It showed a protected-person notification that required verification.
Price clicked through to confirm the match.
A photograph appeared.
The same face.
The same date of birth.
He read the notice again.
His expression drained.
"Sergeant?"
Matthews looked over.
"What?"
Price swallowed.
"Sergeant, I need you to look at this."
A woman in her late forties approached.
Sergeant Laura Bennett had served twenty-one years in policing.
She was known for being careful with paperwork, an attribute other officers sometimes dismissed as excessive caution.
She leaned toward the monitor.
Then straightened.
"Where did you arrest her?"
Matthews frowned.
"Riverside Park."
"On what basis?"
"Suspicious behavior. Obstruction. Possession."
Bennett read the alert once more.
"Did you contact federal coordination?"
"Why would I?"
"Because this record requires it."
Matthews took a step closer.
"What's the problem?"
Bennett turned toward him.
"Officer, this woman is a protected federal witness."
The room seemed to become smaller.
Price stopped moving.
A civilian employee looked up from her desk.
Matthews stared at Bennett.
"What?"
"She's connected to an active federal corruption investigation."
He glanced toward Simone.
She sat quietly in the processing chair.
Her swollen cheek was plainly visible beneath the overhead lights.
Matthews looked back at the monitor.
"That's impossible."
Bennett reached for the telephone.
"Nobody is discussing this further until the federal liaison confirms the notice."
Matthews moved closer.
"Wait a minute."
Bennett raised one hand.
"Do not touch the detainee."
He froze.
"What did you say?"
"I said step away."
For the first time that afternoon, Bradley Matthews obeyed a command without arguing.
Caroline Hayes was reviewing an affidavit when her phone rang.
The number belonged to a federal coordination desk.
She answered immediately.
"Hayes."
The voice on the other end was controlled.
"We have a protected-person notification from Riverside Police."