift commander at the front desk dropped his pen when he saw me.
"Good morning," I said, my voice echoing in the quiet room.
"I am Special Agent Clara Vance with the Department of Justice."
"I am here to commence the federal audit of this department, effective immediately."
Captain Landry burst out of his office, his face pale and eyes wide with shock.
"Agent Vance?" he stammered, completely losing his arrogant swagger from the weekend.
"The audit wasn't scheduled until next Friday!"
"Schedules change when federal crimes are committed, Captain," I replied smoothly, handing him a thick stack of legal documents.
"These are subpoenas for all dispatch logs, body camera footage, and internal communications from the night of my mother's arrest."
Landry swallowed hard, taking the papers with a trembling hand.
"You have a blatant conflict of interest here," he attempted to argue.
"Actually, the DOJ ethics board cleared me to lead this audit an hour ago, specifically because of your department's attempt to cover up a violent assault," I countered.
I stepped closer to him, lowering my voice so only he could hear.
"Where is the baseball bat, Landry?"
He refused to answer, but the sweat beading on his forehead gave him away.
"You have one hour to produce the evidence, or I am shutting this entire precinct down," I warned.
May you like
I walked past him and took a seat in the main conference room.
The hunt had officially begun.
