ELENA: "Why?"
Halverson hesitated.
DEPUTY HALVERSON: "Devices connected to the department network are logged."
Elena studied him.
ELENA: "How do you know?"
Halverson looked toward the sheriff's office.
DEPUTY HALVERSON: "Because the department keeps access records for everything."
REBECCA: "That doesn't explain why you're warning us."
Halverson rubbed the back of his neck.
DEPUTY HALVERSON: "I don't know what I'm supposed to say."
Osei gave a short, bitter laugh.
OSEI: "You knew enough to handcuff her."
Halverson turned toward him.
DEPUTY HALVERSON: "I know what I did."
OSEI: "Then say it."
DEPUTY HALVERSON: "I already know I should have questioned the arrest."
Osei looked away.
Elena raised one hand.
ELENA: "Both of you, stop."
They fell silent.
She looked at Halverson.
ELENA: "If you have information about the department's property procedures, you should provide it through the appropriate channel."
Halverson nodded slowly.
ELENA: "But I am not asking you to invent anything, guess about anything, or accuse someone without evidence."
DEPUTY HALVERSON: "Understood."
Elena turned toward Rebecca.
ELENA: "How many pages have printed?"
REBECCA: "Eight so far."
ELENA: "Do they all relate to vehicle seizures?"
REBECCA: "Most of them. There are also references to cash and other property."
Rebecca arranged the documents by their printed sequence.
The first page appeared to be a summary.
The next pages contained individual transactions.
Some entries included a date, a case number, and a property description.
Others listed a private storage location.
Several had no final disposition.
Elena examined the information from a distance.
She did not need to read every line to recognize a pattern.
The same recovery company appeared repeatedly.
KINGSLAND RECOVERY & STORAGE.
The company name appeared beside vehicles seized in different parts of the county.
The dates stretched across several years.
Rebecca pointed to one of the columns.
REBECCA: "Look at this."
Elena approached.
The column contained a series of numbers beside each property entry.
REBECCA: "These look like estimated values."
ELENA: "And this column?"
REBECCA: "Transfer charges, perhaps. I'm not sure."
Osei stepped closer.
OSEI: "Those aren't just storage charges."
Rebecca looked at him.
REBECCA: "What are they?"
OSEI: "Some of them are amounts paid when property was transferred."
ELENA: "Paid by whom?"
Osei shook his head.
OSEI: "I don't know."
He pointed at another line.
OSEI: "But I recognize this code."
Elena studied it.
ELENA: "What does it mean?"
OSEI: "It was used on transport assignments. When a vehicle was scheduled to move from the department to a private facility."
REBECCA: "Does the code identify the officer who authorized the transfer?"
OSEI: "Not by itself."
Elena looked toward the sheriff's office.
The door remained closed.
ELENA: "Then we need the authorization records."
Rebecca returned to the computer.
She opened the standard property inventory screen.
She did not attempt to access the administrator account.
Instead, she searched for the motorcycle's VIN and compared it with the available booking information.
The record showed that the vehicle had been entered as a suspected stolen motorcycle.
There was no confirmed theft report.
The transfer status, however, was already marked as pending.
Rebecca frowned.
REBECCA: "This doesn't make sense."
ELENA: "What?"
REBECCA: "The system shows the motorcycle was scheduled for transfer before the booking entry was completed."
Elena looked at the screen.
ELENA: "How much earlier?"
Rebecca checked the timestamps.
REBECCA: "The transfer request was created before we entered your name."
Osei leaned closer.
OSEI: "That's what I was afraid of."
ELENA: "Explain."
OSEI: "Sometimes the transport schedule was ready before an officer completed the seizure report."
ELENA: "How often?"
OSEI: "More often than it should have been."
Rebecca looked at him.
REBECCA: "Are you saying the department knew which vehicles it wanted to take before confirming the reason for the seizure?"
Osei hesitated.
OSEI: "I'm saying the transport requests sometimes appeared too early."
Elena remained quiet.
The sheriff's office door opened.
Kavalik returned carrying a folder.
He looked at the papers on the counter.
Then at Rebecca's phone.
SHERIFF KAVALIK: "What are you doing?"
REBECCA: "Documenting the records."
KAVALIK: "Put the phone away."
Elena stepped closer.
ELENA: "The documents should be preserved."
Kavalik placed the folder on the counter.
SHERIFF KAVALIK: "Judge Vanderbilt, you are free to leave."
Elena looked at him.
ELENA: "What about my motorcycle?"
KAVALIK: "It's being held temporarily."
ELENA: "For what reason?"
KAVALIK: "Pending administrative review."
ELENA: "Rebecca has already verified that the vehicle is not reported stolen."
KAVALIK: "There are additional ownership questions."
Elena's eyebrows rose.
ELENA: "What questions?"
Kavalik did not answer.
ELENA: "You have the registration, the VIN, and the official database result. What additional information do you need?"
SHERIFF KAVALIK: "The department has procedures."