Page 71 of The Writer

Declan’s heart is racing. He knew he’d be vindicated, but it still feels good to finally be there, hear it all out loud. Now it’s time to pound in the next nail. He tells Saffi and his union rep, “I want to know how that man got my file. If the two of you can’t figure that out, I’ll be hiring outside counsel to represent me. You can expect a lawsuit. Nobody deserves to go through what I have.”

Daniels raises both hands defensively. “Now, wait a minute—”

“Someone sold my personal information to that asshole. I’ve been wrecked in the press and here internally. All this bullshit around Lucero and IAU, you can bet Hoffman was behind that too. I’m done being everyone’s punching bag.”

Saffi leans back in her seat. “Denise Morrow said you were working with Hoffman. Hoffman told her that. He said you were his partner.”

Declan snickers. “I’m no lawyer, but that’s hearsay, right? Unless you got Hoffman on record with that bullshit, it’s meaningless. I’ve been screamingsetupfrom the start of all this, and Cordova just proved it.” He jerks a finger toward the door. “My gut says he got my file from Harrison. Here’s hoping it wasn’t one of you.”

On the phone, Cordova clears his throat.“There’s something else.”

Daniels is ready to jump across the table; he’s fuming, but he says nothing. Neither does Saffi. Selling an officer’s file is career-ending. It could lead to criminal charges.

“You still there?”Cordova asks.

Finally, Daniels says, “Go ahead, Detective.”

“Hoffman also has detailed blueprints for the Beresford. Old. I don’t think they came from the Department of Buildings. They might be originals. They’re far more detailed than the ones we pulled. Saffi, can you meet me down there?”

“I’m going too,” Declan says. He stares at Daniels defiantly.“I’m going too.”

Daniels does not object.

“Use the Eighty-Second Street entrance,”Cordova tells them.“Not the one that takes you to the Morrow apartment—go to the service entrance.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

TWENTY MINUTES LATER, Declan and ADA Saffi cross Central Park West toward the Beresford, and he’s still fuming. Talking it out with Saffi after they left the precinct just made Declan angrier. All those things in Hoffman’s safe were damning,but his employee file? He knows that’s the kicker, and he plays it up. It’s his ticket to making a bunch of problems disappear. He laces his voice with anger as he tells her, “Come on, you know it was either Harrison or Daniels. Who else had access?”

Walking faster, Saffi starts to tick off people on her fingers. “Your lieutenant’s boss, your lieutenant’s boss’s boss, whoever is above them, their assistants, the department shrinks, file clerks, secretaries, janitor with a screwdriver… come on, Dec,if you wanted to walk a file out of there, you know you could. Anyone could have pulled it.”

“It wasn’t just anybody. It was Harrison or Daniels.”

“We’ll follow the money,” Saffi states flatly. “Cordova found more than enough to get Hoffman’s financials. Nobody gave him that file out of the goodness of their heart—they got paid. We’ll figure it out.”

They won’t find any money to follow, Declan is sure of that. “I doubt he cut a personal check. Hoffman was many things, but an idiot wasn’t one of them.”

They stop at the corner, waiting for the light. Both are quiet for a moment, then Declan asks, “What do you think this means for the IAU investigation?”

Saffi is silent for a beat, then kicks at the edge of the sidewalk. “You want my honest opinion?”

Declan nods.

“This is so far off the record that if you repeat it to anyone, I will have you killed. You get me? You don’t tell a soul what I’m about to tell you. Not even Cordova.”

“It stays between us. I swear.”

“If I were you, I’d use this as leverage. If IAU continues to come at you, you file a suit against the department on the stolen employee file. They drop it, you drop it. It’s called mutually assured destruction. Both sides have a finger on the nuke button but nobody presses because nobody wants to deal with the consequences. You’ll have your shield back untainted, and there’s zero chance they’ll hold you down in the coming years on rank. Just the opposite—they’ll promote you to keep you happy. You’ve got the department by the short-and-curlies,Declan. Hell, if this happened to me, I’d be running the DA’s office inside of two years or on a beach somewhere.”

This is exactly what Denise said would happen.

Declan tries not to smile.

When the light changes, they cross with the crowd, and Saffi says, “I need to prep for the blowback on Hoffman. The way they found him,whatthey found with him. When the press gets wind of all that, my office will get bombarded.”

“Do you think Lucero walks on all this?”

Saffi blows out a breath. “Honestly, I don’t know. His attorney will file an appeal for sure. Odds are he’ll get a new trial, but the evidence against him is still damning. Geller Hoffman gives the defense another suspect, that’s reasonable doubt, but it doesn’t mean a jury will buy it. It’s too early to guess how all this will play out.”

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