Laura Bennett agreed to meet Marcus at a secure location outside the county.
The meeting took place in a government office used for protected witness interviews. The windows were covered, the entrance was monitored, and only authorized personnel were permitted inside.
Marcus arrived with Carter and an independent evidence specialist.
Laura was already seated at a table.
She appeared to be in her late forties, with short brown hair and a guarded expression. A small envelope rested beside her hands.
When Marcus entered, she studied his identification.
"You're the investigator from Westbridge."
"Yes."
"Daniel Price trusted people too easily."
Marcus sat opposite her.
"Do you believe he was betrayed?"
Laura looked down at the envelope.
"I know he was."
Carter remained silent.
Laura continued.
"I worked for Meridian Protective Services as an accountant. At first, I handled ordinary invoices, payroll records, and contractor payments. Then I noticed that certain transactions didn't match the services described in the contracts."
"What kind of discrepancies?" Marcus asked.
"Payments for meetings that never occurred. Reimbursements for equipment that was never delivered. Consulting fees that were approved without supporting documentation."
"Did you report them?"
"I asked my supervisor. He told me to process the transactions and stop asking questions."
"Who was your supervisor?"
"Victor Sloane."
Marcus nodded.
"How did Daniel Price become involved?"
"He contacted me after examining several financial records connected to questionable arrests. He had already discovered that the evidence logs were being altered. He wanted to know whether the money could be connected to the same people."
"And could it?"
Laura took a breath.
"Yes."
She opened the envelope.
Inside was a small digital storage device.
"I copied the original transaction records before I left Meridian. I also kept a recording of a meeting between Sloane, Hales, and another official."
"Who was the other official?"
Laura looked at Carter.
"Harold Vance."
Carter's expression tightened.
"Are you certain?"
"I saw him in the room. I knew who he was because Sloane introduced him."
Marcus looked at the storage device.
"What does the recording contain?"
Laura hesitated.
"An argument about the Price investigation."
"Please explain."
"Price had discovered a duplicate evidence log that contradicted an official arrest report. He had also found payments connected to several cases. Sloane wanted the problem contained. Hales wanted the original records removed. Vance said the regional office would suspend the inquiry if the department provided a satisfactory explanation."
Marcus leaned forward.
"Did anyone discuss harming Price?"
Laura looked away.
"Not in the recording I have."
The distinction mattered.
Marcus did not want to turn an already serious investigation into a collection of unsupported accusations.
"What happened after the meeting?"
"Two days later, Price called me. He said he believed someone had accessed his office. He asked whether I still had the financial records and told me to keep them somewhere safe."
"Did you see him again?"
"No. A few days later, I learned that he had died."
"Why didn't you release the recording?"
"Because Sloane knew where I lived. Because Hales had friends in the department. Because I was told that if I cooperated with the investigation, my name could become public."
"Who told you that?"
"An attorney who represented Meridian."
Marcus wrote down the name.
Laura continued.
"I eventually entered witness protection. I thought the matter had ended. Then, several months ago, someone contacted me and asked whether I still had the records."
"Who?"
"I don't know. The message came through an anonymous account."
"What did it say?"
"That Daniel Price's case was being reopened."
Marcus exchanged a glance with Carter.
They had not publicly announced the renewed investigation.
Someone had known about it before the official process began.
"Did you respond?"
"No. I was afraid it was a trap."
"Why agree to meet us now?"
Laura looked at the storage device.
"Because I saw the news about the roadside incident. The article mentioned an Internal Affairs investigator who had confronted a Westbridge officer. I recognized the pattern."
Marcus nodded.
"We'll need to authenticate the recording and verify that it hasn't been altered."
"I expected that."
The evidence specialist carefully placed the device inside a protective container.
"Do you have the original equipment used to make the recording?"
Laura shook her head.
"No. But I have the original file and the computer I used to copy it."
"That may help. We'll examine both."
Marcus returned his attention to Laura.
"Did Price ever mention a person inside the regional office who was providing information to Westbridge?"
Laura thought for several seconds.
