“We'll arrange an appropriate medical assessment.”
Then she looked toward the handbag scattered across the pavement.
“Did they search your personal property?”
“Yes.”
“Did you consent?”
“No.”
The sergeant interrupted.
“We had probable cause.”
The investigator turned toward him.
“Then you'll have an opportunity to identify the grounds and provide the relevant records.”
He stared.
She continued.
“For now, don't touch the vehicle or any objects inside it.”
The veteran officer slowly raised his hands away from the open door.
The youngest stepped back.
His face was pale.
The sergeant looked toward the Internal Affairs team.
Then toward the CEO.
Something finally seemed to register.
“You knew they were coming.”
The CEO held his gaze.
“I knew someone might try to interfere with the audit.”
His expression changed.
For a moment, he seemed almost frightened.
Then he looked toward the investigator.
“What audit?”
She didn't answer.
The CEO looked toward the torn leather panel in the passenger seat.
Then toward her handbag.
“You weren't looking for stolen property.”
The sergeant opened his mouth.
She continued.
“You were looking for a storage device.”
The veteran officer went completely still.
The youngest looked toward his supervisor.
The Internal Affairs investigator watched the exchange carefully.
The sergeant swallowed.
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
The CEO tilted her head.
“Then how did you know to search behind that particular seat?”
Silence.
The youngest officer looked down.
The veteran stared toward the cruiser.
The sergeant's jaw tightened.
“It's a standard search.”
The CEO looked toward the open supercar.
Then back at him.
“No.”
She paused.
“It's a very specific search.”
The lead investigator glanced toward one of her colleagues.
He made a note.
Then she turned toward the sergeant.
“Who provided the information that led you to stop this vehicle?”
The officer looked toward the street.
For several seconds, he didn't answer.
Then he said, “Confidential source.”
The investigator nodded.
“Then that information will need to be assessed through the appropriate process.”
The sergeant's breathing became shallow.
He looked toward his partners.
Neither met his eyes.
The CEO remained beside the car.
She didn't gloat.
She didn't say that she'd won.
Because the most important question hadn't been answered.
Who had sent the officers?
And what were they so desperate to find?
The investigation at the roadside lasted almost three hours.
During that time, the CEO's supercar remained parked with its passenger door raised and its interior partially dismantled.