“I need background on someone.”
“Who?”
“Hadley Lockwood.”
“Reason?”
“HOA president. Briarwood Glen.”
Mercer paused.
“Give me four days.”
Four days later, Mercer returned with a thick folder.
He placed it on Sterling's desk.
“Chief, you need to sit down.”
Sterling opened the folder.
Hadley had a history.
Vehicle complaints.
Property disputes.
Residents pressured into selling vehicles.
Repeated HOA fines.
And then Mercer showed him something more disturbing.
Money.
Large amounts of HOA fines were flowing into a development company connected to Hadley's husband, Whit Lockwood.
That company was purchasing properties from homeowners drowning in HOA debt.
Sterling leaned back.
“They're forcing people into selling.”
“That appears to be the pattern.”
Sterling closed the folder.
Suddenly the Mustang made sense.
Hadley hadn't simply wanted a classic car.
She wanted to know whether Sterling could be pressured.
She had chosen the wrong target.
The Mustang Becomes Bait
Sterling immediately stepped away from the investigation.
Detective Holt Bramwell from Major Crimes took over.
The district attorney's office was informed.
Sheriff investigators began examining the Lockwoods' financial records.
Sterling became a witness.
And something else.
Bait.
The investigators believed Hadley might eventually create evidence herself.
They didn't have to wait long.
One Saturday morning, Tate received a message from a friend.
Bryson had been asking around.
He wanted people willing to claim they had witnessed Sterling selling the Mustang.
The friend refused.
Sterling listened carefully.
Then he nodded.
“Good.”
Tate stared at him.
“Good?”
“She thinks she needs witnesses.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means she's about to make a mistake.”
Holt agreed.
They decided to let Hadley act.
Sterling moved the Mustang halfway into the driveway.
He left the garage open.