Thomas took one look at Briggs's face and understood without being told.
Naomi received him in chambers during the afternoon recess. She had 12 minutes. She used all of them.
Briggs sat across from her desk and did not waste time on preamble. He had spent three years being careful. He was done being careful.
"I worked with Voss for six years," he said. "I have a personal log. Dates, locations, names, incident descriptions. 23 documented cases of targeted stops and use of force against Black and Latino civilians. I wrote them down the same day they happened, because I knew if I didn't, they would disappear the same way the official reports did."
He set a small, battered notebook on her desk.
Naomi did not pick it up immediately. She looked at him first.
"Why now?" she asked. Not accusatory. Genuinely asking.
He was quiet for a moment. "Because I watched that footage this morning, and I saw myself standing against that wall, doing nothing. Except I wasn't even in the room. And somehow that was worse."
She picked up the notebook.
He continued. "Crane has buried 11 internal complaints using procedural technicalities. I can document eight of them with specificity. Case numbers, filing dates, the names of the officers who submitted them. In every case, the complaint was marked administratively closed within 10 days, with no investigation. In three cases, the officers who filed the complaints were subsequently transferred to less desirable assignments within 60 days."
"And Sutton?" Naomi asked, without looking up from the notebook.
Briggs paused. "You already knew."
"I had a strong suspicion. I'd like your confirmation."
"Monthly meetings," he said. "Chief Judge Sutton, the union's district rep, and a rotating presence from the department's internal affairs office. I attended one of them three years ago, before I fully understood what they were. They frame it as coordination. Streamlining the complaint process. Making sure cases reach appropriate venues."
He stopped.
"What it is, is a filter. Cases that could cause serious damage to the department get redirected, delayed, or quietly killed. The judges who are assigned to them are selected based on perceived manageability."
"They assigned this case to me," Naomi said. "Because they thought I was manageable."
"Yes."
She closed the notebook, set it down, and folded her hands on top of it.
"There's something else," Briggs said.
"Tell me."
"This morning, after the footage went online, Voss called me. Left a voicemail."
He set his phone on the desk and pressed play.
Voss's voice filled the room, low and tight with fury. "You've been talking, Leon. Because somebody's been talking. And when I find out who, and I will find out, you're going to wish you'd stayed in your lane. Your daughter's at Georgia State, right? Nice campus."
The recording ended. The room was very quiet.