“Because he was there to make sure your mother understood that the investigation was not over.”
That afternoon, Sarah examined the photograph and memorandum.
“Daniel Reeves,” she said. “Former intelligence contractor. He worked for several private security firms, including one connected to Donovan Development Group.”
“Can you locate him?”
“His last known business address is an office in Arlington. But the company closed six months ago.”
Victoria pointed to the memorandum.
“Find every connection between Daniel and the old judicial review.”
Sarah nodded.
Then her phone rang.
She listened for a few seconds before her expression changed.
“What happened?” Victoria asked.
“Judge Whitaker's housekeeper has reported a break-in.”
Victoria stood.
“Is Whitaker safe?”
“He's missing.”
Victoria grabbed her coat.
“Call the local field office. I want the property secured immediately.”
Sarah was already moving.
When the team reached Whitaker's house, the front door was open.
The sunroom was empty.
A glass lay broken near the sofa, and one of the bookshelves had been pulled away from the wall. The cabinet where Whitaker had kept his private documents was open.
Victoria walked through the house carefully.
“Judge Whitaker!”
No response.
An agent found the housekeeper in the kitchen. She was frightened but unharmed.
“He was here when I left to collect the groceries,” she explained. “When I came back, the door was open.”
“Did you see anyone?”
“A man was standing near the driveway. I thought he was waiting for a delivery.”
“Can you describe him?”
“He was tall. Gray hair. He had a walking stick.”
Victoria felt her stomach tighten.
“Daniel Reeves.”
Sarah approached with a tablet.
“We found something.”
She showed Victoria a security recording from a camera across the street.
The footage showed a dark vehicle arriving at the property. A man exited and approached the front door.
His face was partially visible.
It was Daniel Reeves.
But there was something else.
A second person was visible in the driver's seat.
Victoria enlarged the image.
The man was wearing a familiar dark suit.
Richard Harlan.
Victoria stared at the screen.
“Harlan is supposed to be in federal custody.”
Sarah nodded.
“According to the detention records, he was transferred to a secure facility this morning.”
“Then who authorized the transfer?”
Sarah checked.
The order had been signed by a senior official in the same security unit that had previously attempted to move Harlan out of the hearing.
Victoria's expression hardened.
“He was never properly secured.”
Sarah looked at her.
“What do we do?”
Victoria stared at the photograph of the two men.
“We find Whitaker. Then we find out how many people are still protecting Reeves.”
At an undisclosed location, Judge Whitaker sat in a chair with his hands tied.
Daniel Reeves stood near a table, examining the memorandum Victoria had taken from the house.
“You should have destroyed this years ago,” Daniel said.
Whitaker looked at him.
“Your father destroyed enough evidence.”
Daniel smiled.
“My father saved this country from a scandal that would have destroyed the judiciary.”
“He destroyed people's lives.”
“He preserved order.”
Whitaker shook his head.
“You have no idea what order means.”
Daniel placed the memorandum on the table.
“Where are the remaining documents?”
“I don't know.”
“Don't lie to me.”
“I gave Victoria everything I had.”
Daniel's smile disappeared.
“Then you have made a serious mistake.”
He turned toward the door.
Richard Harlan entered.
His face was pale, and his expression was furious.
“You told me this document was gone,” Harlan said.
Daniel shrugged.
“I was wrong.”
“Do you understand what happens if Victoria finds out you're involved?”
“She already knows.”
Harlan stepped closer.
“Then we need to finish this.”
Daniel looked at him.
“No. We need to understand what she has.”
“She has enough to destroy us.”
“Not enough.”
Daniel opened a laptop.
On the screen was a photograph of Victoria standing outside her mother's former home.
Harlan stared at it.
“What is that?”
“A reminder that she still has something we need.”
“What?”
Daniel smiled.
“The final recording.”
Harlan's expression changed.
“Her father's recording?”
“No. The one her mother made.”
Whitaker lifted his head.
“You don't know what you're talking about.”
Daniel turned toward him.
“Your friend Eleanor kept a recording of the final conversation she had with Reeves before James died. She believed it would protect her daughter.”
Whitaker's face went pale.
Daniel leaned closer.
“Where did she hide it?”
Whitaker said nothing.
Daniel looked at Harlan.
“Then we'll ask Victoria.”
At the federal facility, Victoria was reviewing the new evidence when an encrypted message appeared on her screen.
There was no sender information.