Chapter 5 - The Name on the Badge
The second trooper crouched again near the SUV's rear bumper. This time he did not simply photograph it. He lifted the loose plastic carefully and exposed the wire Walter had mentioned.
His expression became serious.
"Don't touch anything else," he told Derek.
Derek threw up his hands.
"That's from the crash!"
Walter shook his head slightly.
"The wire is routed inward, not torn outward. It was there before impact."
The trooper looked back at Walter with growing curiosity.
"You seem familiar with this."
"I used to investigate certain kinds of traffic fraud," Walter said.
Kyle muttered, "Investigate?"
Derek heard it too.
For the first time, both scammers looked at the elderly man not as a frightened victim, but as a problem they had failed to measure.
The first trooper asked, "Sir, may I see your license and registration?"
"Of course."
Walter returned to his sedan, opened the glove compartment, and removed his documents. When he handed them over, the trooper read the name aloud.
"Walter Hayes."
The second trooper's head lifted.
"Wait. Walter Hayes?"
Walter gave a faint, tired smile.
"I have been retired for eleven years."
The trooper stared at him for a moment longer.
"My training instructor used to talk about a Walter Hayes. State insurance fraud division. Highway crash rings. Multi-county staged collision cases."
The crowd shifted, suddenly more alert.
Derek's mouth opened slightly.
Kyle stared at Walter as if the old man had transformed in front of him.
Walter did not look proud. If anything, he looked burdened by the recognition.
"That was a long time ago," he said.
"Not long enough," the trooper replied. "Those cases are still used in training."
Derek tried to recover.
"That's irrelevant. He still hit us."
Walter turned toward him.
"Yes, I did strike your vehicle after you forced the collision. That distinction matters."
Kyle snapped, "You can't prove anything."
Walter glanced toward the delivery driver, then toward the woman with the minivan, then toward the trooper holding a phone recording from another witness.
"I may not need to prove everything alone."
A heavy silence fell.
Then the second trooper spoke into his radio.
"Requesting additional units. Possible staged accident and extortion attempt. Need traffic control and vehicle inspection."
The words hit Derek like a physical blow.
Kyle stepped backward.
Walter noticed.
So did the troopers.
May you like
And when Kyle's hand drifted toward the SUV's passenger door, Walter's voice cut through the rain.
"I would not open that door if I were you."
