Late last week, Brandford, the homicide commander, said he felt "confident" about where his investigation was pointing, but he never locked onto an explanation for Gray's spine injury. He left open the possibility that Gray was beaten or handled too roughly.
"We're still going strong as far as this task force is concerned. We have to fight fatigue," he told his team. "I feel confident we have a solid case here but we still have things to do."
On Friday, more remained. The task force was planning to go full-bore straight through the weekend, feeding supplemental reports to Mosby's office, and the investigation was to remain active indefinitely, according to Brandford.
"Important that the state's attorney continue to get things as we collect them," Brandford told his tired members Friday morning.
Then his cellphone rang. He stepped into the hall and didn't return.
Minutes later, task force members found out why:
Mosby was holding a news conference on the steps of the nearby Baltimore War Memorial. From a flat-screen television in Green's office, they watched a live broadcast.
They stood motionless as Mosby began speaking. A lieutenant wearing a suit and bow tie rested his left hand on a leather chair; Green stood in uniform against the wall, hands behind his back. As Mosby read off the charges — including second-degree depraved-heart murder, the most serious, against Goodson — stunned looks crossed their faces.
They had not expected the state's attorney's office to act so soon.