Mercer laughed. "Now you want to protect him?"
"I want you to stop creating witnesses."
Maya spoke again. "How many vehicles went through this warehouse?"
Boone turned toward her. "None of your business."
Mercer answered before Boone could stop him. "Enough."
Boone stared at him.
Maya asked, "More than Hensley?"
Mercer said nothing.
Boone said, "She is fishing."
Maya looked at him. "Then do not give me anything."
That only made Mercer more suspicious. He turned back toward Boone. "How many of the auction buyers were yours?"
Boone's face tightened. "Do not do this."
"How many?"
"I said stop."
"You keep telling me to stop because you know I can prove you were involved."
Boone stepped forward. "And I can prove you were the one standing beside every vehicle when the problem started."
Mercer pointed toward him. "You approved the transfers."
"You initiated the seizures."
"You set the thresholds."
"You signed the roadside reports."
"You controlled disposal."
"You damaged the property."
Neither man noticed that Maya had stopped asking questions. She no longer needed to; they were doing the work themselves.
The towing contractor quietly moved away from the desk and slipped several papers into a folder. Mercer saw him.
"What are those?"
"Nothing."
"Give them to me."
The contractor held the folder against his chest. "These are my business records."
Boone looked at him. "Put them down."
The contractor shook his head. "No. If this falls apart, I am not letting either of you say I invented the transfers."
Boone stared at him. Now there were three people protecting themselves. Maya remained seated and listened.
Several miles away, Laura Chen stood over a workstation with Ruth's video open beside a county map. An agent next to her pointed at a new location that had appeared in the developing investigation.