Because inside the wallet was an identification card bearing the seal of the United States Department of Justice.
And beneath it was a second card.
The name on it was Victoria Lane.
Federal Investigator.
Office of Inspector General.
The taller officer’s hand began to shake.
Victoria looked over her shoulder.
“Now,” she said quietly, “perhaps we can discuss why you stopped me.”
Victoria had spent the previous year investigating financial misconduct involving a private transportation contractor that operated across three counties.
The company, Northstar Highway Services, had been awarded millions of dollars in public contracts.
Its responsibilities included road maintenance, emergency response, and traffic safety equipment.
But according to confidential complaints, the company had been charging taxpayers for work it never completed.
Invoices listed roads that had supposedly been repaired.
