"Then let's find out." Harrison smiled faintly and explained that they would need official records, witness statements, and potentially a court order for materials the department would rather keep private. He mentioned independent investigators already reviewing complaints against the department, though he did not yet know the scope of their work. Dez leaned back against the wall, suddenly exhausted.
The station telephone began ringing almost continuously. The mayor wanted an update, the police union wanted to speak with Thorn, the local newspaper wanted an official comment, and a state legislator had asked why a decorated veteran had been taken into custody at his own house. Thorn ordered the front desk to refer press calls to city communications. He then called Harlan and told him to return immediately without making further statements. Harlan agreed, though his voice was flat and strangely small.
Before Harlan returned, two civilian investigators arrived at the precinct with Special Agent Naomi Sterling of the FBI's public corruption squad. Sterling had already been examining irregular property-seizure transactions connected to a handful of towns in the county. She had not expected the Oak Haven case to surface so loudly, but Harrison's preservation notices and the broadcast footage provided an urgent reason to seek records. She entered with a colleague carrying a sealed evidence bag and a court-approved process for preserving certain electronic materials. They were not there to arrest everyone in uniform. They were there to keep the truth from disappearing.
Colonel Vance arrived shortly afterward with a civilian security liaison. Vance was gray-haired, spare, and unhurried, with the careful manner of someone accustomed to complex problems involving several legal jurisdictions. He shook Dez's hand and asked again whether he needed medical attention. Dez answered that the shoulder was sore and his wrist had tingled since the cuffs came off. Vance insisted that he document those injuries while they were fresh. "Not because of what you did in the Army," he said, "but because what happened today matters on its own."
Sterling interviewed Kowalski in a quiet room while her colleague began mapping the digital evidence. The sergeant described Harlan's initial account, the matching address on the license, the verification call, and Thorn's decision to send him back for a search. He was uncomfortable admitting that he had seen questionable conduct before and had rarely put objections in writing. Sterling did not offer him reassurance. She asked for the dates and names, then waited while he struggled to remember. At last he told her about Elena Price's notebook.