Andre Mitchell read the message for the fourth time before putting his phone away.
The original file is not the only copy. Ask who had access to the records room on Tuesday night.
The words were brief, but they changed the direction of his thinking. Until that moment, Andre had believed the investigation centered on two questions: why Daniel Mercer had assaulted him and whether Daniel had deliberately altered a timestamp in the narcotics case. Now a third possibility had emerged. Someone else might have possessed information about the altered records, and that person might have been close enough to the investigation to understand what the authorities were looking for.
Andre immediately forwarded the message to Lieutenant Samuel Price. He did not attempt to identify the sender, trace the number himself, or contact anyone mentioned in the investigation. He had learned that even a well-intentioned action could create confusion if it interfered with the formal process.
Price called him within five minutes.
“Where did you receive this?”
“On my personal phone. The number isn't saved in my contacts.”
“Have you responded?”
“No.”
“Good. Preserve the original message. Don't delete it, forward it to colleagues, or attempt to investigate the sender.”
“I've already submitted a copy through the reporting system.”
“That's the right approach.”
Andre heard the sound of papers moving at the other end.
“We're checking the access records now,” Price continued. “The records room has a badge reader, and the digital system maintains workstation activity. We may be able to establish who entered and which files were accessed.”
“Could the sender be someone trying to mislead us?”
“Certainly. An anonymous message is a lead, not proof.”
After the call, Andre returned to his temporary administrative desk. His normal patrol duties remained suspended while the department investigated the assault. He had been assigned basic documentation work that did not involve the narcotics case, a restriction he accepted without complaint.
Nevertheless, the uncertainty was exhausting.
Every time a colleague passed his desk, he wondered whether the person had heard a rumor. Every time the telephone rang, he wondered whether another accusation had been made. He knew he could not allow suspicion to become his substitute for evidence.
At 9:20 a.m., Price and Captain Elaine Foster met with the department's records specialist, Priya Shah. They reviewed the access logs for Tuesday night, the date identified in the anonymous message.
The records room had been entered six times between 6:00 p.m. and midnight. Four entries belonged to employees whose duties were unrelated to the narcotics investigation. The fifth belonged to a supervisor checking a property receipt.
The sixth entry belonged to Victor Sloane.
Sloane had previously worked as a private security consultant and occasionally assisted the department with technical reviews. His temporary access credentials had remained active because he was completing an unrelated audit of the building's security systems.
“Was he authorized to access the narcotics file?” Foster asked.
“No,” Priya replied. “His assignment did not include case records. However, the records room contains shared workstations, and the access log only proves he entered the room. It doesn't establish which files he viewed.”
“Can we determine whether the original file was opened while he was there?”
Priya examined the workstation history.
“There was an export operation from the shared terminal at 8:43 p.m. The filename matches the original evidence sequence. The account belonged to the records department, but the terminal was accessible to anyone authorized to enter the room.”
Foster leaned forward.
“Was Sloane present at 8:43?”
“The badge record shows he entered at 8:31 and exited at 8:57.”
Silence settled over the conference room.
The timing was suspicious, but suspicion was not a conclusion. Sloane might have accessed the room for an unrelated task. Someone else could have used the workstation. The exported file might have been copied for a legitimate reason, although no authorization had been found.
Foster instructed Priya to preserve the access logs, identify the external device associated with the export, and determine whether the file had been transferred elsewhere.
Price then requested that Sloane be contacted through the appropriate investigative channel.
At noon, Sloane arrived at the precinct carrying a leather briefcase. He appeared composed, almost bored, as though he expected the meeting to concern a routine administrative matter.
Captain Foster greeted him in an interview room.
“Mr. Sloane, we need to discuss your access to the records room on Tuesday evening.”
Sloane placed his briefcase beside the chair.
“I was conducting a security audit.”
“Your assignment concerned the building's access controls, correct?”
“Correct.”
“Did that assignment authorize you to open or export files from an active criminal investigation?”
“No.”
“Did you access the narcotics case file?”
Sloane paused.
“I don't recall opening that particular file.”
Foster slid a printed access log across the table.
“An export matching the original evidence sequence occurred while your access credentials showed you inside the room.”
“Other employees had access to that terminal.”
“That is true. We are asking whether you used it.”
Sloane folded his hands.
“I would need to review the system records before making a definitive statement.”
Foster did not argue. She documented his response and informed him that the department was reviewing the matter separately from the assault investigation.
When the interview ended, Sloane left without offering further information.
Outside, he took his phone from his pocket and stared at the screen for several seconds.
Then he called Daniel Mercer.
“They're checking the records room,” Sloane said quietly.
Daniel's voice tightened.
“Did they find the file?”
“They found the export.”
“Can they prove you took it?”
“Not yet.”
Daniel said nothing.
Sloane continued, “You need to understand something. This is no longer about keeping one report from becoming a problem. If the original file exists elsewhere, we need to establish what it contains before making any assumptions.”
Daniel lowered his voice.
“And if it proves the timeline was changed deliberately?”
“Then you need to speak with your attorney and stop trying to control the investigation.”
The call ended.
That evening, Andre received a short update from Price confirming that the anonymous message had been preserved and that the records-room access logs were under review. Price did not reveal confidential interview details, but he assured Andre that the department was following the evidence.
Andre placed his phone on the kitchen table and looked out at the darkening street.
He had wanted accountability for the assault. He had wanted the inaccurate report corrected. He had never expected that a fight in a restroom would uncover a possible trail of unauthorized access, missing records, and unexplained decisions.
Somewhere inside that trail was the truth.
But the person who had sent the anonymous warning remained unknown.
And until that person was identified, Andre could not know whether the message had been an attempt to help him—or another attempt to manipulate the investigation.