Chapter 14 - THE BETRAYAL MARK NEVER EXPECTED
Friday morning, Mark called me before the hearing.
His voice sounded wrong.
“Lucy, I need to tell you something before you hear it from somebody else.”
“What happened?”
“They pulled me from active duty.”
I sat down.
“Why?”
“Evidence handling.”
“What evidence?”
“The body-camera file.”
My stomach dropped.
“They’re saying I copied it without authorization.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“But someone leaked it.”
“Yes.”
“Do they think it was you?”
“Yes.”
I remembered the anonymous audio.
The photo of Alex entering Valerie’s building.
The leaked camera timestamp.
Someone had been feeding information to the press.
“Who else had access?”
“Command staff.”
“Alex?”
“Not officially.”
Not officially.
That phrase mattered.
The hearing began at ten.
I testified at eleven fifteen.
Alex sat across the room in dress uniform.
No ring.
No medals except the ones required.
I told the panel everything.
When I finished, Alex’s union attorney stood.
“Mrs. Davis, is it true Firefighter Reed has developed a personal relationship with you?”
I stared at him.
“No.”
“He visited you in the hospital.”
“Yes.”
“He brought you coffee.”
I almost laughed.
“Yes.”
“He communicated details about the investigation.”
“He gave me his statement regarding my rescue.”
The attorney held up a printed page.
“Did he also send you this?”
A screenshot appeared on the monitor.
It was one of the anonymous messages.
YOU DON’T KNOW THE WHOLE STORY.
ASK ALEX WHY HE WAS AT ST. CATHERINE’S WITH ME ON MARCH 14.
“No.”
The attorney turned.
“The department has traced this number to a prepaid device purchased near Firefighter Reed’s home.”
Mark stood abruptly.
“That’s not mine.”
The chair ordered him to sit.
My pulse accelerated.
Someone was framing him.
Then the attorney produced security footage.
A hooded man entered a convenience store.
Purchased a prepaid phone.
Same height as Mark.
Same build.
Face hidden.
The room shifted.
Alex looked at Mark.
Mark looked stunned.
Then Valerie entered through the rear doors.
Everyone turned.
She walked straight to the investigators.
“I know who bought that phone.”
The union attorney froze.
Captain Torres stood.
Valerie looked at Alex.
For the first time, he looked afraid of her.
May you like
She pointed.
“He did.”
