Chapter 17 - Seven Thousand Five Hundred DollarsTerrence stared at the ledger copy without touching it.
“That’s what I cost?”
Levi stood beside him in the repair shop.
“Seven thousand five hundred.”
Terrence laughed.
“I thought maybe more.”
“Don’t.”
“What?”
“Make it a joke.”
“If I don’t joke, I break something.”
Levi understood.
The ledger showed MidState paid Blue Lantern $7,500 one week after Terrence withdrew his misconduct complaint.
Except Terrence had never withdrawn it.
The database said he had.
That meant someone forged the withdrawal.
Investigators found the scanned form.
The signature looked like Terrence’s.
It was not.
A handwriting expert confirmed likely simulation.
Mercer admitted Dwyer ordered him to create the document.
“Why?” Ruiz asked.
Mercer replied, “Because Renee Harrison had started calling Internal Affairs.”
Levi read that line alone in his office.
Renee had fought harder for Terrence than he had.
His wife.
His brother.
Both had seen something he refused to see.
For years Levi had described himself as principled.
Now he wondered how much of principle was courage and how much was comfort.
That night Naomi returned.
“I’m sorry about Mom’s letter.”
Levi nodded.
“You were right to publish the full context.”
She looked surprised.
“I should’ve told you first.”
“Yes.”
They sat quietly.
Then Levi said, “You were right about something else.”
“That narrows it down.”
He smiled faintly.
“I decide what pain people are allowed to know.”
Naomi’s expression softened.
“Mom wrote that?”
Levi looked at her.
“You read everything?”
“Not everything.”
He showed her the page.
Naomi read it.
For a moment she looked like a child again.
“She understood you.”
“Too well.”
Naomi sat beside him.
“Dad, you know why I was so angry after the arrest?”
“Because of Terrence.”
“Partly.”
She looked down.
“When Mom was dying, you kept telling me she was stable.”
Levi closed his eyes.
“I thought I was protecting you.”
“I know.”
“I didn’t want you terrified every day.”
“But I missed conversations I could’ve had with her because I thought we had more time.”
Levi looked at his daughter.
The accusation was not loud.
It did not need to be.
“I’m sorry.”
Naomi nodded.
“I know.”
This time those words sounded different from Terrence saying them.
Not absolution.
Possibility.
Levi reached for her hand.
She let him take it.
His phone rang.
Ruiz.
“We have Dwyer.”
Levi stood.
“Arrested?”
“Not yet.”
“What happened?”
“He came in with attorneys.”
“Why?”
“He wants a cooperation agreement.”
Levi’s expression hardened.
“Against who?”
“That’s the problem.”
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Ruiz paused.
“He says the corruption goes above him.”
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