Chapter 10: The Lieutenant's Secret
For three seconds, Raymond couldn't hear anything.
Not the distant sirens.
Not Malik shouting for an ambulance.
Not even his father's painful breathing.
All he could hear was the name Edward had whispered.
Angela Davis.
The woman standing ten feet away.
The woman who had worked beside him for six years.
The woman who had helped him rebuild the department after he became sheriff.
The woman who had just told him she was protecting his family.
Raymond slowly looked up.
“Angela?””
She didn't move.
“Sheriff, let me explain.””
Raymond kept one hand pressed against his father's wound.
“Put your weapon down.””
“Raymond, listen to me.””
“PUT IT DOWN!””
Angela slowly lowered her firearm and placed it on the floor.
Malik stepped between her and Raymond.
“Brother, you want me to handle this?””
Raymond shook his head.
“No. Nobody moves.””
Angela raised both hands.
“I didn't shoot him.””
“I didn't ask if you shot him.””
“Then what are you asking?””
Raymond looked at his father.
“Did you give Miller my access code?””
Angela's eyes filled.
She looked toward Edward.
Then back at Raymond.
“Yes.””
The answer hit harder than the gunshots.
Raymond stared at her.
“Why?””
Angela swallowed.
“Because I thought it was the only way to keep you alive.””
Raymond almost laughed.
“You gave a criminal access to my department to protect me?””
“You don't understand.””
“Then explain it!””
Angela looked toward the broken window.
“I've been working with Miller for eleven years.””
Malik's expression hardened.
Dre slowly moved closer to the doorway.
Raymond felt his stomach turn.
“Eleven years?””
“Yes.””
“You were helping him steal evidence?””
“Not everything.””
“Were you helping him hide the original manifest?””
Angela lowered her eyes.
“Yes.””
Raymond shook his head.
“How much?””
“Sheriff—”
“How much, Angela?””
She took a trembling breath.
“Enough.””
Outside, the first ambulance arrived.
Malik opened the front door and directed the paramedics inside.
One medic immediately knelt beside Edward.
“Sir, can you hear me?””
Edward nodded weakly.
“We need to move quickly. He's lost blood.””
Raymond moved aside but kept his eyes on Angela.
The medic cut through Edward's shirt.
“Possible abdominal gunshot wound. We need transport now.””
Edward grabbed Raymond's hand.
“Don't... let him take it.””
Raymond leaned closer.
“Take what?””
“The drive.””
Raymond looked toward the kitchen table.
The black USB drive was gone.
He turned sharply.
“Where is it?””
Angela shook her head.
“I don't have it.””
Raymond looked at Malik.
“Did you see it?””
Malik glanced toward the overturned furniture.
“No.””
Dre checked beneath the table.
“Nothing.””
Edward tried to speak.
“Daniel...””
Then his eyes closed.
The paramedics lifted him onto a stretcher.
Raymond followed them outside.
But before he reached the ambulance, Angela spoke.
“Raymond, you need to hear the whole story.””
He stopped.
“Not now.””
“Your father didn't tell you everything.””
Raymond turned.
“What else could there possibly be?””
Angela looked at him with tears running down her cheeks.
“I'm the reason Daniel disappeared.””
Raymond went still.
She continued.
“Six weeks ago, Daniel contacted me. He said he had proof that Miller had been moving weapons through the county for years. He wanted protection.””
“And you handed him over?””
“No. I warned him.””
“About what?””
“That Miller had people inside the department.””
Raymond's voice dropped.
“People like you?””
Angela nodded.
“Yes.””
Raymond stepped closer.
“Why didn't you arrest Miller?””
“Because he had evidence against me.””
“What evidence?””
She looked away.
“Eleven years ago, I was a patrol officer. My younger brother was arrested for possession of stolen property. Miller offered to make the charges disappear.””
Raymond stared.
“And?””
“I accepted.””
“Then what?””
“He used it against me. He told me I owed him. Every time I tried to walk away, he reminded me what would happen if the original records surfaced.””
Raymond shook his head.
“So you spent eleven years protecting him?””
“I thought I could control the damage.””
“You protected a criminal because he had dirt on your brother?””
Angela began crying.
“I know how it sounds.””
“It sounds exactly like what it is.””
She lowered her head.
Then she reached inside her jacket.
Malik immediately raised his hand.
“Don't.””
Angela stopped.
“It's a photograph.””
“Take it out slowly,” Malik ordered.
She carefully removed a folded photograph and placed it on the floor.
Raymond picked it up.
It showed Angela standing beside Robert Miller.
Behind them was a military storage building.
The photograph was dated eleven years earlier.
On the back, someone had written:
The next sheriff will be easier to manage.
Raymond stared at the words.
“Did Miller know I was going to run for sheriff?””
Angela nodded.
“He helped fund the campaign against your predecessor.””
Raymond's face hardened.
“You're telling me my election was manipulated?””
“Not the votes. But the campaign.””
“Who else was involved?””
Angela looked toward the ambulance.
“I can give you names.””
Raymond stepped closer.
“You're going to give me everything.””
“I will.””
“Because if my father dies tonight, I'm going to make sure nobody involved in this ever wears a badge again.””
Angela didn't answer.
The ambulance doors closed.
As it pulled away, Raymond turned toward Malik.
“Stay with my father.””
Malik nodded.
“Where are you going?””
Raymond looked at Angela.
“To find out how deep this goes.””
At 1:13 a.m., Raymond sat inside an interrogation room at the county administration building.
Angela sat across from him.
Her badge and firearm were on the table.
Lieutenant Davis was no longer a lieutenant.
She was a witness in a criminal investigation.
Raymond placed a recorder between them.
“State your full name.””
“Angela Marie Davis.””
“Your position?””
“Lieutenant, county sheriff's department.””
“Were you involved in concealing evidence related to the military weapons investigation?””
Angela looked at the recorder.
“Yes.””
“Did you assist Robert Miller?””
“Yes.””
“Did you provide unauthorized access to the department's evidence archive?””
“Yes.””
Raymond leaned forward.
“Who else?””
Angela hesitated.
Then she whispered:
“Chief Deputy Samuel Carter.””
Raymond froze.
Samuel Carter had retired three months earlier.
He had been his mentor.
The man who had recommended Raymond for his first supervisory position.
The man who had stood beside him at his swearing-in ceremony.
Raymond looked down.
“Carter?””
Angela nodded.
“He was the one who recruited me.””
Raymond sat back.
For the first time that night, he looked genuinely defeated.
Then Angela leaned forward.
“There's something else.””
“What?””
“Miller isn't working alone anymore.””
Raymond looked up.
“Who is helping him?””
Angela's voice dropped.
“The man who ordered the shooting tonight.””
“Who?””
She looked directly into Raymond's eyes.
“Someone who is already inside this building.””
At that exact moment, the interrogation room lights flickered.
Raymond's phone vibrated.
May you like
A message appeared from an unknown number.
*Stop questioning Angela. You have five minutes before your mother disappears.*
