"Did you speak to the neighbors?"
"One of them said she left early this morning. She was carrying a large bag."
Marcus frowned.
"Did they say where she went?"
"No. But the neighbor mentioned that a dark vehicle had been parked outside her building several times during the past week."
Marcus stopped walking.
"Did they recognize the vehicle?"
"Not clearly. They said it looked like a black sedan."
Marcus remembered the surveillance recording.
The black government sedan.
The vehicle beside which Graham Voss had received the brown envelope.
"Find out whether any department vehicles were assigned to that area."
Daniel nodded.
"I'll check the vehicle logs."
Marcus continued toward the exit.
"Don't approach her apartment again until we have a better understanding of who may be watching it."
"Understood."
Before leaving, Marcus turned toward Daniel.
"Have you spoken to Officer Hart?"
"Yes. She's preparing her written statement."
"Tell her to remain inside the headquarters until the external investigators arrive. I don't want her walking around alone after what she told us."
Daniel looked concerned.
"Do you believe she's in danger?"
"I don't know. But someone has already shown that they knew about my arrival before I reached the building. We should not assume that the people involved will stop at intimidation."
Daniel nodded.
"I'll make sure she's protected."
Marcus left the headquarters.
He drove through the city toward a small neighborhood on the western side of Riverton. It was an area filled with modest apartment buildings, family-owned stores, and narrow streets that became crowded during the evening rush.
According to the information Daniel had collected, Iris had previously worked at a community legal assistance center before joining the police department's records division.
She had left the department three years earlier.
After that, she had apparently spent most of her time trying to expose irregularities in several criminal investigations.
Marcus parked near a small grocery store and looked at the address on his phone.
The building stood at the end of a narrow street.
It was an old three-story apartment complex with faded paint and a broken light above the entrance. Several bicycles were chained to a railing, and a delivery truck was parked beside the sidewalk.
Marcus walked toward the building.
A middle-aged woman was standing near the entrance, watering several plants.
He approached slowly.
"Good evening. I'm looking for someone named Iris Whitcomb."
The woman looked at him carefully.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Marcus Reed. I'm trying to speak with her about something important."
The woman stopped watering the plants.
"Are you from the police?"
Marcus considered his answer.
"I'm the new commander at Riverton Police Department."
The woman's expression changed.
She looked toward the street before returning her attention to him.
"Then you're probably the person she was waiting for."
Marcus became attentive.
"She mentioned me?"
"Not by name. She said a new commander might come looking for her."
"Do you know where she is?"
The woman hesitated.
"I don't know if I should tell you."
Marcus understood her hesitation.
"If she doesn't want to speak with me, I won't force her. I only need to make sure she's safe."
The woman looked at his face.
"She said something similar."
"What?"
"She said the new commander would need to prove that he was different from the others."
Marcus nodded.
"That's fair."
The woman put down the watering can.
"Her name is Iris Whitcomb. She used to live in apartment twelve. But she left this morning."
"Did she tell you where she was going?"
The woman glanced toward the street.
"She mentioned a storage facility near the old railway station."
Marcus asked for the name.
The woman shook her head.
"She didn't give me the full address. She only said that if someone came looking for her, I should tell them to check the place where the old records were kept."
Marcus repeated the words quietly.
"The place where the old records were kept?"
The woman nodded.
"She used to talk about an archive building. I think it was connected to the police department."
Marcus thanked her.
Before he could leave, the woman spoke again.
"Commander?"
He turned.
"Yes?"
"Please don't let them take her."
Marcus looked at her.
"Who?"
"The people who keep coming around asking questions. She is frightened, but she refuses to give up."
Marcus's expression became serious.
"I'll do everything I can to make sure she is safe."
He returned to his vehicle.
The old railway station had been closed almost ten years earlier. A new transport terminal had replaced it, leaving several abandoned buildings along the former railway line.
One of those buildings had once served as a municipal records archive.
Marcus remembered the location.
During his earlier years in law enforcement, he had visited the archive several times to retrieve documents from old investigations.
The building had been scheduled for renovation, but the project was delayed because of structural concerns.
He drove toward the area.
As he approached, he noticed a row of industrial storage units behind a chain-link fence.
The street was almost empty.
A few delivery vehicles were parked near the entrance, and an old security booth stood beside the gate.