Chapter 4: Trust and Verify

*Claire*

I lean back into my chair, staring at the dual screen in front of me. There is a cup of stale and quickly cooling coffee that I haven’t touched in hours beside the computer mouse. I was miffed, and not just because someone forgot to change out the coffee.

I was miffed because, for the life of me, I could not solve the Drainer case. I spent hours combing through the autopsy reports and crime scene photos. I looked for clues, details I could have missed, and even delved into the archives to see if there was something like this in previous cities.

Nothing. There was nothing. I did these things for the past two weeks, and they were fruitless.

All of these things were why I sat staring at the screen.

I sigh heftily and try cracking my neck by leaning it from side to side. Not even that is satisfying. Frustrated, I close the tabs on my screen, which immediately reveals the other pet project I found myself occupied with – Nathaniel Ballard.

I talked to my supervisor, the Chief, about who this guy is, but did not get any good information. All the Chief told me is that he helped out from time to time and had the go-ahead to help on cases as long as he checked-in with the Chief and shared information as fast as he could. Naturally, I started poking around myself.

According to the Chief, Nathaniel Ballard is a private investigator who approached the district a few years ago. He asked to be of assistance to the district, went through the proper channels, and started helping on difficult to solve cases. According to the articles I found,

I did not like it one bit. There is something off about this Nathaniel Ballard guy. I can feel it in my bones.

Do I think he is malicious? No. Do I think he is tampering with evidence? No. All in all, the real problem I have with the guy is that he is an independent entity working with us.

My eyes latch onto the photo the district has of him as if I could gain some additional insight on the guy by staring intently at the digital pixels when I hear a couple of taps on my cubicle behind me. The sound makes me tense, but not jump.

“Whatcha working on?” I hear my partner say behind me. I already know I am caught snooping on Nathaniel and simply sigh.

“Just doing some research,” I reply, spinning around to face Wates while still sitting in my chair.

“Oh? Research? On the private investigator?” asks Wates as he leans against the cubicle wall.

“Yes,” I say, feeling like Wates is silently judging me for being suspicious. “I like to know who I am working with. Is that a problem?” I know I sound defensive, but I will apologize in a second depending on his response.

Wates’ brown eyes light up with amusement, making me bristle internally, and he begins to chuckle.

“I feel like this is some kind of spy versus spy episode,” he grins. “Doing some investigating on a private investigator? Well, maybe I can clear up a few things. I doubt the records have been able to do anything to satisfy your curiosity.”

I feel my jaw slacken slightly. This is going to be good. Instinctually, my arms fold across my chest as I quickly try and gather my thoughts.

“Okay, tell me this. How does a random private investigator gain access to private information on cases we are currently working on? There are details we are not releasing to the public for a reason, and yet he has access to this information. How?” I ask, once again noting how hostile I sound. Gosh! I have to work on that.

“He went through the proper channels. Nathaniel took the training that we do, got the clearance, and had a conversation with the Chief,” says Wates.

“Yes,” I counter. “But you and I both know that is complete nonsense. There are a dozen channels, at least, that you have to gain clearance from.”

“Claire, the guy made it pretty clear that he is going to be investigating a lot of these cases on his own, with or without our cooperation,” states Wates, keeping his voice noticeably lower than normal.

“Even with the freedom of information act, Nathaniel should not have access to most of this information. I mean, we let him see copies of the autopsy report for crying out loud,” I hiss while trying to keep my voice low. “I am just asking why this guy seems to have free reign of sensitive case information.”

Wates sighs and scratches the back of his neck, using that chance to glance over his shoulder. Is he worried that other people are watching or listening in? Why?

“Look, our precinct got into some hot water several years ago. We had several missing persons, ransom notes, the whole deal. We were running out of time and options until Nathaniel came in – physically came in – to the office where he provided information he gathered and pointed us in the right direction,” says Wates.

“Really? And you don’t think that is suspicious?” I ask, eyes narrowing.

“Of course, we did. We all did. He was our number one suspect for months, but he was more than cooperative, provided documentation, alibies which all checked out, and his record is practically spotless other than a parking ticket,” says Wates.

“And?” I prompt, still not satisfied with that explanation.

“And that is when he asked to assist on cases we were having trouble with. He wanted to help where he could, and ultimately, the Chief decided that as long as he took the training and essentially reported to him, that Nathaniel could work with us,” replies Wates.

“You don’t get any weird vibes from the guy?” I press.

“Not really. He has his quirks, but he is an overall good guy. I can hardly fault him for managing to find information we may have overlooked,” says Wates. I bite my lower lip and look down at the ground near the trash bin.

My gut tells me there is more to the story than meets the eye. I feel in my bones there is something to Nathaniel that is worth suspicion. Wates does not wait for me to continue my interrogation. He pushes himself off the cubicle wall and begins to head out before looking over his shoulder at me.

“I can forward you the information we dug up on him as well as his file, but you are not allowed to breathe a word of it to anyone. Got it?” asks Wates. I nearly jump out of my seat.

“Crystal clear,” I say with a grin.

“Yeah, yeah,” waves away Wates. “You have guts. I will give you that. Just know that Nathaniel is one of the good guys; however, my job is to make sure my partner feels safe. Happy hunting, and don’t forget to send in your report from the robbery earlier. We are trying to get these things turned around quickly,” says Wates as he saunters off back to his own office.

I eagerly turn back to my computer, leg bouncing in anticipation as I watch an email arrive in my inbox from Wates a few minutes later. I open the attachments as well as the folder file with the precinct’s investigation on him and continue my deep delve into Nathaniel Ballard. Trust and verify after all.

What I find shocks me. Nathaniel is not just helping in a couple of cases here and there. Nathaniel is practically a member of the police force. There were dozens of cases he had a hand in solving where he should not have had access unless he was an officer.

Was no one else worried about this guy? Was I being paranoid as the new person on the team? I arrived less than a month ago and already I’m asking questions people are obviously uncomfortable answering.

Still, I was resolute. I’m going to get to the bottom of this. If this Nathaniel Ballard has any secrets, I will find them. No one messes around in my cases and gets away with it.