Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest as she watched the footage from the day before, showing Erin's death that had occurred just yesterday. She was quickly caught up on what had happened on the drive over to John's house. Her jaw tightened, and she felt a wave of anger rising, as she watched Armstrong pull the trigger on his gun, the reality of the situation settling in with each replay of the scene. "No!" John yelled out on the video.
John paused the video and said, "You think I'm crazy." John said.
"No. It's been a traumatic 24 hours, for both of you, and I think you're both fried," Harper said as Charlotte agreed with John about Erin saying Armstrong's name like she was about to say something to him.
Charlotte felt the exhaustion settle deep into her bones, the events of the last 24 hours catching up to her all at once. Her mind replayed the chaos—the footage of Erin's death, the suspicion surrounding Armstrong, and the recent loss of Chris, which had only added to the mounting pressure. Each of these tragedies weighed heavily on her, the adrenaline that had kept her going now fading, leaving behind a profound sense of dread and uncertainty. Her chest tightened with the weight of it all, each thought tugging at the edges of her resolve. For a moment, she just wanted to close her eyes and shut out the world, seeking a brief respite from the storm of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her.
"It's clear– she says 'Armstrong' before he steps out. She was trying to tell me something about him," John told Harper, pulling Charlotte out of her mind and back into reality.
"Maybe, but it could have been anything..." Harper replied.
"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," Nathan pointed out.
"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," John countered.
"I agree," Charlotte replied. "I never trusted Armstrong from the start, plus he definitely has easy access to restricted documents."
"So, what, Armstrong murdered Erin to shut her up? Do you two realize what you are accusing him of?" Harper asked the two.
Charlotte glanced over to John who nodded and said, "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."
"It's not enough," Nathan told him.
"So? We gather more evidence!" Charlotte exclaimed, earning a look from both Harper and Nathan.
"She's right. 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 or dash cam." John said.
"Which you need me to authorize access." Harper said with a sigh knowing what she was about to give him access to could be messy on the other side. "All right. I'm in. But don't tell anyone else about this." Harper said looking at Nathan to see if he was in or not.
"I'm in too. If this gets out though, it will ruin Armstrong's life– and both of your career's." Nathan said sternly.
"And if we're right?" Charlotte asked.
"Then it will tear the department apart."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charlotte felt bad when she didn't go home that night after telling Eddie she would have to be able to take Chris over to Nathan's house so he could play with Chloe. Nathan told her not to worry and that Grace would just go pick him up from Eddie since he had to go to shift that morning.
YOU ARE READING
Haunted|| The Rookie x 911
Action"Come on, come on, don't leave me like this I thought I had you figured out Something's gone terribly wrong You're all I wanted Come on, come on, don't leave me like this I thought I had you figured out Can't breathe whenever you're gone Can't turn...
