Brooks showed him the scope of the warrant. "The court has authorized a search of this property, the vehicles, the business records, and the equipment connected to the seizure operation. Keep that folder intact and place it on the table."
Hale held the papers tightly for a moment, then set them down. "You'll regret turning a county issue into a federal spectacle," he said. Brooks did not respond to the threat. Instead, he directed an evidence technician to photograph the folder as it lay before anyone handled it further. His attention then moved to Bennett, who had remained beside the lead vehicle. "Show us the eastern storage area."
Bennett pointed toward the large building, then to the stairs leading to the upper office. Mercer appeared in the doorway and stopped when he saw Bennett standing beside Brooks. "What are you doing here?" Mercer asked, his voice carrying through the loading bay. Bennett said nothing. Mercer turned abruptly toward the interior stairwell, where the records room lay beyond a narrow landing.
An agent asked him to stop and remain on the ground floor while the search team secured the area. Mercer hesitated, looking up toward the office as if measuring whether he could reach it before anyone followed. Then he turned back. After a brief exchange, he was restrained without a struggle and guided away from the stairs while agents documented the incident.
He kept his eyes on Bennett. "You think they can protect you from what comes next?" he asked. Bennett looked away, then forced himself to meet Mercer's gaze. "I'm here to tell them what I know," he answered.
Inside the eastern storage building, the investigators found rows of valuable vehicles under dust covers and beside transport trailers. A restored Mustang stood near a vintage truck with its windows covered to prevent scratches. Motorcycles lined one wall in carefully spaced groups, and license plates lay in labeled stacks on a workbench. Titles and registration packets had been removed from some folders and gathered separately in boxes, making it harder to connect a vehicle to the owner who had been trying to recover it.
The rear records room contained a shredder that was still running when agents reached it. An evidence technician stopped the machine and documented its contents without attempting to reconstruct anything immediately. Other agents secured computers and photographed printed transfer sheets, storage ledgers, and lists of projected fees. Brooks walked through the building slowly, taking in the scale of what had been hidden there. Each vehicle represented a complaint somebody had been encouraged to give up.
The night manager supplied the key to the upstairs office after reading the warrant. Inside, agents found auction schedules, payment records, insurance files, computer drives, and printed copies of the premium vehicle recovery list. A folder bearing Maya Williams's name included the Ducati's description and Saturday route. Walter Reed's file contained a notation instructing staff to extend storage and transfer the Corvette to Bellamy if he continued challenging the seizure. The paperwork did not look improvised; it had the careful organization of a process built to repeat itself.