The federal investigators interviewed him twice that week. In the first session, he described his roadside observations and the earlier exchange with Mercer. In the second, he reviewed documents that helped establish the dates and explained why he knew certain report numbers were missing from the system. He was careful to distinguish what he had personally seen from what he suspected. That caution mattered to Simone, who had heard witnesses damage their own credibility by trying to make every detail more certain than it was.
"You don't have to make the story stronger than the facts," she told him during a break. "If you don't remember something, say you don't remember."
Price looked relieved. "I thought you'd be disappointed if I couldn't answer everything."
"I'd be disappointed if you pretended you could."
Keller, meanwhile, had retained an attorney and begun considering whether to cooperate. His first statements at the roadside were already preserved by multiple recordings, but the prosecution team knew that statements alone would not establish the full chain of responsibility. The investigators had evidence that he was present for transfers; they needed to know what he understood about the stolen property, which payments he had received, and whether he could identify who had directed the scheme. Any cooperation would have to be evaluated against records, not accepted simply because he was willing to implicate Mercer.
In an interview arranged through counsel, Keller admitted that the late-night details were not ordinary security assignments. He described how he had been told to accompany contractors to the central warehouse and remain present while equipment was removed under emergency exemptions. He acknowledged receiving money that had not appeared on official overtime statements. He also admitted that he had changed the descriptions of two patrol activities after Mercer complained that their original wording attracted attention.
"When did you realize the equipment wasn't going where the paperwork said it was going?" an investigator asked.
Keller studied his hands. "Probably before I wanted to admit it."
"That's not a date."
"I know." He took a breath. "By the second month. Maybe sooner."
His attorney sat beside him without expression. Keller seemed to be discovering that confession was less like opening a door and more like walking down a hallway whose end he could not yet see. Every honest answer made his own responsibility clearer, even when it implicated someone above him. Simone did not pity him in a way that erased the harm. She recognized that a frightened person could tell the truth and still be accountable for choosing not to tell it earlier.
When the investigators asked about the traffic stop, Keller described Talbot's telephone call to Mercer that morning. He said the sheriff believed the dark SUV might be carrying documents that connected the warehouse transfers to senior officials. Mercer had expected a courier or county employee and intended to find out what she possessed before the information reached outside investigators. Keller did not claim to know why Mercer chose a false lane violation, but he acknowledged that he had not observed any dangerous driving by Simone.
"Why did you take the entry kit to the rear of the SUV?" the investigator asked.