The officer hadn't simply misidentified her as a suspicious woman.
Somebody had been monitoring the investigation closely enough to know what she wore.
Where she would be.
And when she expected to meet the source.
That meant the corruption network might have access to information far more sensitive than the task force realized.
And if that access remained open, every witness connected to the case could be in danger of intimidation.
The agent looked toward the lead investigator.
"Call the supervisor."
He nodded.
She continued.
"Tell him we may have a leak."
The investigator's expression changed.
"Inside the task force?"
She didn't answer immediately.
She looked toward the crowded park.
Families were returning to their walks.
A cyclist passed along the path.
The little boy who had witnessed the slap was standing beside his mother, watching the police vehicles with frightened eyes.
The afternoon looked almost ordinary again.
But the agent knew appearances could deceive.
She turned toward her colleague.
"I don't know where it is yet."
Then she took a slow breath.
"But someone knew about today's meeting."
The rookie police officer had never fired his weapon outside mandatory training.
He had never been involved in a serious use-of-force incident.
And until that afternoon, he'd never watched another officer strike a handcuffed person.
He sat in a quiet interview room with his hands folded in front of him.
Across the table sat investigators assigned to examine the incident.
His department's appropriate oversight personnel were involved, along with federal authorities handling the related investigation.
He had been advised of his rights and responsibilities under the applicable processes.
He understood that the investigation could affect his career.
He also understood that his partner had already begun constructing a story in which the woman was aggressive and the officers were merely responding to resistance.
The rookie knew that wasn't what happened.
One investigator asked him to begin from the start of the encounter.
He swallowed.
Then spoke.
He described their patrol route.
The senior officer checking his personal phone.
The unexplained change in direction.
The woman standing beside the picnic table.
And the order to put down her bag.
He explained that he hadn't observed suspicious conduct before the stop.
He hadn't received a dispatch report alleging a crime.
And he hadn't been told of any specific facts establishing that the woman's property was stolen.
Then he described the handcuffing.
The woman's questions.
His own concern.
And the slap.
When he reached that part, his voice began shaking.
The investigator waited.
The rookie stared at his hands.
"I should've done more."
Nobody interrupted.
He continued.
"I knew something was wrong."
The investigator spoke gently.