Chapter 9 - The Chief Who Had Been BoughtThey found Warren Pike at home.
He opened the door wearing sweatpants and carrying a pistol.
“Caleb?”
“Put it down.”
Pike stared at the tactical officers behind him.
“What the hell?”
“Put the gun down.”
Pike complied.
Inside, his wife was asleep upstairs.
Caleb insisted they speak privately but under recording.
Pike sat in his study.
“You think I kidnapped your sister?”
“No.”
“You think I killed Mercer?”
“No.”
Pike looked surprised.
Caleb placed Tyler’s notebook down.
“W.P.”
Pike’s face changed.
Caleb continued.
“Mercer case. Lakefront. Franklin Cycle.”
Pike closed his eyes.
There it was.
“Start talking.”
Pike whispered, “You don’t know what you’re in.”
“I’ve heard that a lot tonight.”
“They’ll kill my family.”
“Who?”
Pike stared at him.
“Graham Holloway.”
Caleb felt the answer settle.
“Preacher.”
Pike looked confused.
“What?”
“The nickname.”
“I never heard it.”
Interesting.
Maybe Preacher was still someone else.
“What does Holloway have on you?”
Pike rubbed both hands over his face.
“Money.”
“How much?”
“Two hundred thousand.”
“For what?”
“My wife’s treatment.”
Caleb frowned.
Pike’s wife had survived cancer years earlier.
“Insurance denied an experimental program.”
“Holloway paid?”
“Through a foundation.”
“And then?”
“He asked for favors.”
“What favors?”
“Small things.”
Caleb’s expression hardened.
“They’re always small first.”
Pike nodded miserably.
“License plate checks. Complaint information. Patrol patterns.”
“Then Mercer.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“Mercer called me.”
“Why?”
“He trusted me.”
Caleb felt disgust.
“And?”
“He said Holloway was laundering millions.”
“For whom?”
Pike looked away.
“Politicians. Contractors. Police pension people. Anyone Holloway could own.”
“Names?”
“I never saw all of them.”
“What did Mercer have?”
“Ledger.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
Caleb stared.
“The missing flash drive?”
“Probably a copy.”
“Did you steal it?”
“No.”
“Who inside evidence did?”
Pike whispered:
“Captain Dennis Shaw.”
Caleb knew Shaw.
Evidence and logistics commander.
Twenty-three years.
Quiet.
Invisible.
Exactly the kind of person nobody watched.
“Is Shaw Preacher?”
Pike shook his head.
“No.”
“Who is?”
“I don’t know.”
“Tyler saw someone wearing an eagle ring.”
Pike looked at his right hand.
His ring was gone.
Caleb noticed.
“Where is it?”
Pike went pale.
“It disappeared three months ago.”
Caleb stared.
“Did you report it?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I thought I lost it.”
Someone had been impersonating him.
Not physically.
Symbolically.
A ring.
A voice changer.
Enough to make criminals think Pike was their handler.
Holloway built layers.
If anyone was caught, they blamed the chief.
“What happens tomorrow?” Caleb asked.
Pike froze.
“What?”
“Your name was on a target board.”
Pike’s face drained.
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
He stood suddenly.
“My wife.”
“She’s protected.”
“No.”
Pike shook his head.
“It isn’t her.”
“Then who?”
Pike stared at Caleb.
“City council hearing.”
“What hearing?”
“Harrison Transit contract.”
Caleb frowned.
Lakefront Freight had bid on a massive municipal logistics contract.
A rival company was expected to challenge the bidding process tomorrow.
“Why target you?”
“Because I’m supposed to testify.”
Caleb stared.
“About what?”
Pike’s voice dropped.
“Holloway bribing procurement officials.”
Lena looked at Caleb.
Pike continued.
“I agreed to cooperate with the FBI three weeks ago.”
Caleb stopped.
“You’re already cooperating?”
“Yes.”
“Who knows?”
“Two agents.”
“And Holloway found out.”
“Apparently.”
Caleb shook his head.
“Then why weren’t we told?”
“Compartmented investigation.”
Of course.
Everyone hiding truth from everyone.
Perfect environment for Holloway.
Caleb asked, “Who are the FBI agents?”
Pike gave names.
Calls confirmed the operation.
Pike wasn’t innocent.
He had taken favors.
Shared information.
Helped bury Mercer’s initial complaint.
But eventually he tried to turn.
Holloway had discovered it.
Now Pike was marked.
Caleb’s phone buzzed.
Lena looked at the screen.
Message from an officer at the museum fundraiser.
HOLLOWAY LEFT AT 11:43. DRIVER SAYS HE WENT HOME.
Caleb checked time.
12:31.
They called Holloway’s residence.
Security answered.
Mr. Holloway had never arrived.
Pike whispered:
“He knows the warehouse was hit.”
Caleb nodded.
“He’s running.”
Then Pike said something worse.
“No.”
Caleb looked at him.
“Holloway doesn’t run.”
“What does he do?”
Pike’s face tightened.
“He removes whoever can testify.”
Caleb thought about Brooke.
Tyler.
Rawlings.
Lena.
Emily.
Pike.
Then Samuel Mercer.
“How many people know where Brooke is being held?”
Lena’s face changed.
They both reached for their phones.
Too late.
May you like
A call came from the detention floor.
Brooke Dalton had been attacked in her holding cell.
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