Officer Brooks: "I don't remember."
James Walker: "Did you communicate with Lieutenant Collins about those records?"
Officer Brooks: "We work together. We speak regularly."
James Walker: "Did he ask you to locate or move any original documents?"
Brooks took a breath.
Officer Brooks: "No."
Emily looked at Walker.
The answer was clear, but the investigation still needed independent verification.
James Walker: "All right. We will compare your statement with the available records. You will be notified if further information is required."
Brooks stood.
Officer Brooks: "Am I being accused of something?"
James Walker: "You are being asked to provide information. Any decision will be based on evidence and the appropriate procedures."
Brooks left the room.
When the door closed, Emily turned toward Walker.
Emily Carter: "He appeared particularly uncomfortable when the access records were mentioned."
James Walker: "I noticed that."
Captain Mitchell: "Could he be involved in the evidence changes?"
Emily Carter: "We don't know yet. We need the system logs, the original records, and the communications between the relevant employees."
Walker wrote something in his notebook.
James Walker: "I also want to speak with Sarah Williams and Peter Evans separately. Their statements may help establish the sequence of events."
Emily agreed.
The interviews continued throughout the afternoon.
Sarah described the message sent through the general administration account.
Peter described Brooks' attempt to influence his incident report.
Thomas Reed provided a detailed account of the questionable transfer requests.
Each statement was recorded independently.
The more information the investigators gathered, the more difficult it became to explain the missing records as ordinary administrative mistakes.
At approximately 2:15 p.m., Laura Bennett returned with an update.
She had completed the first stage of the technical review.
Laura Bennett: "We have identified a series of unusual changes in the evidence database. The changes were made using two senior-level accounts and one shared administrative account."
Emily Carter: "Can you establish the dates?"
Laura Bennett: "The earliest change occurred on September 15. The most recent was attempted this morning."
Captain Mitchell: "What was changed?"
Laura opened a report.
Laura Bennett: "Several transfer references, two storage locations, and the receiving officer field on three records."
Emily studied the list.
Emily Carter: "Can you identify the workstation used for each change?"
Laura Bennett: "For most of them, yes. Two changes came from the operations office. Another came from a terminal near the evidence management unit."
Emily Carter: "What about the shared account?"
Laura Bennett: "It was used to open several case files after normal working hours. The system did not retain enough information to identify the individual user."
Captain Mitchell: "Can you determine whether the original data can be recovered?"
Laura Bennett: "We have recovered an earlier version of the database from the backup system. It contains several of the original entries."
Emily leaned forward.
Emily Carter: "Does it include the original transfer receipt information?"
Laura Bennett: "Yes. The earlier version lists Detective Michael Grant as the person who was supposed to receive the digital devices, but the signature field is blank."
Emily looked at Mitchell.
Emily Carter: "That supports Detective Grant's statement that he never signed the receipt."
Captain Mitchell: "What about the confidential informant file?"
Laura Bennett: "The original database shows that it was received by the department and placed in secure storage. A later update changed the location to a temporary administrative archive."
Emily Carter: "Who made that update?"
Laura looked at the report.
Laura Bennett: "The update was made through the operations office account."
Mitchell closed his eyes briefly.
Captain Mitchell: "Richard Collins."
Laura Bennett: "The system identifies his account. We still need to establish who actually used it."
Emily nodded.
Emily Carter: "That's the distinction we need to maintain. Preserve the technical evidence and let the independent investigators establish responsibility."
Laura handed over the report.
The investigation was now moving beyond suspicion.
There was a documented sequence of changes, a recoverable earlier version of the database, and evidence that original records had been moved away from their proper storage location.
But the most important missing item remained the confidential informant file.
Without it, the investigators could not determine whether the informant's identity had been exposed.
At 3:00 p.m., Emily received a secure message from her federal supervisor.
The informant had been contacted.
The person was safe, but had reported receiving an unusual message two days earlier.
The message had warned them that their name might have been disclosed to someone connected to the investigation.
Emily immediately read the message to herself again.
She looked up.
Emily Carter: "Captain, we may have a potential witness safety issue."
Mitchell stood.
Captain Mitchell: "What happened?"
Emily Carter: "The confidential informant reported receiving a warning that their identity might have been exposed."
Captain Mitchell: "Do we know who sent it?"
Emily Carter: "Not yet. The message came from an unknown number."
Mitchell looked deeply concerned.
Captain Mitchell: "We need to protect that person."
Emily Carter: "The federal protection team is already handling it. I need the department to preserve any communications involving the confidential file."