Chapter 5 - The Brother He Chose Not to BelieveTerrence Harrison worked at a two-bay repair shop in Rockford.
Levi found him beneath a lifted Chevrolet.
Only Terrence’s boots were visible.
“Shop’s closed for lunch,” Terrence called.
Levi waited.
The creeper rolled out.
Terrence looked older than forty-four.
Gray touched his beard.
A thin scar crossed his left eyebrow.
Levi suddenly became aware of his own bandage.
Terrence noticed it too.
For several seconds, neither brother spoke.
Then Terrence gave a humorless laugh.
“Look at that.”
“Terrence.”
“Matching scars.”
Levi swallowed.
“I need to talk.”
“No, you need evidence.”
“That too.”
Terrence rolled back under the truck.
Levi stood beside the lift.
“I found your complaint index.”
“Congratulations.”
“The pages are missing.”
“Imagine that.”
“Mercer handled it.”
The creeper stopped.
Terrence rolled out again.
“So now you believe me?”
“I believe something was buried.”
Terrence stood.
“Careful. That still isn’t the same sentence.”
Levi looked at him.
“I should’ve listened.”
Terrence grabbed a rag and wiped his hands.
“You were a detective then.”
“Yes.”
“You sat across from me in Mom’s kitchen.”
Levi remembered.
“You said cops don’t risk their careers making things up.”
“I was wrong.”
Terrence’s jaw tightened.
“You said if I hadn’t done anything, the system would prove it.”
Levi lowered his eyes.
“I was wrong.”
“I took a plea.”
“I know.”
“You know what I pled to?”
“Resisting.”
“You know why?”
Levi could not answer.
Terrence did.
“Because the prosecutor told me if I fought the battery charge and lost, I could go to prison.”
Levi’s throat tightened.
“I know.”
“No, you know the paperwork. You don’t know what happened.”
Terrence pointed at the scar above his eye.
“Jenkins wasn’t the worst one.”
“Crowe?”
Terrence nodded.
“He stopped me because one taillight was out. Asked where I got the car. I told him it was mine. He kept asking.”
“What happened next?”
“He ordered me out.”
“Why?”
“He said I looked nervous.”
Terrence laughed bitterly.
“Imagine being Black on the shoulder of a highway with two cops circling you and not looking nervous enough to satisfy them.”
Levi said nothing.
“I asked if I was under arrest.”
“And?”
“Crowe shoved me.”
Terrence’s expression hardened.
“I stumbled. Jenkins grabbed me. I pulled my arm because I didn’t know what he was doing.”
“Then?”
“They beat me.”
The words were simple.
That made them worse.
“Crowe punched me twice. Jenkins drove me into the cruiser. Then they wrote that I attacked Crowe.”
Levi felt sick.
“Was there anyone else there?”
“A tow driver.”
“What company?”
“MidState Recovery.”
Levi’s eyes narrowed.
The name felt familiar.
“Did you keep anything from the case?”
Terrence studied him.
“Why?”
“Because I’m investigating Jenkins.”
“Only Jenkins?”
Levi hesitated.
Terrence saw it.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“That thing you do.”
“What thing?”
“You decide how much truth you can afford before you ask for it.”
Levi exhaled slowly.
“I’m investigating whoever the evidence reaches.”
Terrence stared at him for a long moment.
Then he walked toward a metal cabinet.
He removed an envelope.
Inside were old photographs of his injuries, court receipts and an impound invoice.
MidState Recovery.
Four hundred eighty dollars.
Levi turned the receipt over.
A handwritten notation appeared on the back.
BDJ.
“What’s this?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who wrote it?”
“The guy at the tow yard.”
Terrence watched Levi study it.
“You want the strange part?”
“Yes.”
“I called that company two years later because I was buying an old truck from auction.”
“And?”
“The owner’s name was Jenkins.”
Levi looked up.
“Bradley?”
“No.”
May you like
![92 The Girl They Called Broke Was a Billionaire’s Daughter—But Her Father’s Arrival Exposed a Secret Powerful People Had Buried for Years]](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_590/2026/11/clone-0-0915d882-53d7-4d17-b43a-a010ca1a1068.webp)
Terrence smiled without humor.
“His older brother.”
Related Stories
