"You made the call?"
"Yes."
The chief closed his eyes.
Then he whispered something the officer standing beside him could barely hear.
"Oh, no."
The woman leaned toward the black case.
"Chief, I suggest you stop looking at the phone and start looking at the people in this building."
He stared at her.
"Why?"
Her answer came quietly.
"Because someone inside this department knew I was coming."
And then the chief understood.
The torn identification wasn't the worst thing that had happened in his lobby.
It was the first visible sign that an investigation he thought was under control had already reached his front door.
Three hours earlier, the same woman had been standing beneath a magnificent crystal chandelier in the ballroom of the city's most expensive hotel.
The event was called the Community Renewal Gala.
According to its glossy invitations, the celebration honored local businesses, civic leaders, and charitable organizations that had helped improve housing and emergency assistance programs throughout the region.
Champagne flowed beneath gold-framed mirrors.
A jazz quartet performed near the windows.
Waiters moved between circular tables carrying trays of delicate appetizers.
Guests wore expensive suits, elegant evening gowns, and watches worth more than most working families earned in several months.
The woman in the champagne-colored dress fit naturally into the crowd.
Nobody suspected she had spent the previous eighteen months examining financial records connected to several of the people attending.