Chapter 5 - The Captain's Mistake
That evening, Captain Landry was summoned for questioning.
He entered the federal conference room looking confident.
Until he saw Clara.
“You.”
“Yes.”
“You're leading this?”
Clara didn't answer.
An investigator placed a transcript on the table.
Landry read it.
His face changed.
The transcript contained his own words.
Leave the weapon language out.
He pushed the paper away.
“This is taken out of context.”
“Then explain the context.”
“I was trying to prevent escalation.”
“By hiding evidence?”
“No.”
“By instructing an officer to omit a weapon?”
Landry remained silent.
Clara placed another document on the table.
“Dispatch records.”
Then another.
“Body-camera footage.”
Then another.
“Evidence logs.”
Finally, she placed the photograph of Helena's injuries in front of him.
“You arrested the injured person.”
Landry stared at it.
“She was accused.”
“She was also injured.”
“That doesn't mean she was innocent.”
“No.”
Clara leaned closer.
“But it means you had a duty to investigate objectively.”
Landry's confidence disappeared.
An investigator asked:
“Why did you tell Officer Harris to omit the weapon?”
Landry looked at Clara.
“I didn't think the weapon was important.”
Clara's expression remained emotionless.
“A baseball bat used in an alleged assault isn't important?”
He didn't answer.
Then came the final question.
“Who contacted you?”
Landry swallowed.
“What?”
“Who called you before you arrived?”
“No one.”
Clara slid a phone record across the table.
A call had been made from Arthur's phone.
Then another from Brooke.
Landry had spoken with both before the arrest was entered.
The room went silent.
Landry finally whispered:
“Arthur asked me to help.”
Clara stared at him.
“Why?”
“He said Brooke was afraid.”
“So you protected her.”
“Yes.”
“And arrested Helena.”
“I made a mistake.”
Clara shook her head.
“No.”
She gathered the papers.
“A mistake happens once.”
She looked directly at him.
“This was a sequence of decisions.”
May you like
Landry lowered his eyes.
And the investigation moved forward.
