Chapter 1 - Step Away From the Case
Officer Ray Maddox slammed the sealed black transfer case onto the metal table hard enough to make the fluorescent light above it tremble.
Commander Elias Grant remained seated.
His white Navy service dress uniform was streaked with highway dust. One trouser knee was torn. A small cut near his eyebrow had dried into a dark line. His wrists were still cuffed in front of him, but his back stayed straight and his expression calm.
Maddox leaned over the table.
“What are you hiding in that case?”
Grant looked directly at him.
“A federal seal you were warned not to touch.”
Maddox’s hand moved toward the latch.
Near the doorway, Officer Caleb Norris shifted uneasily.
“Ray… don’t open it.”
The interview-room door opened sharply.
Captain Briggs entered first in Navy working uniform, followed by two Naval Security officers and Lieutenant Commander Hayes carrying a dark tablet and evidence folder. A stunned local supervisor trailed behind them.
Every person in the room turned.
Captain Briggs looked at Maddox’s hand hovering over the case.
“Step away from the case.”
Maddox straightened, trying to recover his authority.
“This was routine patrol.”
Lieutenant Commander Hayes raised the tablet.
“Six dispatch orders, bodycam audio, and the roadside video say otherwise.”
The confidence drained from Maddox’s face.
Commander Grant looked from him to the transfer case.
He had not raised his voice.
May you like
He had not needed to.
The record had arrived to speak for him.
