Evidence supervisor Karen Holt.
IT administrator Samuel Reed.
Two records managers.
Maya Reynolds among them.
Malik frowned.
“Maya's device?”
“Not yet authorized.”
“She witnessed Blake.”
“Doesn't clear her.”
Claire looked at him.
“No one is cleared because they're likable.”
Malik nodded.
Exactly.
Then Priya's computer chimed.
New report.
Search warrant team at Blake's home found a small locked fire safe.
Inside:
Thirty-eight thousand dollars cash.
A Northstar visitor badge.
Two memory cards.
And a photograph.
Priya zoomed.
Gabriel Whitaker leaving the diner where he met Malik.
Taken from across the street.
Four days before he died.
Malik stared at his own shoulder in the edge of the photograph.
He was visible.
Not face.
Enough.
Cold moved through him.
Claire looked toward him.
“Malik.”
He said nothing.
The photographer had been watching Whitaker during their meeting.
Which meant somebody knew about the meeting.
Almost nobody had.
Claire.
Malik.
Whitaker.
And one scheduling coordinator who knew Malik had a field contact but not identity.
Malik looked at Claire.
“How did they know?”
She understood immediately.
“Gabriel was already under surveillance.”
“Probably.”
“Or us.”
Silence.
Neither option was good.
Claire took the photograph from the screen.
“Don't personalize.”
“He died four days later.”
“I know.”
“I was there.”
“I know.”
“If I noticed surveillance—”
“Stop.”
Malik looked at her.
Claire's voice softened.
“You don't get to invent hindsight evidence.”
He exhaled.
She was right.
He hated when she was right.
Priya continued quietly.
“The image metadata is stripped.”
“Print lab may recover printer source.”
Claire nodded.
“Do it.”
Malik looked toward the money.
“Why keep that much cash?”
“Bribes.”
“Maybe.”
“Emergency escape.”
“Maybe.”
“Asset seizure?”
“Maybe.”
He looked at Claire.
“You enjoy this.”
“Saying maybe?”
“Yes.”
“Deeply.”
He almost smiled.
Then the third burner number called Blake's prepaid phone.
The device sat powered inside an evidence isolation unit.
Priya's monitor flashed.
Everyone looked.
No one answered.
Call ended.
Twenty seconds.
Again.
Someone did not know Blake was compromised yet.
Claire stood.
“Trace active tower.”
Priya was already typing.
The approximate location appeared.
Riverside Police Department.
Malik's expression hardened.
The second leak was inside the building.
And they were watching.
Claire did something Malik initially hated.
She released Blake.
Not from investigation.
From immediate detention.
No arrest yet.
No public accusation beyond administrative restriction.
His attorney collected him at 9:30 that evening.
Malik confronted Claire afterward.
“You're letting him walk.”
“Yes.”
“He knows we found him.”
“Yes.”
“He will contact whoever called.”
“Exactly.”
Malik stopped.
Claire smiled slightly.
“Sometimes you are too muscular for subtlety.”
He stared.