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
"He believed someone had warned Vance about his plans. He called that person the gatekeeper."
"Did he name anyone?"
"No. He said he didn't have enough evidence to identify the person."
Marcus remembered Miller's account.
The gatekeeper was not necessarily Vance.
Vance might have been the official who suspended the investigation, while someone else had provided him with advance information.
That distinction could determine whether the case exposed one corrupt administrator or a broader network of officials.
"Did you notice anything unusual in the company's records?" Marcus asked.
Laura nodded.
"Several payments were routed through a consulting firm called Northstar Advisory. The company had no employees listed in its payroll records, but it received substantial payments from Meridian."
"Who owned it?"
"The public registration listed a corporate agent. The beneficial ownership records were incomplete."
"Do you remember the name of the bank?"
Laura provided the name.
Marcus wrote it down.
"Do you have the complete transaction history?"
"Yes. It's on the device."
Carter leaned forward.
"Laura, I need to ask you something. Did you ever provide information to Simone Carter before today?"
"No."
"Did Daniel Price tell you he planned to contact me?"
Laura considered the question.
"He said he was going to contact someone outside the Westbridge chain of command. He didn't tell me the person's name."
Carter nodded.
"Thank you."
The interview continued for another hour.
Laura answered questions about the company, the payments, the recording, and the circumstances surrounding Price's death. The investigators documented every statement and collected the supporting materials under a formal evidence protocol.
When the interview ended, Marcus accompanied Laura to the secure exit.
Before leaving, she turned toward him.
"Investigator, there's something I haven't told you."
He stopped.
"What is it?"
"About three weeks before Daniel died, he said he had discovered a list of officers who were being paid to cooperate with Meridian. He told me the list was not stored in the company's financial system."
"Where was it?"
"He said it was in a private archive controlled by someone with access to regional law-enforcement records."
Marcus felt the pieces shift into place.
"Could that be the archive Vance restricted?"
"I don't know. But Price believed the list contained names of people who would never appear in ordinary financial records."
"Did he tell you how to access it?"
Laura shook her head.
"No. He said the person who controlled it was more dangerous than Sloane."
Marcus returned to the interview room.
The evidence specialist had already begun creating forensic copies of the storage device.
Carter stood beside the table, reading the preliminary notes.
"Do you believe her?" she asked.
"I believe we have a credible witness and evidence that deserves immediate examination."
"That's not quite the same thing."
"No. It isn't."
He looked at the sealed device.
"Once the recording is authenticated, we'll know more."
Several hours later, the initial forensic review confirmed that the device contained a digital audio file with a creation date consistent with Laura's account. The file's metadata and contents would require additional analysis, but nothing in the preliminary examination immediately indicated obvious alteration.
The team listened to a working copy.
Sloane's voice was clear.
Hales spoke next.
Then came Vance.
The conversation concerned financial records, the suspension of an internal inquiry, and the need to prevent the Price investigation from becoming public.
At one point, Vance said, "If the regional office receives the complete file, I cannot guarantee that the matter will remain contained."
Hales replied, "Then the complete file cannot reach the regional office."
Sloane added, "The accountant has already copied the transactions."
The recording ended shortly afterward.
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
It was not a confession to murder.
It did not establish who caused Price's death.
But it directly challenged the claim that the investigation had been suspended solely because of insufficient evidence.
The men had discussed the records.
They had discussed the inquiry.
And they had discussed preventing the complete file from reaching investigators.
Marcus looked at Carter.
"This is enough to justify an independent criminal investigation into the interference."
Carter nodded.
"Agreed."
Marcus secured the authenticated working copy and prepared a formal referral.
But before the referral could be transmitted, a message appeared on the secure terminal.
UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS ATTEMPT DETECTED.
The system identified the requesting account.
Deputy Director Harold Vance.
Marcus looked at the timestamp.
The attempt had occurred less than a minute after the recording was opened.
Someone had been monitoring the archive.
Someone had known the evidence was being examined.
And whoever that person was, they had just made another mistake.