Rebecca opened it.
Her eyes moved across the first sentence.
Then she stopped breathing for a moment.
REBECCA: "Judge... I think someone knows we're looking at these records."
KAREN: "Why do you say that?"
Rebecca turned the screen toward her.
The message contained a list of property files scheduled for immediate administrative closure.
There were twelve entries.
The first was a luxury vehicle.
The second was a collection of jewelry.
The third was a motorcycle.
Karen's eyes moved down the list.
Then she saw the final entry.
A red Ducati.
The identification number was partially visible.
But the first characters matched the motorcycle her father had owned.
Karen leaned closer.
KAREN: "That's my motorcycle."
Kavalik's face changed.
The property supervisor took a step backward.
And Rebecca realized that the department's records were not merely showing what had happened in the past.
Someone was trying to use the system to decide what would happen next.
The red Ducati.
Karen stared at the screen.
For a moment, the noise of the booking area seemed to disappear.
The motorcycle was supposed to be sitting on a recovery truck, waiting to be transported to an impound facility. Instead, its identification number had appeared on a list of properties scheduled for immediate administrative closure.
She looked at Rebecca.
KAREN: "What does administrative closure mean?"
Rebecca moved the cursor over the entry.
REBECCA: "It means someone is attempting to change the property's status in the system."
KAREN: "Change it to what?"
Rebecca opened the details.
Her face tightened.
REBECCA: "Disposed."
Karen slowly turned toward Sheriff Kavalik.
KAREN: "Disposed?"
Kavalik did not answer.
KAREN: "You arrested me for supposedly riding a stolen motorcycle. You had it removed without verifying its ownership. Now someone is trying to mark it as disposed before the seizure has even been properly reviewed."
KAVALIK: "You are jumping to conclusions."
KAREN: "Then tell me what the word means."
The property supervisor stepped forward.
PROPERTY SUPERVISOR: "It's a routine administrative process."
REBECCA: "No, it isn't. Not when the property has just been seized."
PROPERTY SUPERVISOR: "You don't understand the system."
REBECCA: "I have been working with this system for six years."
The supervisor looked at her coldly.
PROPERTY SUPERVISOR: "Then you should know better than to question an authorized process."
Karen studied the man.
He was not behaving like someone who had simply walked into an unexpected situation.
He seemed to know exactly what the message meant.
More importantly, he appeared to know that the motorcycle's record was about to be changed.
KAREN: "Who requested the closure?"
Rebecca checked the details.
REBECCA: "The request came from an administrative account."
KAREN: "Which account?"
REBECCA: "The same administrator account we found in the earlier transfer records."
Osei stepped closer.
OSEI: "That's the account I told you about."
Kavalik turned toward him.
KAVALIK: "I warned you to stop talking."
OSEI: "You warned me because you knew what was happening."
The sheriff moved toward Osei.
Karen immediately stepped between them.
KAREN: "Nobody is touching anybody in this room."
Kavalik stopped.
His expression was full of anger, but he did not move any closer.
Karen turned back to Rebecca.
KAREN: "Can you preserve the alert and its audit history?"
REBECCA: "I can document the information currently visible. But I don't have authority to freeze the entire system."
KAREN: "Then don't attempt to change anything. Record the time, the account, and the exact message. We need an independent preservation process."
Rebecca nodded.
She began writing down the information.
The property supervisor looked increasingly uncomfortable.
PROPERTY SUPERVISOR: "This is getting out of hand."
KAREN: "It became serious when someone attempted to dispose of property that was not legally cleared for disposal."
PROPERTY SUPERVISOR: "The department has procedures for these matters."
KAREN: "Then the procedures should withstand scrutiny."
The supervisor glanced toward Kavalik.
Kavalik gave him a small shake of the head.
It was almost invisible.
But Karen noticed it.
She had spent years observing people in courtrooms. She knew how quickly a glance could reveal an agreement that nobody wanted to put into words.
The supervisor took his phone from his pocket.
KAREN: "Who are you calling?"
PROPERTY SUPERVISOR: "My office."
KAREN: "Please don't discuss or alter any records while this matter is being documented."
PROPERTY SUPERVISOR: "You cannot tell me whom I can call."
KAREN: "I am not preventing you from calling anyone. I am making clear that any communication about these records may become relevant to the investigation."
The man put the phone away.
For a few seconds, the room remained silent.
Then the station's main entrance opened.
Two people walked inside.
The first was a woman in a dark business suit carrying a leather briefcase. The second was a tall man with a department identification badge clipped to his belt.
Kavalik looked toward them.
His expression changed immediately.
KAVALIK: "What are you doing here?"
The woman approached the booking counter.
WOMAN: "We received an internal alert concerning the property records."
She glanced at Karen.
Then at Rebecca's monitor.
WOMAN: "I'm Inspector Laura Mitchell with the county professional standards division."
The man beside her introduced himself as an internal records auditor.
AUDITOR: "I'm Daniel Price. We've been notified of unusual activity involving the department's property database."
Karen watched them carefully.
KAREN: "Who notified you?"