Chapter 10 - The Foundation
Grant Dunn arrived at police headquarters in a tailored coat and demanded to see Chief Morgan.
She refused.
He waited anyway.
After forty minutes Morgan finally entered the lobby.
Grant stood.
“Angela.”
“Mr. Dunn.”
“You know me better than that.”
“I know you well enough.”
He lowered his voice.
“My son made a mistake.”
Morgan stopped.
“Breaking federal identification?”
“He panicked.”
“Turning off his camera?”
“Bad judgment.”
“Arresting a compliant federal agent before verification?”
Grant’s jaw tightened.
“He’s twenty-nine.”
“So?”
“You remember being young.”
“I don’t remember destroying people’s identification.”
Several officers nearby pretended not to listen.
Grant stepped closer.
“This department has benefited from my support.”
Morgan’s face changed.
There it was.
Not apology.
Leverage.
“The foundation’s support,” he corrected.
“Then why mention it while discussing your son?”
Grant looked around.
“Can we speak privately?”
“No.”
His expression hardened.
“I gave this department three hundred thousand dollars in equipment grants.”
“You donated to a nonprofit.”
“I raised those funds.”
“I’m aware.”
“And I expect fairness.”
“So does every resident Bradley stopped.”
Grant’s mouth tightened.
“You’re sacrificing him because the woman happened to be FBI.”
Morgan took one step closer.
“No. He may lose his career because of what he did before he knew she was FBI.”
Grant had no answer.
Morgan walked away.
That afternoon federal investigators subpoenaed foundation financial records.
The trigger was not Grant’s conversation.
It was a spreadsheet discovered on Raymond Cole’s personal drive.
The file listed donors beside hiring recommendations, promotions and contract notes.
Most entries appeared benign.
Some did not.
BRADLEY DUNN — GRANT DUNN / FOUNDATION — PRIORITY.
Beside it:
BACKGROUND CONCERNS RESOLVED.
Sophia learned about the spreadsheet from Reyes only after its existence became public through a court filing.
She stared at the news report.
Marcus sat beside her.
“Now can I say corruption?”
“You’ve been saying it for a week.”
“And I was right.”
“You enjoy that too much.”
“No. I enjoy you admitting it too little.”
Sophia turned off the television.
“What does Mom think?”
“She thinks we’re both annoying.”
“That sounds right.”
Marcus became serious.
“I’m taking DeShawn’s case.”
Sophia looked at him.
“You already decided?”
“Yes.”
“Against Elmwood?”
“Yes.”
“That creates issues.”
“For whom?”
“For us.”
Marcus folded his arms.
“He needs counsel.”
“There are other attorneys.”
“He asked me.”
Sophia stared.
“Why?”
“Because he saw Dad’s old complaint after I mentioned it to his attorney.”
“You shared Dad’s complaint?”
“It’s our family document.”
“It’s Mom’s.”
“She gave permission.”
Sophia stood.
“This is getting too close.”
Marcus rose too.
“It was close when Dunn put cuffs on you.”
“I am trying to keep our family from becoming part of the case.”
“We already are.”
“No. I am.”
Marcus shook his head.
“That’s your problem.”
“What is?”
“You think being the one with the badge means you’re the only one entitled to carry consequences.”
Sophia’s face hardened.
“That is unfair.”
“Is it?”
“Yes.”
“Dad lost a promotion because he reported misconduct. Mom lived through that. I grew up watching him tell us everything was fine when it wasn’t. Now you’re standing here acting like what happened to you belongs only to you because you know federal procedure.”
Sophia’s voice rose.
“I am trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“From becoming evidence!”
Silence.
Marcus stared.
Sophia immediately regretted the words.
He laughed once.
“Wow.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“It’s exactly what you meant.”
He grabbed his coat.
“Marcus.”
He stopped at the door.
“When Dad filed that complaint, they told him protecting the department meant staying quiet.”
Sophia said nothing.
Marcus continued.
“He didn’t.”
Then he left.
That night Sophia opened the wooden box again.
Her father’s badge caught the kitchen light.
Under it lay another folded paper.
She had not noticed it before.
A handwritten letter.
Evelyn entered and saw it in her hands.
“You found that.”
“What is it?”
“Your father wrote it after he lost the promotion.”
Sophia unfolded it.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
One line stopped her.
A badge does not make you right. It only makes your mistakes more dangerous.
Sophia read it twice.
Then her phone buzzed.
Reyes.
“Dunn’s prior department responded to our subpoena.”
Sophia sat down.
“What did they send?”
“His complete background file.”
“And?”
“There was a recommendation marked confidential.”
Sophia waited.
Reyes’s voice lowered.
“Do not hire for unsupervised patrol.”
Sophia closed her eyes.
“Elmwood had that?”
“Yes.”
“Who signed acknowledging receipt?”
A pause.
“Raymond Cole.”
Sophia looked again at her father’s handwriting.
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The evidence was no longer pointing toward negligence.
It was pointing toward a choice.
