When he saw Victoria, he looked startled.
"Judge Brooks."
"Mr. Price. I hope I'm not disturbing you."
"No, Your Honor. Please come in."
She took a seat beside the window.
"I wanted to see how you were doing."
"I'm going to be all right, according to the doctors."
"I'm glad to hear it."
Price looked down at his bandaged hand.
"Have they found anything else?"
"The investigators are continuing their review. I can't discuss confidential details, and I don't want to influence your recollection of anything."
He nodded.
"I understand."
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Price said, "I should have said something years ago."
Victoria did not rush to reassure him.
"What made it difficult?"
"I had a mortgage. Two children in school. My wife was working part-time. I knew people who had challenged the department and lost their jobs."
"Did anyone threaten you directly?"
"Not in writing. But after I raised questions about the archive, my supervisor stopped inviting me to technical meetings. My performance reviews changed. I was told I wasn't a team player."
"Did you preserve those reviews?"
"Some of them."
"Have you given them to the investigators?"
"Yes."
Victoria nodded.
"Then let them assess the records. You don't need to decide the entire case yourself."
Price looked toward the television.
"Do you think I did the right thing?"
"You provided information that may help establish what happened. The investigators will determine what it means. That is the right process."
He swallowed.
"People keep saying that I should have done more."
Victoria considered her answer.
"People who have never faced pressure sometimes underestimate what it costs to speak. That doesn't mean silence is always harmless, but it does mean we should be careful about judging someone without understanding the circumstances."
Price's eyes grew wet.
"I kept telling myself that the files were probably backed up somewhere. That someone else would notice."
"And eventually, you came forward."
"After years."
"But you came forward."
He looked at her.
"Why are you helping me?"
Victoria was quiet for a moment.
"Because you are a person who deserves to be treated fairly. And because the integrity of the investigation depends on witnesses being able to provide information without being intimidated."
Price nodded slowly.
Before she left, Victoria reminded him to communicate any safety concerns through his attorney and the investigators.
She did not promise that nothing bad would happen.
She did not claim the accident was an attack.
She simply assured him that the relevant authorities would examine the available evidence.
Outside the hospital, reporters had gathered near the entrance.
One approached her.
"Judge Brooks, do you believe Daniel Price's accident was connected to the corruption investigation?"
Victoria stopped.
"I have no verified evidence establishing that connection. The accident should be investigated based on the available facts, just like any other serious collision."
"But isn't it suspicious that it happened days after the warehouse search?"
"Timing can justify a question. It cannot, by itself, establish an answer."
Another reporter asked whether she feared for her own safety.
Victoria looked toward the hospital doors.
"I take security seriously. But I will not allow speculation to replace evidence."
She continued toward her car.
That evening, the traffic investigators reviewed footage from the intersection.
The video showed that the other driver had entered the intersection after the signal changed. Price had attempted to brake but could not avoid the collision.
There was no clear evidence of deliberate contact.
The other driver was cited for a traffic violation.
The anonymous calls remained unexplained.
Investigators could not establish whether they were related to the case.
For now, the accident was treated as a traffic collision, while the calls were investigated separately.
Yet Price's testimony had already given the inquiry something valuable.
He had identified a former contractor who might know how the restricted account had been created.
The contractor's name was Leonard Voss.
And according to Price, Voss had kept a private record of the account's original authorization.
A record that might finally identify who had ordered the system to be changed.
Leonard Voss lived in a modest house on the outskirts of Ashford.
He was seventy-one years old and had spent much of his career designing information-management systems for local government agencies.
His company had maintained Blackstone County's records platform before the county moved to a newer system.
Voss had retired shortly after the transition.
When investigators contacted him, he initially declined to meet.
He said he no longer possessed relevant documents and had no interest in becoming involved in a political dispute.
Elena Ramirez did not pressure him.
Instead, she sent a formal request asking him to preserve any records that might be relevant and offered to arrange an interview through his attorney.
Three days later, Voss agreed.
He arrived at the prosecutor's office carrying a small leather folder.
"I want to be clear," he said as he sat down. "I did not design the system to hide evidence."
Elena folded her hands.
"We haven't accused you of doing so."
"The restricted account was originally created for legitimate security purposes. Some records needed to be protected from unauthorized access."
"Who authorized the account?"
"The county's technical committee."
"Was the account supposed to allow records to be moved without generating a transfer history?"
"No. It was supposed to restrict access, not eliminate accountability."
"Then how did the second account come into existence?"
Voss opened his folder.
"I was asked to modify the permissions during the system transition. The request came through an administrative office."
"Which office?"
"The deputy chief's office, with approval from the county's technical administrator."
"Who signed the authorization?"
Voss placed a document on the table.
The signature belonged to Thomas Weller.
Elena examined it.
"Did you verify the signature?"
"Yes. I received the original request through the county's internal system."