Marcus stood above him breathing hard.
“We didn’t make you demand money.”
“You baited me!”
“We didn’t invent your customs alert.”
Rourke cursed.
“You brought a fake truck!”
“You chose to stop it.”
The cuffs closed.
Marcus continued.
“We didn’t tell you to threaten impoundment.”
Rourke twisted his head toward Eli.
“Tell them what this was.”
Eli stood beside the cruiser.
His hands were still raised.
Rourke shouted again.
“Tell them!”
Eli lowered his arms slowly.
Then said, “He’s done it before.”
Rourke stopped struggling.
Dana turned.
“How many times?”
Eli looked at the pavement.
“A lot.”
That was where the roadside sting ended.
The larger case began immediately.
Eli requested a lawyer when agents separated him from Rourke. Nobody tried talking him out of it. Then, before counsel arrived, investigators informed him that federal warrants had already allowed technicians to preserve body-camera data routed through the county’s private storage system.
Eli sat inside the surveillance van for nearly twenty minutes.
Then he asked Dana a question.
“If I tell you what happened to Tomas Vargas, can you keep Rourke away from me?”
Dana did not make promises.
“Tell the truth first.”
Eli stared at his hands.
“I didn’t kill him.”
Nobody spoke.
Dana leaned forward.
“Who did?”
Eli swallowed.
“Captain Vance.”
Marcus stood just outside the open van door.
He closed his eyes.
The answer was worse than he had hoped.
Eli began slowly.
Tomas had refused to pay the roadside demand.
When he reached for his phone, Rourke dragged him from the cab.
Eli searched the trailer and found a shipment of specialized medical imaging equipment worth nearly ninety thousand dollars.
Rourke wanted it.