Chapter 108 Evidence Once More
Violet
A hand is shaking my shoulder.
Hard.
“Violet. Violet. Wake up.”
I groan into the pillow, half tangled in the blankets. My brain feels like it’s still underwater somewhere between sleep and whatever the hell happened earlier tonight.
“Camille,” Rowan mutters somewhere behind me, his voice thick with sleep and irritation. “If this isn’t life-threatening—”
“It is!” Camille hisses. “Get up!”
I crack one eye open.
The bedroom lights are on. Camille is standing beside the bed in one of Theo’s oversized hoodies, hair a wild mess, eyes wide and practically glowing with excitement.
Theo is behind her in the doorway.
He looks like he’s been dragged out of bed against his will.
Literally.
His shirt is wrinkled, his hair sticking up in three different directions, and he’s rubbing his face like he hasn’t slept in days.
“What time is it?” I mumble.
“Three in the morning,” Theo groans.
Camille claps her hands once.
“Everyone downstairs. Now.”
Rowan sits up beside me, running a hand down his face.
I push the blankets back and climb out of bed while Rowan grabs his phone from the nightstand.
“If this is another one of your conspiracy rabbit holes—” Theo starts.
“It’s not,” Camille interrupts. “It’s evidence.”
Now everyone’s awake.
Rowan is already dialing someone as we head down the stairs.
“Devin,” he says into the phone the moment the line connects. “Put me on speaker and stay on the call.”
There’s a pause. Then Devin’s calm voice crackles through the phone. “I assume this is important.”
Camille is already in the kitchen when we arrive.
Her “workstation” has taken over the entire table.
It looks like a disaster zone. Soda cans. Chip bags. Food wrappers. Three laptops. Two external hard drives. A glowing monitor filled with files. The smell of stale energy drinks hangs in the air.
Theo stares at it. “…what the hell happened here?”
Camille waves him off. “Focus.”
Rowan sets his phone on the table so Devin can hear everything.
“I'm here,” he says.
Camille spins her chair around dramatically. Her eyes are shining. “I found it.”
Theo crosses his arms. “You say that a lot.”
“Not like this,” she replies.
She taps the keyboard.
The big monitor flickers. A timeline appears. Photos. Documents. Dates. Names.
“Okay,” Camille says, pointing at the screen. “Let’s start simple.”
She zooms in on three names.
HARGROVE
CALDER
UNKNOWN
“There are three major players here,” she says. “Councilwoman Hargrove, Detective Calder… and someone inside the police department helping them.”
Rowan leans slightly forward. “Go on.”
Camille clicks a file. Photos appear. Parking garage. Late night. Two people standing beside a car.
Hargrove.
And Calder.
Theo whistles. “Well that’s not subtle.”
Camille nods. “These were taken over the last year. They’ve met at least eight times that I could verify.”
She opens another file. Bank records appear. Highlighted transfers. Shell companies.
“This,” she says, tapping the screen, “is money.”
Devin’s voice cuts in through the phone. “Source?”
“Shell corporation linked to Hargrove’s campaign donors,” Camille replies instantly.
Theo frowns. “So she’s paying Calder?”
“Correct.”
“For what?” Rowan asks.
Camille smirks. “For being her personal attack dog.”
She flips to the next set of files. Construction permits. City zoning approvals. Highlighted companies.
“Developers pay Hargrove,” Camille explains. “She fast-tracks their permits.”
Theo leans closer. “And the competitors?”
She clicks another column. “Denied. Delayed. Buried in paperwork.”
Rowan’s eyes narrow. “Bribery.”
“Exactly,” Camille says. “Political corruption 101.”
Devin speaks again from the phone. “And Calder’s role?”
Camille clicks again. More photos appear. Men meeting in alleyways. Developers looking nervous.
“This,” she says, “is intimidation.”
Theo mutters, “Jesus.”
Camille spins the chair slightly toward us. “When someone doesn’t play along with Hargrove’s system… Calder handles it.”
Rowan’s voice is quiet. “And the police department?”
Camille nods. “That’s where our mystery player comes in.”
She opens another folder. Photos fill the screen. My heart stops.
It’s Drew. My brother.
Standing beside a man in a police uniform. Passing him an envelope. Another photo. Another meeting. Another envelope.
“What…” My voice cracks. “What is that?”
Camille softens slightly. “Violet… your brother was a CI.”
Silence crashes into the room.
Theo straightens. “A confidential informant?”
Camille nods. “For the police department.”
She zooms in on the photos. “Those envelopes?” she says gently. “Information.”
Rowan’s jaw tightens beside me.
Theo mutters, “Holy shit.”
Devin’s voice is quieter now. “Which officer?”
Camille enlarges the badge in the photo.
The Police Chief.
Theo exhales slowly. “Oh this just got worse.”
Camille nods again. “Your brother was feeding information to the department about corruption in the city.”
My chest feels tight. “About Hargrove?”
Camille clicks another file. Documents appear. Photos. Financial records.
“Yes,” she says softly. “Drew figured out Hargrove was taking bribes from developers and manipulating permits.”
Rowan asks quietly, “How close was he to proving it?”
Camille clicks another folder. Very close. Emails. Recordings. Photos.
Theo runs a hand through his hair. “He had everything.”
Camille nods. “He was about to turn it over.”
My stomach drops.
Rowan says the next words slowly. “And someone leaked his identity?”
Camille looks at him. “Yes.”
She highlights another file. A witness list. Several names marked. Deceased. Missing. Closed cases.
My brother’s name sits near the bottom.
Theo stares at the screen. “…that’s a hit list.”
Camille nods. “And guess who appears right before Drew dies.”
She clicks again. A photo appears.
Calder. Leaving Drew’s apartment building. Late at night.
The room goes completely silent.
Rowan’s voice is ice. “Calder killed him.”
Camille exhales slowly. “That’s my working theory.”
I feel like the floor just disappeared under my feet.
Theo mutters, “Jesus Christ.”
Devin’s voice comes through the phone again. “Camille… can you prove it?”
She leans back in her chair. “I can prove Drew was a CI.” She taps the screen. “I can prove he was collecting evidence on Hargrove.” Another tap. “I can prove Calder was meeting her regularly.” Another. “And I can prove Calder was at Drew’s apartment the night he died.”
Theo stares at her. “And the police chief?”
Camille shrugs. “That part we still need.” Then she grins slightly. “But I’m working on it. However, I'm having a hard time believing it was the Police Chef who leaked Drew's idenity.”