A patrol vehicle pulled into the parking lot.
“Sir,” she said, “I think we need to look into Hayes.”
“We will. But not through an anonymous text alone.”
“Understood.”
Shaw paused.
“And Bennett?”
“Yes?”
“Do not go back into that precinct alone tomorrow.”
Claire looked at the phone.
“Understood.”
The call ended.
She saved the message and sent it to the designated secure account.
Then she sat in her car for a moment without starting the engine.
The first day had begun with a local officer throwing her federal credentials into a trash can.
Now someone was warning her about a previous inspector.
Claire looked through the windshield at the North River precinct.
She had come to verify the movement of narcotics evidence.
She was beginning to suspect that the records were only one part of the problem.
17. The Previous Inspector
The next morning, Claire arrived at the federal office before 8:00 a.m.
Martin Shaw was already waiting in the conference room.
A second investigator, Special Agent Olivia Grant, sat beside him. Grant specialized in digital evidence and internal misconduct investigations.
Shaw placed a thin folder on the table.
“Robert Hayes,” he said.
Claire opened it.
Hayes had worked in federal oversight for eleven years. His previous assignments included audits of joint narcotics task forces, evidence storage facilities, and local police departments receiving federal support.
His last documented assignment involving North River had taken place fourteen months earlier.
The report was incomplete.
It contained an initial list of discrepancies, a request for additional records, and a note indicating that the review had been transferred to another investigator.
There was no final conclusion.
Claire looked up.
“Why was it transferred?”
Shaw turned a page.
“The official record says Hayes requested reassignment for personal reasons.”
“Was that verified?”
“Not in this file.”
“Did he submit a report?”
“An initial report. Nothing final.”
Grant opened her laptop.
“I checked the digital archive. There are references to three attachments that are no longer available in the case folder.”
Claire frowned.
“Were they deleted?”
“Unknown. The system indicates that they were uploaded, then moved to an archive location. The archive reference is incomplete.”
Shaw looked at Claire.
“This is why we need to be careful. We have an incomplete prior review, a current set of discrepancies, and an anonymous message. None of those things proves a connection.”
“I agree.”
“But they justify checking the history.”
Claire turned to the file.
“What happened to Hayes after the reassignment?”
“He transferred to a different regional office. He is still employed by the federal government.”
“Can we contact him?”
“Not yet. I want to understand why the prior review was left unfinished before we approach him.”
Grant brought up a digital record.
“There is another detail.”
She turned the laptop toward them.
The record showed that Hayes had requested access to the North River evidence archive on the same day his review was suspended.
The request had been denied.
The denial had been entered by a local department administrator.
Claire read the name.
Raymond Pike.
She looked at Shaw.
“Lieutenant Pike denied the archive access.”
“That's what the record says.”
“Did Hayes appeal?”
“No appeal appears in the system.”
Claire sat back.
The pieces were beginning to form a pattern, but the pattern was still incomplete.
“Can we obtain the original correspondence?”
Grant nodded.
“I'm requesting it now.”
Shaw closed the folder.
“Until we know more, keep the scope narrow. The immediate priorities are preserving North River's records, identifying the source of the recent amendments, and determining what happened to the missing packages.”
Claire nodded.
“And Cole's conduct?”
“Document it separately. His behavior may be relevant to obstruction or interference, but we will evaluate that based on the evidence and applicable law.”
Claire agreed.
She did not want the investigation to become a personal dispute between herself and Cole.
The evidence needed to stand on its own.
18. A Second Visit
At 10:30 a.m., Claire returned to North River with Olivia Grant and two federal evidence specialists.
This time, the visit was not discreet.
The chief had received written notice that a preservation team would be attending to secure copies of specified records.
Mercer met them at the entrance.
“Agent Bennett.”
“Chief.”
He looked at the people accompanying her.
“I see you've brought a team.”
“We need to preserve the relevant records in a controlled manner.”
“Of course.”
Mercer led them toward the evidence unit.
Cole was standing near the operations desk.
When he saw Claire, his expression changed.
“Back again?”
Claire did not stop walking.
“Good morning, Officer Cole.”
He looked at the two specialists.
“What is all this?”
“An evidence-preservation team.”
Cole laughed.
“Over paperwork?”
Olivia Grant stopped beside him.
“Officer, please direct any questions about the preservation process to Chief Mercer.”
Cole looked at her.
“And you are?”
“Special Agent Olivia Grant.”
He glanced at Claire.
“Another federal agent?”
“Yes,” Claire said.
Cole shook his head.
“You people are making this place look like a crime scene.”
Claire continued toward the evidence room.
The team began documenting the room's condition, identifying storage locations, and recording the relevant access controls.
Patricia Sloan was present.
She appeared relieved to see the additional personnel.
The specialists began by securing a copy of the current ledger and the available historical versions.
They then created forensic copies of the relevant digital records.
Every action was documented.
No original record was removed without a corresponding receipt.
No physical package was opened.
No evidence was weighed or handled beyond what was necessary to identify and preserve its location.
Claire watched the process carefully.
She knew that a flawed preservation procedure could create problems later.
The investigation needed to be as precise as the allegations were serious.
19. The First Independent Confirmation
At 12:40 p.m., one of the evidence specialists approached Claire.
“Agent Bennett, we found something.”
She stepped away from the table.
“What is it?”
The specialist showed her a digital access report.
The system contained an archived version of case NR-23904.
The original weight had been recorded as 1.6 kilograms.
The amendment reducing it to 1.1 kilograms had been entered from a workstation inside the evidence unit.
The device identifier matched the computer assigned to the evidence supervisor's desk.
Claire looked at the timestamp.
9:06 a.m.
The same time as the amendment identified the previous afternoon.
“Can we identify the user session?”
“Not yet. The login credentials were shared by several authorized staff members.”
“Can we identify who was physically in the room?”
“We'll need to compare the access report with surveillance footage.”
Claire nodded.
“Preserve both.”
The specialist continued.
“There is another issue. The archived version contains a second field that is no longer visible in the current record.”
“What field?”
“Temporary storage location.”
Claire looked at the screen.
The original record listed a storage code.