Lewis finally raised her eyes from the tablet.
Supervisor Lewis: "Officer Parker, I need you to stay available. We may need to clarify the sequence of events once the system records arrive."
Officer Parker: "Of course."
Supervisor Lewis: "And nobody is to handle that evidence bag until the designated evidence personnel take custody of it."
Officer Parker: "Understood."
Lewis turned toward Monica.
Supervisor Lewis: "We are waiting for the authorization details and the time-stamp verification. I will update you when we have information that can be confirmed."
Monica Reed: "I'll wait."
She moved a step away from the table and stood near the marked line, keeping her hands folded in front of her. The red scratch on her cheek remained visible beneath the fluorescent lights. Her suitcase sat open in front of her, and the evidence bag rested on the steel surface between the officers' notes and the gray tray.
For a moment, everything looked almost exactly as it had when Grant first announced that he had found drugs.
But the situation was no longer the same.
There was now an official incident file, a documented injury, a witness statement, a preservation request, and a set of system records that required further examination. The supervisor had refused to accept a conclusion before reviewing the evidence, and Parker had made it clear that he would not simply repeat Grant's account.
The control unit was still working.
The system administrator was still checking the time stamps.
And somewhere inside the airport's records was the explanation for the authorization linked to Monica's suitcase.
When the next notification appeared on Lewis's tablet, she read it silently. Her expression did not reveal what she had learned, but she immediately opened the incident file and checked the reference number.
Officer Parker: "Have they sent the authorization details?"
Supervisor Lewis: "They have sent an initial record. I need to compare it with the inspection log before I can tell you what it means."
Monica looked toward the supervisor.
Monica Reed: "Is there a problem with the record?"
Lewis did not answer immediately. She scrolled through the information, comparing the listed time with the time Parker had provided earlier. Then she opened a second document and checked the account reference attached to the entry.
Supervisor Lewis: "There is a discrepancy that needs to be clarified."
Officer Parker: "What kind of discrepancy?"
Lewis looked at the two records again.
Supervisor Lewis: "The authorization time does not appear to match the sequence recorded in the initial inspection log."
Grant was no longer in the room, but his earlier certainty seemed to hang over the table. He had insisted that the suspected substance settled the matter. He had treated Monica's questions as defiance and her request for a supervisor as an unnecessary complication.
Now the records were raising a question that could not be answered by simply repeating his accusation.
Monica remained still.
Monica Reed: "What happens next?"
Supervisor Lewis: "We verify the original records, establish the correct timeline, and determine who had access to the authorization. Until then, no one should draw conclusions."
Lewis placed the tablet on the workstation and opened the audit-history request. The status still showed that the full details were pending.
She selected the option to preserve the current review notes, confirmed the incident reference, and waited for the system to respond.
The screen refreshed.
A new entry appeared beneath the existing authorization record.
Parker leaned closer, but Lewis raised a hand to stop him from touching the workstation.
Supervisor Lewis: "Wait. Let me open the original entry first."
She clicked the record and watched as the details loaded. Her eyes moved from the authorization number to the time stamp, then to the account field associated with the entry.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Monica stood beside her open suitcase, waiting for an explanation that no one in the room was yet ready to provide.
The authorization record remained open on Supervisor Lewis's screen. She carefully compared the time stamps, checked the account reference, and reviewed the initial inspection log once more. What she found did not prove who had placed the white powder in Monica's suitcase, but it revealed that the timeline needed a formal investigation.
Supervisor Lewis: "The authorization was entered before the manual inspection was recorded as beginning. We need the system administrator to explain that discrepancy."
Officer Parker: "Can we verify who accessed it?"
Supervisor Lewis: "Yes. The audit history will identify the account and the recorded activity."
Monica Reed: "And the surveillance footage?"
Supervisor Lewis: "The original footage has been preserved. We will review the entire sequence, not just the moment the evidence was displayed."