He compared timestamps.
Traffic cameras.
Vehicle movements.
Security footage.
Piece by piece, the black truck emerged from the shadows.
The license plate had been partially covered.
But not completely.
Enough digits remained.
The truck belonged to Dave Thompson.
A former private security guard.
A history of misconduct.
A previous assault complaint.
His passenger was identified as Ken Rudolph.
Nick created a digital evidence archive.
Photographs.
Emails.
Vehicle records.
Messages.
Names.
Dates.
Everything.
Nothing was left undocumented.
He contacted a civil-rights attorney.
Then a journalist.
But the story didn't spread.
Not yet.
Kelly Mason had friends in city government.
She sat on a planning committee.
People trusted her.