“Without cause.”
“We had reasonable suspicion.”
“Of what?”
Grant opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Victoria stepped closer.
“Your body cameras were active, correct?”
Neither officer answered.
She looked toward the patrol car.
“Then preserve the footage.”
Grant’s expression changed again.
“Why?”
“Because I’m requesting it.”
Miller swallowed.
Victoria continued.
“And don’t contact anyone from Northstar Highway Services.”
That was the moment both men stopped pretending this was a misunderstanding.
Grant stared at her.
“How do you know about Northstar?”
Victoria said nothing.
Miller looked at Grant.
Grant looked back.
Their silence told her everything.
The accountant never arrived at the meeting.
His name was Peter Walsh.
He had worked for Northstar Highway Services for eleven years.
Three days earlier, he had contacted Victoria through an encrypted government channel.
He claimed he possessed original invoices proving that millions of dollars in public funds had been diverted.
He also said he was afraid.
“I thought it was just inflated billing,” Peter had written.
“Then I found payments to people who were supposed to investigate the company.”
Victoria had asked him to preserve every document.
Peter agreed.
Then, two hours before their scheduled meeting, he stopped responding.
His phone went directly to voicemail.
His office was empty.
And now two officers connected to Northstar had stopped Victoria without explanation.
The timing was impossible to ignore.
Victoria called her supervisor.
“Marianne, I need an emergency review of an incident.”
Her supervisor immediately recognized the seriousness in her voice.
“What happened?”
Victoria looked at the two officers standing beside their patrol vehicle.
“I was stopped, forcibly removed from my car, and handcuffed without being given a reason. The officers attempted to prevent me from recording the encounter.”
Marianne was silent for a moment.
“Are you injured?”
“My wrists are bruised. Nothing serious.”
“Did they identify themselves?”
“No.”
“Do you have the patrol vehicle number?”
Victoria read it aloud.
Marianne’s tone changed.
“Victoria, don’t confront them further. Send me the recording immediately.”
“I will.”
“And Victoria?”
“Yes?”
“Do not drive anywhere alone until we know what’s happening.”
Victoria looked toward Grant.
He was pretending not to listen.
“Understood.”
That evening, Victoria’s supervisor assembled an emergency team.
The investigation expanded immediately.
The officers’ names were Grant Holloway and Daniel Miller.
Both worked for the county traffic division.
Their employment records were reviewed.
Grant had received several unusual overtime payments during the previous year.
