I didn't report it. I didn't even tell anyone I'd seen it. I was scared of what they'd do to me if I said something. Alice sat quietly for a moment, letting the confession settle between them. "I'm not asking you to forgive me," Dove continued, her voice shaking slightly.
"I just needed you to know the truth, and I want to help you now, however I can. " Quietly, "I don't want this to blow up my career, but I can't sit back and watch it happen again either. " Alice studied her for a long moment. She could have been angry. Part of her wanted to be, but anger wouldn't get her anywhere with the people who actually mattered. "Thank you for telling me," Alice said finally. "That took guts. " "So, you're not upset," Dove asked.
"I'm not going to pretend it doesn't sting," Alice admitted. "But you're here now. That matters more to me than what you didn't do back then. " Dove let out a breath. Some of the tension leaving her shoulders. I need people I can trust in this building, Alice said.
People who will tell me the truth even when it's ugly. Can you be that for me? Yes, Dove said. Whatever you need. Then let's keep this between us for now, Alice said.
No announcements, no taking sides where anyone can see. Just watch, listen, and come to me if you notice anything worth knowing. Dove nodded, standing up from her chair. At the door, she paused and looked back. For what it's worth, Captain.
I'm glad you came back. Alice didn't answer right away. She just gave a small nod, watching Dove slip out and closed the door quietly behind her. Alone again, Alice looked out her office window at the parking lot below. At the row of patrol cars lined up for the next shift.
She finally had someone on the inside. Now it was time to see who else in this building was ready to tell the truth. The grievance started small. A complaint about scheduling filed through the union rep claiming Alice had assigned shifts unfairly. Then another saying she'd been disrespectful during a routine review.
Then a third, vague and unsigned, accusing her of favoritism toward certain officers. Alice read each one carefully at her desk, spotting the pattern immediately. None of them held up under scrutiny. All of them were designed to make noise, not prove anything. She started hearing whispers, too.
Officers going quiet when she walked past the breakroom. A patrol officer she barely knew glancing away fast in the parking lot. One afternoon, passing by an open doorway, she caught the tail end of a conversation between two officers she didn't recognize. Heard she only got the captain's spot because the department needed the optics. You know how it is now.