The Philocalist 〰 ♡ 〰 Volume Two

The Hunt

Elle is sitting next to Nolan, holding a sleeping Dashia, while Nolan plays the video from his body cam footage for Harper.

"Armstrong." Elle watches Erin says his name before the sound of gunshots.

"No!" Nolan says in the video before Nolan pauses it.

"You think I'm crazy." Nolan comments.

"No. It's just been a traumatic 24 hours, and I think you're fried." Harper says.

"m-ma'am, I think it's clear --- she says "Armstrong" before he steps out, she was going to tell Nolan something about him" Elle says. 

"Maybe, but it could have been anything. I mean, look, we know that Erin was a dirty cop, but we have seen nothing to suggest that she was working with anyone else on the job." Harper reasons.

"How did she get into my shop, then? I locked it. And as a detective, Armstrong would have a very easy time getting his hands on those files without leaving a paper trail." Nolan points out.

"So, what, Armstrong murdered Erin to shut her up? Do you realize what you are accusing him of?" Harper raises an eyebrow.

"Yes, I do. He's my friend... and a mentor, and this is killing me. But if I'm right, he's betraying everything we stand for." Nolan says.

"It's not enough." Harper shakes her head.

"So we gather more evidence. Armstrong was with me nearly all day yesterday. It was a fast-moving situation, but he had to have contacted both Ruben and Erin, contact that could have been caught on body cam, on shop cam or dash cam." Nolan points out.

"Which you need me to authorize access to.  All right. I'm in. But don't tell anyone else about this. If this gets out, it will ruin Armstrong's life -- and both of your careers." Harper sighs.

"what happens if we're right?" Elle asks.

"Then it will tear the department apart." Harper answers.

[Three Hours Later]

"okay, I got Sarge's approval for Solokov to ride with us today" Harper announces, sitting down next to Elle and Nolan. 

"we have some stuff, ma'am" Elle murmurs.

Nolan presses play on body cam footage from other officers.

"Just watch. Every time there's a break in the case, Armstrong sends a text." Nolan points out.

Elle looks down at Nolan's phone when Grace calls, but Nolan makes no move to answer the phone.

"Like right here. Outside Ruben's house. When he crosses past Erin, you can see him slip her something." Elle points out on the video.

"That's a stretch. You can't see their hands." Harper says, unconvinced.

"True, but after this, inside the house, Armstrong is checking his phone during the raid to see when Erin has got the gun from my shop, and I swear to God, you can see the exact moment he finds out she did." Nolan points out.

"Well, this is all still circumstantial. I mean, Armstrong could be texting his mother or his girlfriend. I'm not saying that I believe that, but this is still not enough to take to IA." Harper sighs.

"What if we can tell what he was texting and to who? Could we get a warrant? Search his phone records?" Nolan asks.

"If Armstrong really is dirty, do you believe that he is dumb enough to crime on his own personal cellphone?" Harper raises an eyebrow. 

"no, probably not, and we can't get a warrant for a burner unless we know the number" Elle realizes. "so how could we get the number?"

"Isolate the signal somehow. Get him out in the middle of nowhere, where there's only a few active phones, and then we pull the records from the nearest cell tower." Harper answers.