"I'm sure we haven't heard the last of this issue. Lieutenant Anderson has a lot to lose. He won't go down without a fight."
"I'm not looking to take him down. I want him to stop using his position of authority to make sexual advancements." She shrugged. Maybe she did want to take him down after all.
Chapter 9
Captain Terrell stood in front of the map and listened as Brody outlined the information he'd just forwarded his team leader. "Do we have options as to housing?"
"Here." Brody pointed to the house at the end of the neighborhood. According to Rayburn's digging, two houses had sold recently. They'd be able to get damn good coverage of both with cameras installed on that house.
"We need a warrant."
"Yeah. I've compiled the information in the zip file I just sent you. I don't know if we can get approval, but I put everything I could into the narrative."
Terrell nodded. "I'll print it up and get it to Judge Freemont. Hell of a good job. I think this will float," he said as he moved to the massive chair behind his desk. "Now about Anderson."
"Sir?"
"He denies everything. I've worked with Logan Anderson a lot of years. He's a womanizer, but I've never seen him push himself on anyone." He held up a hand before Brody could jump in. "But I trust your judgement where Swanson is concerned. So, we're doing it this way until I can find Hardin and Clausen and ask some direct questions. Swanson reports directly to me. Your past eliminates you as a supervisor. I don't want Anderson having anything to do with her. I've told him point blank not to be around her unless there are others present. I'm telling the same thing to Swanson when I inform her I'm her supervisor. I've looked at Swanson's jacket from the DEA. Only commendations and no indication of any improprieties. I also examined Anderson's and evaluated it the same way. Again, commendations and no mention of any difficulties. So, I'm at a standstill for the time being. I'll be talking to Lawrence, Patel and Driggers, and I'll be digging. This isn't over, but it is stalled for the moment."
Lawrence, Patel, and Driggers were the three other women on the team. They were street-toughened cops, and Brody had complete faith they'd be honest with the captain. "I understand. Thank you." He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced to the bullpen where Amber and Rayburn were working. Before he made changes to his life insurance and pushed the paper across his boss' desk, he needed to fill the captain in about Gage, but he wasn't going to tell his supervisor before he told his family. It could wait until Monday.
"You need something else?" Ryker arched an eyebrow.
"Yeah, but it will wait. I have to do some legwork before I bring it to you."
"Perfect. I'm contacting a person I know. He owns a large real estate brokerage firm and construction company. If he doesn't control those agencies, he'll know who does. We need to be rent free. Money is tight, especially with the overtime we've been logging."
Brody peered at his boss. "Ops and payroll from the same pot?"
"No, but when it comes down to paying our team or using the money for operations and equipment, our team comes first. I haven't had to go there, yet." Ryker's forehead furrowed. "The budget this year was a little more than half of last year’s and our workload has doubled."
Brody stared at his shoes. "What would you think about introducing asset forfeiture as a way of funding the unit?"
"What?" Ryker shot him a look.
"That phone call you asked me to make after duty hours. I did. I learned Hope City PD utilizes asset forfeiture. We can request a percentage of the funds and assets we seize as a means to update equipment and fund training. The lab requested funding from forfeitures. That's what got them all new equipment and the remodel. If we requested a percentage to upgrade the infrastructure, equipment and comms, would it alleviate the pull on the operational side of the house?"
"Hell yeah, but I wouldn't have a clue where to start with something like that, and I don't imagine I could push it through Colonel Fenton."
"Ah, well, the good thing about it is it doesn't come from this unit, so you don't need to worry about Atilla." The nickname they'd given the colonel fit. He fought everything the team tried to accomplish yet took all