Chapter 12 - Harper Sloan’s Husband Had Been PaidHarper removed herself immediately.
That decision probably saved her credibility.
“I’m not touching another file.”
She surrendered her phone.
Badge access.
Home financial records.
Everything.
Miles watched her place her weapon on the table.
Her hands shook.
“I swear to you.”
“I know.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“You don’t know.”
Fair.
“I had no idea Elliot had any connection to Dane.”
Federal investigators took over the corruption portion.
Elliot Sloan was located at his office.
He did not run.
His attorney arrived.
Bank records showed Summit One Consulting received $340,000 over seven years from companies connected to Canyon Crest and Halley.
Elliot claimed legitimate consulting fees.
“For what?” an agent asked.
“Risk management.”
“What risks?”
“Municipal contracts.”
“Did you know money came from criminal activity?”
“No.”
“Did your wife influence Internal Affairs cases?”
“Never.”
Harper’s case history was reviewed.
Several investigations into Halley.
Three closed insufficient evidence.
One sustained minor violation.
Had Harper protected him?
Maybe not.
Documents showed she frequently pushed for stronger discipline but was overruled.
By whom?
Deputy Chief Voss.
Again.
Voss appeared dirty.
Then not.
Then dirty.
Nathan’s ledger showed Summit One payments often preceding Voss decisions.
Could Elliot have acted as intermediary to blackmail Voss?
Investigators confronted him.
He broke faster than expected.
“I moved money.”
“For who?”
“Dane.”
“Why?”
“Because it was cash he couldn’t explain.”
“Laundering.”
Elliot closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
“Did Harper know?”
“No.”
“Why use a company tied to your wife?”
“Because nobody would think I was that stupid.”
Agent stared.
“You were.”
“Yes.”
“What did you do with money?”
“Returned most through invoices to Dane-controlled vendors.”
“Keep?”
“About ten percent.”
“Did you know Halley?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Dane.”
“Did you know about abductions?”
“No.”
“Vehicle theft?”
“Suspected.”
“Still helped.”
“Yes.”
“Did you influence your wife?”
Elliot began crying.
“Never directly.”
“Indirectly?”
“I asked about cases.”
“What cases?”
“Halley sometimes.”
Harper would mention things at home.
Normal marital conversation.
Elliot relayed information to Dane.
Not knowing exact crimes? Hard to believe.
But possible.
Harper had been leaking without knowing.
Dane’s network worked because everyone gave a little.
One deleted email became the next breakthrough.
Elliot to Dane:
Voss is scared about Jacob again. Don’t push.
Jacob Voss.
Deputy chief’s son.
The hidden DUI death.
Investigators reopened it.
Twelve years earlier, a pedestrian named Maria Salazar was struck and killed on a rural road.
Driver listed as unknown hit-and-run.
Hours later, Jacob Voss’s damaged pickup was towed by Canyon Crest from a private property.
No police report connected it.
Dane had kept photographs.
Voss allegedly paid to conceal evidence.
Jacob later went to rehab.
Never charged.
Miles felt disgust.
Voss had committed obstruction to protect his son.
Dane then blackmailed him for years.
When confronted with recovered photographs, Malcolm Voss finally confessed.
“I called Dane.”
“Why?”
“My son was drunk.”
“You knew he hit someone?”
“Yes.”
“And you hid the truck.”
“Yes.”
“Maria Salazar died.”
Voss began crying.
“I know.”
“You allowed her family to believe the driver vanished.”
“Yes.”
“Then Dane owned you.”
“Yes.”
“What did he make you do?”
“Keep the towing contract.”
“Anything else?”
“Move complaints.”
“Protect Halley?”
“I didn’t know how deep Halley was.”
“Did you close cases?”
“Some.”
“Why?”
“Dane threatened to release the photographs.”
Miles watched from another room.
Voss was guilty.
But not mastermind.
A coward.
A compromised official.
Halley used that weakness.
Dane used it.
Elliot monetized it.
The system rotted by layers.
“What about Nathan Caldwell?”
Voss cried.
“I didn’t know Halley took him.”
“Did you know Dane targeted riders?”
“I suspected theft.”
“And did nothing.”
“Yes.”
“What about Miles Archer?”
“I did not authorize anything against Miles.”
“Who warned Halley we were investigating?”
Voss looked confused.
“I thought Halley ran before we knew.”
“He was warned.”
Voss shook his head.
“I didn’t.”
Federal agents checked communication logs.
Voss had no contact.
Elliot?
No.
Dane was already in custody.
Calvin hospitalized.
Erin jailed.
Boone missing.
Who warned Halley?
Then Nathan remembered something from the ledger.
Halley had one recurring payment recipient labeled:
DISP
Small amounts.
Monthly.
Not enough to attract attention.
Dispatcher.
Someone inside communications.
They compared employee finances.
One dispatcher had deposited cash repeatedly.
Tessa Bryant.
Miles felt his stomach drop.
Officer Tessa Bryant was not a dispatcher.
But her husband was.
Evan Bryant.
May you like
And Tessa had been the first officer to arrive at Miles’s ambush.
The first person who asked where the camera was.
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