“I think the better question is how many false reports you’ve signed in the last five years.”
His face went slack for a fraction of a second.
Then hard again.
“I’m warning you.”
Claire leaned forward just a little.
“I know.”
The silence stretched.
Then she said the two words that cracked the room open.
“Hollow Shield.”
Kessler went still.
Dugan’s hand slipped off the doorknob.
Even the air felt different after that.
Operation Hollow Shield.
The name of the federal case.
Classified outside a very small circle.
Not something an ordinary suspect could know.
Not something a dirty detective wanted to hear spoken aloud in an interview room at nearly midnight.
Kessler’s voice came out smaller than before.
“Where did you hear that?”
Claire held his eyes.
“From the people building it.”
He stood up so fast his chair scraped the floor.
Dugan opened the door.
