CHAPTER 1 — “LET’S MAKE THIS EASY.”
The sun was sinking behind the hills when the police cruiser pulled onto the shoulder.
Its red and blue lights flashed across the dusty road, reflecting off the side of a blue pickup truck parked beneath a row of old oak trees.
An older man stood beside the driver’s door.
He looked completely ordinary.
Gray hair.
Weathered face.
Dark work jacket.
No jewelry.
No expensive watch.
Nothing about him suggested wealth, authority, or danger.
The police officer standing in front of him saw exactly what he wanted to see.
An easy target.
Officer Derek Cole slowly stepped closer.
He was in his late thirties, broad-shouldered, confident, and accustomed to making people nervous.
Behind him stood his younger partner, Officer Ryan Miller.
Ryan looked uncomfortable.
He had been uncomfortable for the last ten minutes.
But he hadn't said anything.
Cole stopped directly in front of the older man.
Then he reached out and lightly tapped the man's jacket.
“Let's make this easy.”
The older man looked at him.
His expression didn't change.
“Is that what we're doing?”
Cole smiled.
“Depends on you.”
He glanced toward the pickup.
“Nice truck.”
The older man said nothing.
Cole lowered his voice.
“You know what happens if I decide to make this complicated?”
Ryan shifted uneasily behind him.
“Derek…”
Cole raised one hand.
“Stay out of it.”
Ryan immediately fell silent.
The older man calmly reached into his pocket and pulled out a brown leather wallet.
Cole's eyes followed it.
“Identification.”
The older man handed it over.
Cole opened the wallet.
Inside was a driver's license.
Several cards.
And a thick stack of cash.
Hundred-dollar bills.
Cole's eyes changed.
The older man noticed.
Of course he noticed.
Cole slowly counted the money with his thumb.
“One…”
“Two…”
He stopped.
There were twenty hundred-dollar bills.
Two thousand dollars.
Cole looked up.
“Two grand.”
The older man stared at him.
Cole held the cash between two fingers.
“Your choice.”
Ryan's face tightened.
“Officer, that's not—”
Cole turned sharply.
“You want to finish that sentence?”
Ryan swallowed.
“No.”
“Good.”
Cole turned back.
The older man still hadn't moved.
“You're saying I can give you the money,” the man said calmly, “and this goes away?”
Cole smiled.
“Now you're understanding.”
There was something strange about the man's voice.
Too calm.
Too controlled.
But Cole interpreted it as fear.
He pulled the cash completely from the wallet.
Then he folded the bills and slipped them into his uniform pocket.
He handed the empty wallet back.
“Have a good evening.”
Cole turned around.
Ryan followed reluctantly.
The two officers began walking toward the cruiser.
The older man remained beside his truck.
Silent.
Still.
Watching.
Cole was almost at the driver's door when the older man pulled out a smartphone.
He pressed one contact.
The call connected immediately.
He raised the phone to his ear.
His voice remained completely calm.
“It's me.”
Cole froze.
The older man looked toward the cruiser.
“We have enough evidence.”
Ryan stopped walking.
Cole slowly turned his head.
His expression changed instantly.
The older man's face was no longer that of a helpless civilian.
It was the face of someone who had just finished an assignment.
Cole stared at him.
Then at the phone.
Then at Ryan.
“What did you just say?”
The older man lowered the phone.
“You heard me.”
Cole's hand moved instinctively toward his weapon.
The older man didn't react.
“Who are you?”
The man reached inside his jacket.
Cole stepped backward.
Ryan immediately raised both hands.
“Derek, don't.”
The older man pulled out a small black badge wallet.
He opened it.
The gold emblem caught the last orange light of sunset.
“Senior Inspector Daniel Mercer.”
Cole's face went pale.
Daniel continued.
“Internal Affairs Division.”
Ryan stared.