Simone gathered her documents.
"Chief, I need to ask you something that may be uncomfortable."
"Go ahead."
"Have you ever received pressure from senior personnel to close complaints quickly?"
Whitmore looked at her.
"What kind of pressure?"
"Requests to resolve complaints informally, discourage written statements, or classify incidents as minor disagreements."
He took a moment.
"Yes."
Simone waited.
"Not necessarily in a way that suggested wrongdoing," he continued. "Sometimes supervisors want to keep minor incidents from becoming formal disciplinary cases."
"How often?"
"I can't give you a number."
"Have you ever been asked to close a complaint involving Keller?"
Whitmore looked down.
"Yes."
"By whom?"
"Captain Lawson."
"When?"
"Approximately six months ago."
"What was the complaint about?"
"An alleged confrontation with a civilian during an arrest."
"Was it investigated?"
"Yes."
"Was the complaint closed?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Whitmore looked uncomfortable.
"The complainant withdrew his statement."
"Did he provide a written withdrawal?"
"I believe so."
"Do you still have it?"
"I'll find it."
Simone nodded.
"Please do."
The chief returned to his chair.
"Ms. Brooks, I want to be very clear about something. If there is misconduct here, I want it exposed. But I also want to protect officers who did nothing wrong."
"That's exactly what we're trying to do."
"Then I hope you understand why I'm concerned."
"I do."
Whitmore glanced at the clock.
"How long will your team be here?"
"As long as necessary."
He gave a tired smile.
"I suspected you might say that."
By early afternoon, word had spread through the precinct that a federal investigation was underway.
Nobody knew exactly what was being examined.
Some believed it involved evidence tampering.
Others suspected a financial investigation.
A few officers thought the department was being examined because of an old use-of-force complaint.
The uncertainty created an atmosphere of nervousness.
At 1:20 p.m., Officer Keller was called into a meeting room.
He expected Chief Whitmore to be waiting.
Instead, a human resources representative and a deputy chief were present.
A document sat on the table.
Keller remained standing.
"What's this?"
Deputy Chief Alan Pierce gestured toward a chair.
"Have a seat, Daniel."
Keller looked at the document.
"Am I being written up?"
"You are being placed on temporary administrative reassignment pending review of an incident that occurred this morning and other matters currently under examination."
Keller frowned.
"What other matters?"
"That information will be provided through the appropriate process."
"I want to know what I'm being accused of."
"You have not been formally accused of a criminal offense."
"Then why am I being reassigned?"
"Because the department must preserve the integrity of an ongoing investigation."
Keller looked at the HR representative.
"Is this because of that federal woman?"
Deputy Chief Pierce didn't answer immediately.
"Your interaction with Investigator Brooks is part of the review."
"She came into my workplace and refused to identify herself properly."
"She presented valid credentials."
"I couldn't know that."
"You could have verified them."
Keller opened his mouth.
Pierce continued.
"You could have contacted the chief. You could have contacted the federal office. You could have requested assistance from your supervisor. Instead, you threw her credentials into a trash can."
Keller looked away.
"I made a mistake."
"That will be assessed."
"Chief Whitmore knows how I work. I've served this department for eleven years."
"And that service does not exempt you from review."
The HR representative pushed the document toward him.
"Please read the reassignment instructions."
Keller glanced at the first page.
He was being removed from active investigative duties.
His access to certain departmental systems would be restricted.
He was required to surrender his assigned firearm and badge temporarily.
He stared at the last line.
"My badge?"
"Yes."
"You're taking my badge over an argument?"
"You're being placed on temporary reassignment, Officer."
"This is ridiculous."
Deputy Chief Pierce remained composed.
"You may submit a written response through the appropriate channel."
Keller stood abruptly.
"I'm not signing this."
"You are acknowledging receipt, not agreeing with the contents."
Keller looked at the two men.
For the first time, he seemed to realize that the decision had already been made.
He signed.
Then he removed his service weapon and placed it on the table.
The sound of the metal touching the wood was quiet.
But to Keller, it felt like the end of something.
At 2:00 p.m., Simone received a telephone call from her Washington office.
Her deputy, Elena Morris, was calling.
"Simone, we've completed the preliminary verification on the electronic records."
"Go ahead."
"The Walker email appears authentic. We have also confirmed the administrative access logs for the evidence system."
"And?"
"There are multiple entries involving the same user accounts. Some corrections were made after the original records had been locked."
Simone walked toward the window.
"Can we establish who initiated them?"
"For several entries, yes. For others, we need the server administrator's assistance."
"What about Keller?"
"His account appears in the access history for at least three related cases."
"Directly?"
"In two cases, yes. The third appears to involve a shared terminal."
"Any indication that he personally changed evidence records?"
"Not yet."
Simone remained silent.
Elena continued.
"But there is something else."
"What?"
"We found an internal complaint from a former employee named Daniel Price."
"Who is he?"
"Former evidence technician. He resigned four months ago."
"Why?"
"His resignation letter refers to an inability to continue working under what he described as repeated pressure to alter official records."
Simone stopped walking.
"Was the complaint investigated?"
"It was marked as an employment dispute."
"Who classified it?"
"Captain Lawson."
Simone looked down at the folder in her hand.
"Send me the complete record."
"Already on its way."
"Can you locate Price?"
"We're working on it."
"Tell him we would like to speak with him, but make sure nobody at the precinct contacts him first."
"Understood."
Simone ended the call.
She looked across the bullpen.
Captain Lawson had not yet appeared that afternoon.
She wondered whether he knew the investigation was approaching him.
Then she noticed Chief Whitmore standing near his office.
He looked toward her.
She approached him.
"Chief, where is Captain Lawson?"
"He's at an off-site meeting."
"Do you know when he'll return?"
"He said late afternoon."
"Has he been informed that we interviewed Lieutenant Harris?"
"No."
"Good."
Whitmore hesitated.
"There's something I need to tell you."
"What is it?"
"After you left this morning, Keller asked me whether your investigation was connected to his previous complaints."
Simone watched him.
"What did you say?"