The rain had grown heavier by the time Colonel Victor Harlan was placed inside the second black SUV.
Two tactical officers remained beside the vehicle while Captain Elias Ward supervised the transfer of personnel and evidence. Across the parking lot, red and blue emergency lights illuminated the wet pavement as an ambulance prepared to transport Private Daniel Reed for medical evaluation.
Inside the convenience store, Inspector Evelyn Cross stood beneath the fluorescent lights, reading the message on her communications device for the third time.
UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED. ARCHIVE FILES FLAGGED FOR DELETION. ORIGIN: COMMAND ADMINISTRATIVE NETWORK.
She stared at the screen.
The attempted access had occurred at 11:47 p.m.
It was now 12:03 a.m.
Someone had tried to erase evidence while the colonel was being detained.
That was not a coincidence she was willing to accept.
"Captain Ward," she called.
Ward approached immediately.
"Inspector?"
"Has anyone from the command administrative office contacted you?"
"No, ma'am. We received confirmation that the original records were secured earlier this evening."
"Apparently, someone disagrees."
She showed him the message.
Ward read it, then looked toward the windows.
"Could this be an automated process?"
"It could. But the access attempt was followed by a deletion request. I want the original system logs preserved before anyone can change them."
"I'll contact the digital evidence team."
"Do that. And tell them not to use credentials supplied by the command under investigation. I want an independent access path."
Ward nodded and stepped away to make the call.
Cross looked toward the convenience store counter.
The clerk, whose name was Thomas Bell, stood with his hands resting on the edge of the register. He looked exhausted and frightened.
"Mr. Bell," she said, approaching him, "I need to ask you a few questions about what you saw tonight."
He swallowed.
"Am I in trouble?"
"No. You're a witness. You haven't done anything wrong."
"I didn't know who that man was when he came in. I just thought he was some kind of officer having an argument with a soldier."
"That's understandable."
"I should have called the police sooner."
Cross paused.
"You were placed in a difficult situation. Colonel Harlan used his position to frighten you, too. The important thing now is that you tell us what you observed as accurately as possible."
Bell nodded.
She asked him to describe the confrontation, beginning with Harlan's arrival and ending with the response team's entry. She made no suggestions about what he should remember. She did not ask him to speculate about the colonel's motives.
She wanted facts.
Bell described the shouting, the physical assault, and Harlan's attempts to prevent him from contacting anyone.
Then he mentioned something that made Cross stop writing.
"There was a phone call," Bell said.
Cross looked up.
"When?"
"Before you came in. The colonel was standing near the drinks refrigerator. His phone rang, and he answered it. He didn't talk long."
"What did he say?"
"I couldn't hear the other person. But I heard the colonel say, 'The boy still has the original copy.'"
Cross's pen stopped moving.
"Are you certain those were his words?"
"Yes, ma'am. I remember because I thought he was talking about something in the store."
"Did he say anything else?"
Bell thought for a moment.
"He said, 'No, the report hasn't been withdrawn.' Then he said, 'I know what happens if they see it.'"
Cross felt the pieces shifting into place.
Reed had reported discrepancies in maintenance records. Harlan had attempted to force him to withdraw his complaint. Someone had now attempted to delete files from the command archive.
And the colonel had apparently been discussing the evidence with another person.
"Did he identify the caller?"
"No."
"Did you see a name on the phone?"
"No, ma'am. He turned away from me."
Cross thanked him and asked him to preserve the original surveillance footage without editing or exporting over the existing file.
Then she stepped outside.
Captain Ward was waiting beside the first SUV.
"The digital evidence team is responding," he reported. "They'll create a verified copy of the available logs and preserve the original data."
"Good. I want the source account identified, but no one should access the account directly until the logs are secured."
"Understood."
Cross looked toward the second SUV.
Harlan sat behind the tinted window, his face barely visible beneath the reflection of the parking lot lights.
"Has he asked for counsel?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am. His request has been documented. He hasn't been questioned about the underlying allegations."
"Good. Keep it that way."
Ward hesitated.
"Inspector, if someone inside his command is attempting to destroy records, this could be larger than we anticipated."
"It already is."
She looked at the message again.
The unauthorized access had originated from an administrative account, but the system's preliminary notice did not identify the person physically responsible.
An account could be used by its owner.
It could also be used by someone who had obtained the credentials.
Or by someone who had deliberately arranged for another person to take the blame.
Cross had spent six weeks examining the complaint, interviewing witnesses, and tracing the paperwork that connected several questionable decisions to Harlan's office.
She had expected resistance.
She had expected denials.
She had even expected the colonel to use his rank to intimidate Reed.
What she had not expected was an attempted deletion while the investigation was actively unfolding.
Someone was frightened.
And frightened people made mistakes.
A vehicle approached the parking lot entrance. Its headlights swept over the tactical personnel before it stopped beside the ambulance.
A woman in a dark blue suit stepped out, holding a waterproof document case.
She introduced herself as Mara Ellis, the independent digital evidence specialist assigned to the investigation.
"Inspector Cross?"
"Yes."
Ellis opened the case and removed a tablet.
"We've received the preliminary system notification. The deletion request originated from a privileged administrative account, but the available log suggests the request was interrupted before completion."
"Can we identify who initiated it?"
"Not yet. The account name is associated with Deputy Commander Nathaniel Price."
Cross looked up.
Deputy Commander Price was Harlan's senior administrative counterpart, a man whose signature appeared on several of the records under review.
"Was Price scheduled to be working tonight?" Cross asked.
"That hasn't been confirmed."
"Has anyone contacted him?"
"No."
Cross looked toward the black SUVs.
"Let's keep it that way until the evidence is secure."
Ellis nodded.
Then she hesitated.
"There's something else. The system recorded a second authentication request shortly after the deletion attempt."
"From the same account?"
"No."
Ellis turned the tablet toward Cross.
The second request came from a different user profile.
The name appeared on the screen.
GENERAL ADRIAN MERCER.
Cross felt a cold knot form in her stomach.
General Mercer was not a minor administrator.
He was one of the senior officers responsible for overseeing the command structure that had repeatedly defended Harlan against earlier complaints.
If his account had been used deliberately, someone might be attempting to frame him.
If he had personally authorized the request, the investigation had reached a far more dangerous level.
Cross closed her eyes briefly.
Six weeks of evidence had led her to a colonel who believed himself untouchable.
Now, within minutes of his detention, two senior accounts had appeared in an attempt to interfere with the investigation.
She opened her eyes.
"Secure every available log," she told Ellis. "We will not assume either person is responsible until the evidence establishes it."
Ellis nodded.
Cross looked toward the rain-darkened road.
"Captain Ward, prepare for a second phase of this operation."
Ward approached.
"What are we looking for?"
Cross answered without hesitation.
"The person who believed Colonel Harlan was worth protecting."