"Anything useful?"
"Enough to turn this from an administrative scandal into a criminal case."
She set the file down. Payments from Westbridge Towing had moved to Voss Security Consulting on a predictable schedule tied closely to impound volume. Additional transfers went from the towing company to a cash-withdrawal account used by Leonard Pike. The withdrawals frequently occurred within twenty-four hours of disputed Reigns traffic stops. No direct line yet connected that cash to Reigns.
But the pattern had tightened.
"There's more," Kim said. "Pike has requested an attorney and says he wants to cooperate."
Marcus sat back.
"Why now?"
"Because his accountant told him conspiracy charges look different when you're the first person talking instead of the last."
Marcus almost smiled.
"Smart accountant."
"The prosecutor is interviewing him tonight."
Marcus looked through the office window at Reigns, who was now sitting alone at a desk. For the first time since the traffic stop, Derek Reigns looked less angry than afraid. He had reason to be.
Leonard Pike began talking at 6:15 that evening.
Marcus was not in the interview room. He learned what happened through a written prosecutor's summary delivered the following morning, which was exactly how it should have been. Pike's version began two years earlier, when Westbridge Towing Services was struggling to keep its municipal contract. Competition had increased, fuel costs were up, and the city's rotation system no longer guaranteed enough volume to keep three trucks staffed around the clock. Calvin Voss had approached him with an offer disguised as consulting.
According to Pike, Voss said the police department could "streamline" traffic-related towing if the company paid for training and administrative coordination through Patricia Voss's business. There were legitimate topics buried inside the arrangement: scene safety, vehicle storage, after-hours access, evidence holds. That made the invoices look plausible. The real value was volume.
Voss encouraged sergeants to request Westbridge Towing whenever officers identified equipment, registration, or safety concerns. Reigns became especially productive. Pike said he did not initially know Reigns was demanding cash from motorists, but he understood that some drivers who avoided towing were "settling roadside issues." The phrase appeared three times in his statement. Settling roadside issues.
Marcus read it with the disgust of someone recognizing language designed to make theft sound administrative. Pike also admitted that Patricia Voss had become a silent equity partner in the storage property. Her investment was small at first. Over time, rent payments and consulting fees gave the Voss household a direct financial benefit whenever vehicles remained in storage. The longer a car stayed, the more money the system made.
That explained Harold Jennings. It explained why a disputed impound could become more profitable than a clean traffic citation. It did not yet prove Reigns shared in the towing money, but Pike provided something better than speculation. He produced text messages.
One exchange showed Voss asking for "more volume from Derek's corridor" before the end of a slow month. Another showed Pike complaining that too many impounded cars were being released quickly after owners challenged the paperwork. Voss replied: LET THE FEES BUILD. PEOPLE LEARN WHEN IT HURTS. A third message referred to Reigns by first name.
DEREK'S GOOD AT FINDING WHO'LL PAY AND WHO WON'T. The prosecutor now had probable cause for deeper financial subpoenas and search warrants, but she still moved carefully. There was no dramatic raid on headquarters. No tactical team stormed the towing yard. Investigators froze relevant records, copied accounting systems, and served warrants in a controlled sequence designed to prevent destruction without creating unnecessary spectacle.
Marcus approved temporary staffing changes to cover Voss's leave and kept Reigns away from public contact. That decision became harder when Reigns's union attorney demanded his immediate return to patrol.
"There has been no sustained finding against Officer Reigns," the attorney argued during a meeting at city hall. "Administrative reassignment is becoming punishment without due process."
Marcus sat beside the city attorney and listened.
"He is being paid," the city attorney replied. "He has not lost rank or benefits. The assignment is a risk-control measure during an active corruption investigation in which his conduct is central evidence."
The union attorney turned to Marcus. "Captain, isn't it true you personally dislike my client because of your roadside interaction?" Marcus answered without defensiveness. "I dislike being extorted. That is why I removed myself from deciding whether the allegation is sustained."