The taller officer’s hand began to shake.
Victoria looked over
“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.
Equipment purchases appeared on official documents.
Overtime payments had been approved for employees who claimed they had worked overnight shifts.
The money disappeared through a complicated network of subcontractors and consulting companies.
At first, it looked like ordinary financial misconduct.
Then Victoria discovered something more disturbing.
Several local law-enforcement officers were connected to the company.
