Malik stared.
Cash in safe accounted for some.
“What did you provide?”
“Access.”
“Schedules.”
“Witness names?”
Blake looked sick.
“Sometimes.”
“You warned Dorne about warrants.”
“Yes.”
“Whitaker?”
Blake hesitated.
“I told Dorne where Whitaker was staying.”
Malik felt rage rise.
He kept voice controlled.
“Why?”
“He said he wanted to talk.”
“You believed him?”
“No.”
Silence.
That was worse.
Claire asked:
“Did Ramirez order Whitaker killed?”
“I never heard that.”
“Did he know Dorne was threatening him?”
“Yes.”
“Did he stop it?”
“No.”
“Did you?”
Blake looked toward Malik.
“No.”
Malik thought of the diner photograph.
“Who took the picture outside my meeting?”
“Dorne's guy.”
“Who?”
“I don't know name.”
“Bullshit.”
Attorney objected to tone.
Malik ignored.
Blake continued:
“They called him Finch.”
Alias.
Good enough.
“What did Finch do?”
“Surveillance.”
“Violence?”
“I don't know.”
Malik stared.
Blake finally said:
“Yes.”
“Maybe.”
Claire asked:
“Did Finch kill Whitaker?”
Blake closed his eyes.
“I think so.”
Think.
Not proof.
They needed Finch.
Chief Ramirez was arrested quietly at home two days later on corruption and obstruction charges.
Not murder.
Evidence enough for financial crimes and conspiracy.
His arrest stunned Riverside.
Officers gathered outside headquarters.
Reporters swarmed.
Residents argued.
Some refused to believe it.
Others claimed everyone knew.
No one truly had.
Ramirez denied ordering harm.
His attorney called Blake a liar saving himself.
Possible.
Investigators needed corroboration.
Bank records showed Ramirez's wife received consulting payments from a Northstar subcontractor.
She claimed ignorance.
Ramirez's personal retirement account contained unexplained deposits.
He explained as gambling wins.
Casino records disagreed.
Still not murder.
Then a storage locker tied to Dorne yielded a handwritten ledger.
Payments.
Initials.
OB matched Owen Blake.
MR could be Miguel Ramirez.
F large cash disbursements near Whitaker murder.
Three days before murder:
F - 25K / G.W.
Gabriel Whitaker.
Malik stared.
Claire said:
“Could mean anything.”
He looked toward her.
“You're going to say maybe until your funeral.”
“Yes.”
They traced Finch.
Real name: Frank Delaney.
Former private military contractor turned security consultant.
No permanent address.
Two prior assault investigations.
Never convicted.
Worked occasionally for Northstar as “risk specialist.”
Passport flagged.
Border alerts.
Vehicle records.
Then license plate reader hit.
Delaney's truck crossed into Tennessee.
State police found vehicle abandoned near motel.
Room empty.
Security footage showed Delaney entering another car.
Driver?
Caleb Dorne.
Together.
Heading north.
Fugitives now.
Malik wanted pursuit.
Claire kept him on case coordination.
“You're too identifiable.”