ELENA: "We already saw that."
REBECCA: "Yes. But I checked the standard audit summary again this morning. There was another entry."
ELENA: "What kind of entry?"
REBECCA: "A deletion request had been scheduled before the export was completed."
Elena sat upright.
ELENA: "Before?"
REBECCA: "Yes. The system showed that someone had prepared a purge request in advance. It was supposed to remove the temporary export after the records were generated."
ELENA: "Can you identify the account?"
REBECCA: "The administrator account."
ELENA: "Is that account assigned to Kavalik?"
Rebecca hesitated.
REBECCA: "It has been used by several people. That's part of the problem."
Elena looked toward the folder on her desk.
ELENA: "Who else has access?"
REBECCA: "The sheriff, the chief clerk, and one person in the property office."
ELENA: "Can you identify the third person?"
REBECCA: "I think so."
Rebecca paused.
ELENA: "Rebecca?"
REBECCA: "The name appears in the old access authorization."
ELENA: "Whose name?"
Rebecca lowered her voice.
REBECCA: "I don't think you'll like it."
Elena waited.
REBECCA: "It's someone who left the department two years ago."
ELENA: "Marcus Bell?"
Rebecca was silent.
Then she answered.
REBECCA: "No."
A few seconds passed.
REBECCA: "It's someone who still works for the county."
Elena looked at the window.
Outside, the sun was beginning to set.
ELENA: "Who?"
Rebecca took another breath.
REBECCA: "The county's chief administrative clerk."
Elena slowly leaned back.
The discovery changed the shape of the problem.
If the chief administrative clerk had access to the same account used to export and delete the seizure records, the issue might extend beyond the sheriff and the property supervisor.
It could involve someone responsible for maintaining the county's official administrative records.
ELENA: "Rebecca, do not investigate that person yourself. Preserve what you lawfully have and report the discovery through the independent review process."
REBECCA: "I understand."
ELENA: "And don't confront anyone."
REBECCA: "I won't."
They ended the call.
Elena sat quietly for several minutes.
The sheriff's department was no longer the only institution she needed to understand.
The records suggested a connection between the police station, the private recovery company, and the county's administrative office.
It was possible that the system had been designed to make questionable transfers appear legitimate.
It was also possible that some employees had simply followed instructions without understanding what they were helping to conceal.
Either way, the evidence needed to be preserved.
That evening, Elena received another message from Osei.
"Marcus agreed to speak. But he says he won't meet anyone unless Rebecca is there."
Elena read the message.
She called Margaret.
Together, they began arranging a meeting through a neutral and appropriate channel.
They did not know what Marcus would reveal.
They did not know whether his documents would support Osei's account.
And they did not know how far the connection to Kingsland Recovery extended.
But one thing was becoming increasingly clear.
The red Ducati had not been selected at random.
The recovery truck had been waiting.
The transport process had been prepared.
And someone appeared to have known that a valuable motorcycle would soon be available for seizure.
Elena looked at the photograph of her father's Ducati on her desk.
She remembered the way he used to polish the red paint.
She remembered how carefully he checked every part.
And she remembered his belief that people should never use their position to take advantage of someone who trusted them.
She turned off the desk lamp.
The next meeting might finally explain how the operation worked.
But she had a feeling that the most important name had not yet appeared in any of the records she had seen.
And when it did, the investigation would become much more complicated than anyone at the sheriff's station expected.
The Montgomery estate looked exactly as Isabella remembered it. The tall iron gates, the stone driveway, and the perfectly trimmed gardens had barely changed. Yet as she stepped out of the car beside Richard, the place no longer felt like home.
They had arranged a formal appointment to inspect the estate records. An independent representative was present, ensuring that no documents would be removed or altered improperly.
Victoria waited inside the library. Alexander stood beside the fireplace, his arms crossed.
VICTORIA: "I never thought you would come back like this."
ISABELLA: "I'm here for Father's documents. Nothing more."
Richard explained the purpose of the visit. After a tense discussion, Victoria finally agreed to let them examine the archived files.
Behind a cabinet in Frank's old study, they found a locked drawer containing property correspondence and an original authorization document. Richard examined it carefully before placing it inside a protective folder.
The signature appeared to be Frank's, but the handwriting did not match several verified samples.