Page 68 of In the Dark of the Past

I shook my head. “I think they already did.” I pointed to the image of the Polaroid still open on my monitor.

River’s pulse fluttered under the delicate skin of her throat. “So, we need to assume the prosecutor’s office is compromised.”

“Yeah,” I said grimly. “We do. And probably my department, too. Fuck.” I shoved my hand through my hair again. At this rate, I wouldn’t have any left.

A knock on the door made both of us start.

“Yeah,” I called.

Atlas opened the door and leaned a shoulder on the frame, scanning our faces. “Everything good in here?”

“No,” I said. “Get in.”

River shifted so he could come in. He closed the door and then dropped into the sofa against the wall.

“So. Graham Meyer came sniffing, huh?” Atlas said. “Saw him leaving on my way in. He looked like a cat chewing tinfoil.”

“That’s generous,” I muttered.

Atlas stretched out his legs, crossing his boots at the ankles. “Tell me how deep the shit runs.”

“Deep enough,” I said. “Someone’s paying a little too much attention to River, and someone—or several someones—seem to know only things those in the know would know, if you know what I mean.”

Atlas chuckled, but his expression barely shifted. Still, the muscle in his jaw ticked.

“Take a look at this,” I said, pointing to my monitor. Atlas got up and rounded the desk to look at what I pointed at. “There’s someone in the reflection here on River’s office door. I’ve ruled out some based on proportions.”

River inhaled slowly. “I did, too. But who does that leave?”

Atlas looked between us. “The list isn’t that long, is it?”

“From the DA’s office, Graham and Sean. I really, really don’t want to think my brother’s involved, but I can’t remove either of them. From this office, our two dispatch operators, the two part-timers, and...”

“And who?” Atlas asked.

“Vale,” I said.

River blinked. “Wait... Jordyn Vale? The officer you hired in December? The one we ran into at the trailhead?”

I nodded.

Atlas frowned. “You think Jordyn’s dirty?”

“I think,” I said carefully, “she transferred from a department with a suspiciously high number of sealed IA files, and her interview answers were polished enough to have footnotes. And she showed up right before the Watchers got a sudden uptick in resources.”

River’s brows pulled tight. “But why her? And why put someone inside the sheriff’s department at all? You guys weren’t working this case. The club was.”

“This isn’t just about Eleanor. There’s no way it is. Someone here could monitor complaints,” Atlas said. “Steer cases. Bury evidence.”

“Keep an eye on me,” I added quietly. “And by extension, the rest of us.”

Silence stretched, thin and razor-sharp.

River broke it first. “Then let’s root her out.”

“It’s not that simple,” I said. “If we accuse her too early, we’ll lose our only window into their movements. If she realizes we’re on to her, she’ll go to ground.”

“And warn the others,” Atlas added.