CHAPTER 3 — THE COP WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Detective Marcus Hale did not sleep that night.
The photograph lay on his desk like a bomb.
Daniel Carter stood in a school hallway at 10:17 a.m., surrounded by students.
The bank robbery happened across town at 10:19 a.m.
Two minutes.
No man could be in both places.
Marcus whispered, “Then why did every piece of evidence point to him?”
He replayed the security footage again.
The robber moved like Daniel.
Walked like Daniel.
Even turned his head like Daniel.
But then Marcus noticed something small.
The robber never used his left hand.
Not once.
Daniel was left-handed.
Marcus rushed to the evidence room.
But when he arrived, the fingerprint file was gone.
The DNA sample was gone.
And the officer on duty was missing.
Marcus felt his blood turn cold.
Someone had cleaned the case.
Someone powerful.
At that exact moment, Daniel sat in a holding cell while other inmates stared at him like he was already guilty.
One man stepped close and smiled.
“Bank killer, huh?”
Daniel backed away.
“I didn’t do it.”
The inmate laughed.
“That’s what they all say.”
Before he could touch Daniel, the cell door opened.
An officer appeared.
“Carter. You’re being transferred.”
Daniel stood slowly.
“Transferred where?”
The officer did not answer.
As Daniel walked down the hallway, he saw Detective Marcus waiting near the exit.
Marcus looked at him and said quietly:
May you like
“Trust no one. Not even the badge.”
Then the lights went out.
