Kessler set a thick file on the table like he was dropping a weight.
Dugan stood by the door.
Hale stayed outside at first.
Claire sat.
Her cuffed hands rested on the table.
Kessler flipped the file open.
“You’ve been busy.”
Claire looked at the papers upside down.
Fake surveillance notes.
Manufactured timelines.
Made-up confidential informants.
A joke written in official language.
He tapped one page.
“You want to tell me where you got the cocaine?”
“I didn’t.”
He tapped another.
“Witnesses place traffic at your home.”
“There are no witnesses.”
His nostrils flared.
“You seem very sure.”
“I watched you invent the evidence. It’s not a huge leap from there.”
Dugan laughed under his breath, but it sounded thin.
Kessler leaned back.
“Maybe this all goes better if you stop acting like you’re smarter than everyone.”
Claire tilted her head.
“Are you asking for cooperation or obedience?”
