“Yes.”
“Body-camera footage preserved.”
The patrol officer instinctively touched the camera on his chest.
The federal agent noticed.
“Do not turn that off.”
His hand dropped.
She continued.
“Neither of you turns anything off until federal evidence technicians copy the files.”
The younger officer nodded immediately.
The lead officer looked toward his lieutenant.
“Am I being investigated?”
The lieutenant stared.
“You handcuffed the federal lead after she identified herself and gave you my name.”
“What do you think?”
His face flushed.
“I had probable—”
The Black federal agent interrupted.
“No.”
The officer turned.
She spoke evenly.
“Do not start rewriting the encounter while it's still recording.”
That landed.
He looked at the camera.
Then at the people filming.
His mouth closed.
The federal agent stepped toward the black SUV.
The lieutenant followed.
“What do you need from us?”
The agent looked toward the house.
“Nothing visible.”
“You're already too visible.”
The lieutenant absorbed the criticism.
She deserved some of it even though she had not caused the stop.
“What was supposed to happen?”
The Black federal agent answered quietly.
“At three-thirty, a cooperating witness inside that house was going to transfer a ledger and a digital key.”
The lieutenant looked toward her watch.
Three twenty-nine.
The agent continued.
“We believe the evidence identifies the person inside your department who's been feeding police movement and complaint data to a property-acquisition ring.”
The lieutenant’s face went still.
The lead patrol officer heard.
“So you were investigating cops?”
The federal agent looked at him.
“One.”
The officer’s eyes widened.
The lieutenant turned sharply.
“You were not briefed on that part.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because we don't know who the leak is.”
The rain seemed colder.
The lead officer looked toward his lieutenant.
Then toward the house.
Then at his body camera.
The federal agent saw the thought forming.
She stepped closer.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“That wasn't nothing.”
The officer looked away.
She did not move.
“What?”
He swallowed.
“Before we got here…”
The lieutenant’s expression changed.
“What happened before you got here?”
The lead officer looked toward the second officer.
The younger officer immediately became uncomfortable.
The federal agent noticed.
She turned toward him.
“You too.”
The younger officer shook his head.
“I didn't hear all of it.”
“Hear what?”
The lead officer spoke before him.
“Radio traffic.”
The lieutenant’s voice hardened.
“What radio traffic?”
“Nothing unusual.”
The federal agent stared.
“You just said something happened before you arrived.”
The officer’s jaw flexed.
“Sergeant called my personal phone.”
The lieutenant went completely still.
“What sergeant?”
The officer did not answer.
The lieutenant stepped closer.
“What sergeant called your personal phone?”
He named his shift supervisor.
The federal agent’s face revealed nothing.