He began writing a supplemental report. He included Marcus’s reference to corporate security footage, the absence of a verified independent witness, his own recommendation that the allegation be checked before custody, and Vanessa’s statement from her porch. When Bellamy approached his desk, Reeves did not minimize the disagreement.
“Your report makes me look reckless,” Bellamy said.
“I wrote what happened.”
“You’re supposed to back your partner.”
“I did back you on Thursday. We saw how that turned out.”
Bellamy looked around the nearly empty room. “You have no idea how things work in this department.”
“Maybe I’m starting to.”
Across town, Nora unlocked her law office and went straight to a red folder stored in a secure cabinet. Marcus had suggested preparing an emergency evidence package after the first police incident. He had not predicted every step Vanessa would take, but he had understood that she was using several institutions against him and that he might need independent proof quickly if his access to phones or files was interrupted.
The folder contained authenticated copies of his driveway recordings, a copy of Evelyn’s recording, the HOA meeting minutes and audio, the original conduct letter, the property deed and vehicle registration, and the communications received from neighbors. It also contained acquisition records establishing his controlling interest in Hullbrook Dynamics, corporate emails available to him through authorized company review, and the preliminary SafeWatch reports preserved by the compliance team. A separate sealed index identified material that required special handling because it involved employees or third parties. Nora would not casually release those records into public view, but she could make the appropriate authorities aware that evidence existed and preserve it from alteration.
The last item was a description of the company’s municipal contract expansion plan. SafeWatch had been marketed to twelve additional departments using wealthy neighborhoods as successful examples of rapid response. Marcus had written a note on the cover: If our warnings are correct, we must stop this from spreading before more people are harmed. Nora read the sentence twice. He had been thinking beyond himself even while preparing for another encounter with police.
She called the duty prosecutor to request immediate review of the arrest basis and preservation of the corporate security recordings. She contacted the police department’s professional standards supervisor, notifying the office of the potential conflict involving Bellamy and Vanessa. She also prepared an urgent court application challenging the custody decision if the prosecutor declined to intervene promptly. Separately, the company’s independent counsel had already initiated contacts with appropriate state and federal oversight authorities about the SafeWatch concerns; Nora updated them concerning the new arrest, clearly distinguishing allegations under investigation from verified documents.
By shortly after midnight, Nora arrived at the station with the red folder and an associate who carried additional copies. A desk sergeant led her to the holding room. When she entered, Bellamy was seated across from Marcus, leaning forward with his forearms on his knees.