At that moment Chief Lawton's eyes darkened instantly.
"Are you blind?" he barked. "Can't you see we're in the middle of a critical meeting?!"
The officer's chest heaved. He looked like he hadn't breathed since sprinting up the stairs. "S-Sir… it's the LVA boss…"
Lawton's voice dropped an octave. "What about him?"
The officer swallowed hard, then blurted—
"He's dead. Cassius Ford is dead."
Immediately the room froze.
Every head turned. Every breath stopped. Chairs creaked as men and women sat back in disbelief.
"What?" someone whispered.
"No—how?" another muttered.
"He was inside a police cell!"
Shock painted itself across every face like wet paint still dripping.
Chief Lawton's face lost its color.
"That's not possible," he said under his breath.
But the trembling in the officer's hands, the sweat down his temple, the way he couldn't even look up—it said otherwise.
Without a word more, the entire room exploded into motion.
