Daniel remained silent.
"Why didn't you report it?"
Davis struggled to answer.
"Because I was afraid."
"Of Miller?"
"Of everyone."
Daniel understood.
Fear was contagious inside institutions.
One person intimidated another.
Another stayed silent.
A third learned that silence was safer than honesty.
Eventually, the entire organization became trained to look away.
Daniel leaned forward.
"Ben."
"Yes, sir."
"You did one important thing."
"What?"
"You spoke when it mattered."
Davis looked up.
"But I should have spoken earlier."
"Yes."
Davis nodded.
"I know."
Daniel did not comfort him with an easy answer.
"You'll have another chance."
Davis looked confused.
"To do what?"
"To become the kind of officer you wanted to be when you entered the academy."
Davis's eyes reddened.
"Thank you."
When he left, Daniel remained alone.
He looked through the window at the city.
The rain had stopped.
For the first time since arriving, Graymont looked almost peaceful.
But Daniel knew appearances could deceive.
Three weeks later, the investigation into Miller uncovered far more than expected.
There were complaints from homeless residents.
There were traffic stops that appeared irregular.
There were missing body-camera recordings.
There were reports of excessive force.
Most disturbing of all, several officers admitted privately that they had been encouraged to "handle problems" informally rather than file reports.
Daniel requested outside investigators.
He wanted no possibility that the department would investigate itself and then declare itself innocent.
The city council resisted.
The police union resisted.
Some senior officers resisted.
One councilman publicly accused Daniel of destroying morale.