Angela paused her sweeping and stared at the bent and scratched medals. "They didn't have to destroy everything," she whispered. "This was pure spite."
A soft knock at the door made them both tense. After the previous night, any unexpected visitor set their nerves on edge. Marcus moved protectively toward Angela as she peered through the cracked front window.
Detective Rosa Delgado stood on their porch, constantly glancing over her shoulder. She was not in uniform, instead wearing civilian clothes and large sunglasses despite the early hour.
"Let her in," Angela said, recognizing the detective from their previous encounters at the station.
Marcus opened the door cautiously, positioning himself between Delgado and his wife.
"I'm sorry about your house," Delgado said immediately, stepping inside. "What they did was wrong. But I might have something that can help."
She removed her sunglasses, revealing eyes filled with barely contained anger.
"I've been watching Holt for months, waiting for the right moment."
"Watching him do what?" Marcus asked, still wary of any police officer.
Delgado reached into her purse and withdrew a small hard drive. "Everything. I've been copying body-camera footage to private storage outside the department servers. Footage that conveniently disappears from official records within hours of being uploaded."
Angela moved closer, hope flickering across her exhausted face. "What's on there?"
"Holt giving direct orders to harass homeowners who won't sell. Illegal searches. False arrests." Delgado's voice shook with controlled fury. "He thinks he's untouchable because he deletes the evidence, but I've got it all, including last night's raid on your house from multiple officers' cameras."
Marcus took the hard drive carefully. "Why are you showing us this now?"
"Because what they did to you crossed a line even for Holt," Delgado said, pacing through the destroyed living room. "Attacking a military family. Destroying service medals. It's going to backfire on him spectacularly."
She paused and picked up Angela's scratched Distinguished Service Medal. "I joined the force to protect people, not terrorize them. What Holt is doing isn't law enforcement. It's organized crime with a badge."
Angela began connecting the pieces. "The developers are paying him to clear the neighborhood."
Delgado nodded. "Exactly. There's footage of Holt meeting with the developers' representatives behind the old warehouse on Pine Street. The audio is crystal clear. They're discussing payments, target properties, and the timeline for acquisition."
"Why didn't Internal Affairs act on this?" Marcus demanded.
"Because Holt has friends in Internal Affairs," Delgado said bitterly. "They bury complaints, lose evidence, intimidate witnesses. The whole system is corrupted. That's why I started keeping my own copies."
She gestured to the hard drive. "But this needs to go higher than local authorities. This is federal-level corruption."