"Professional Standards is reopening complaints where new information exists. That's not the same thing."
"You think the rank makes you smarter than the street?"
"No."
That answer seemed to confuse Reigns. Marcus continued. "Rank means I am accountable for what the street does in this department. It does not make me omniscient."
Reigns stepped closer. "You want honest advice? Back off." Marcus looked at him for several seconds.
"Is that advice?"
"It's reality. You push patrol too hard, things get difficult. Backup slows down. Reports get sloppy. People stop volunteering for overtime. Radio traffic gets missed."
"Are you threatening to compromise public safety?"
"I'm telling you what low morale looks like."
Marcus reached for his phone, set it on the desk, and tapped the record function in full view.
"Then say it again. Clearly."
Reigns stared at the screen.
"Turn that off."
"No."
"You think recording every conversation is leadership?"
"I think clarity helps."
Marcus leaned back in his chair. "You came into my office. You suggested patrol performance might degrade if I continue reviewing complaints. I am asking whether you are personally encouraging that response." Reigns's confidence faltered.
"I didn't say that."
"Good. Then we understand each other."
"You won't last six months here."
"Maybe not. But while I'm here, the cameras work."
Reigns left without another word. Marcus saved the recording and sent a copy to Kim with a short note: possible intimidation related to ongoing investigation. He did not call it a threat in the evidence label. That judgment belonged to someone else.
At 4:05, Sergeant Thompson brought in a batch of towing reports from the previous eighteen months. The raw volume alone was unusual. Reigns had authorized or initiated forty-three vehicle impounds during traffic encounters, more than triple the patrol average for comparable shifts. Thirty-eight of the forty-three went to Westbridge Towing Services. Marcus asked a question that seemed obvious only after he said it aloud.
"Who assigns tow rotation?"
Thompson looked uncomfortable. "Technically dispatch follows a rotation list."