Deputy Commander Nathaniel Price arrived for his second interview at 6:15 p.m.
He looked older than he had the previous night. His tie was loosened, and faint shadows had appeared beneath his eyes. He carried a folder containing copies of administrative notices and placed it on the table without being asked.
Inspector Cross noticed that his hands were shaking.
"Deputy Commander Price, thank you for returning."
"I assume you've found something."
"We have recovered additional communications concerning Private Reed's complaint and the maintenance records."
Price sat down.
"I see."
"We also have evidence that your account was associated with an attempted deletion request last night."
His eyes widened.
"I told you I didn't initiate that request."
"Yes. Your statement has been documented."
"Then why am I here again?"
"Because the available evidence raises questions about the handling of the original complaint."
Price looked toward the door.
Cross continued.
"Did Colonel Harlan ask you to determine whether Private Reed possessed copies of the original maintenance records?"
Price remained silent.
"Deputy Commander, this interview is your opportunity to provide an accurate account."
He rubbed his face.
"Yes."
"When did he ask?"
"Approximately two weeks ago."
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him that the records had been consolidated and that the complaint was under review."
"Did he ask you to retrieve Reed's original documents?"
"He asked whether we could determine how many copies existed."
"Why?"
"He was concerned that incomplete records might be circulated outside the command."
"Did he say that he wanted to destroy them?"
"No."
"Did he ask you to alter any records?"
Price looked down.
"He asked me to make sure the final reports were consistent."
Cross leaned forward.
"Consistent with what?"
"The approved readiness summary."
"And were the original records consistent with that summary?"
"No."
The answer came quietly.
Cross waited.
Price continued.
"The maintenance figures had been revised before the final summary was approved. I knew there were discrepancies, but Colonel Harlan said they reflected delayed administrative processing rather than incomplete inspections."
"Did you verify that explanation?"
"Not independently."
"Why not?"
"Because the colonel was responsible for the operational reports, and General Mercer had already signed the readiness summary."
Cross studied him.
"Did General Mercer instruct you to alter the records?"
"No."
"Did he instruct you to conceal discrepancies?"
"No."
"Then why did you allow the original records to be replaced by revised figures?"
Price's expression tightened.
"I didn't think of it as replacing them. The system retained the revised entries, and I assumed the original versions were still available in the archive."
"Did you know that the revised reports could be used to certify inspections that had not been completed?"
He hesitated.
"I knew the dates didn't match."
"That wasn't my question."
Price looked at her.
"Yes. I understood that the discrepancies could affect the readiness certification."
Cross wrote down his answer.
"Why didn't you report the problem?"
He stared at the table.
"Because I believed I could correct it without creating a crisis."
"How?"
"By obtaining the missing documentation and reconciling the reports."
"Did you obtain the documentation?"
"No."
"Then the discrepancy remained."
"Yes."
Cross closed her notebook.
"Deputy Commander, did you initiate the deletion request last night?"
"No."
"Do you know who did?"
Price hesitated for so long that Cross thought he might refuse to answer.
Finally, he spoke.
"I believe I know who had the opportunity."
"Who?"
"Colonel Harlan's administrative aide, Major Samuel Dwyer."
Cross made a note.
"What is the basis for that belief?"
"Dwyer had access to my workstation earlier in the week. He said he needed to print a set of documents while his own terminal was being repaired."
"Did you give him your credentials?"
"No. But I left the workstation unlocked while I attended a meeting."
Cross's expression hardened.
"Did you report that security incident?"
"No."
"Why not?"
Price looked ashamed.
"Because I didn't know he had accessed anything."
"Then what makes you believe he used your account?"
"After the deletion attempt, I checked the activity log through the security notification. There was a login at a time when I was not at my workstation."
"Did you report that to the digital evidence team?"
"No. I wanted to understand what happened first."
Cross paused.
"That was a mistake."
"Yes."
"Did you contact Dwyer?"
"No."
"Did you contact Colonel Harlan?"
"No."
"Did you discuss the investigation with anyone else?"
Price lowered his head.
"I sent a message to my administrative assistant asking whether the archive had been secured."
Cross looked at him.
"When?"
"Shortly after midnight."
"Why?"
"Because I was frightened."
The answer was so direct that Cross did not immediately respond.
Price continued.
"I knew the records were inconsistent. I knew the colonel was angry about the investigation. I knew my account might be involved in something I hadn't authorized. And I knew that if the original reports were examined, my decisions would be examined too."
"So you were concerned about your own exposure."
"Yes."
"Did that concern influence how you handled Reed's complaint?"
Price closed his eyes.
"Yes."
The admission seemed to drain what little strength he had left.
"I should have escalated the discrepancy. I should have demanded independent verification. Instead, I accepted the colonel's explanation because challenging him would have created conflict with a senior officer."
"Did you threaten Private Reed?"
"No."
"Did you instruct anyone else to threaten him?"
"No."
"Did you instruct Major Dwyer to locate or destroy his copies?"
Price looked up sharply.
"No. I never ordered anyone to destroy evidence."
Cross believed that his fear was genuine, but she did not mistake fear for proof.
"We will verify your account against the records," she said. "Until then, you should not contact Major Dwyer or Colonel Harlan about the substance of this interview."
Price nodded.
When the interview ended, Cross remained at the table while the evidence team began checking the timeline against the newly identified workstation access.
At 8:40 p.m., they received confirmation that Major Samuel Dwyer had entered the administrative building shortly before the deletion attempt.
His access card showed that he had arrived at 11:19 p.m.
He had left at 11:58 p.m.
During that period, the archive recorded the deletion request, the second authentication event, and an attempt to access the investigation folder.
Cross read the report twice.
"Where is Dwyer now?" she asked.
"His current location is being verified," Ward replied. "We haven't contacted him yet."
"Good. Preserve the access logs and arrange a formal interview. Do not assume that the card record proves what he did at the workstation."
Ward nodded.
At 9:15 p.m., the digital team recovered another document from a backup system.
It was an internal message from Harlan to Dwyer.
If the inspector obtains the original report, the entire readiness review will be reopened. Ensure that the archived copies are no longer available.
The message was dated the previous evening.
Cross stared at the screen.
It was the first direct evidence that Harlan had instructed someone to make the records unavailable.
The message did not establish whether Dwyer had complied, whether the deletion attempt was his work, or whether anyone else had acted independently.
But it changed the investigation.
Until then, Harlan could claim that the altered reports reflected administrative confusion.
Now there was evidence that he had wanted the original documents removed from reach.
Cross called Captain Ward.
"We have a documented instruction to make the archived copies unavailable. Secure the message, verify its source, and prepare the next interview."
"Understood."
"And Captain?"
"Yes, Inspector?"
"If Dwyer is responsible for the deletion attempt, we will establish that through evidence. If he acted under pressure, we'll document that too. No one gets to decide the facts before the investigation is complete."
Ward acknowledged the instruction.
Cross ended the call.
Outside, the rain had finally stopped.
But the case was far from over.
The colonel had been detained.
The original reports had been recovered.
The deputy commander had admitted that he failed to escalate serious discrepancies.
And now a direct message suggested that Harlan had attempted to make evidence unavailable.
For the first time, Cross believed the investigation could establish not merely that something had gone wrong, but how the misconduct had been protected.
The next morning, she would return to the secured interview room.
This time, she would bring the evidence that Harlan had spent months trying to bury.