"Yes."
"Do you have evidence?"
Iris opened another container.
Inside were printed emails, financial records, and several photographs.
"These are copies of communications between officers and people connected to the company."
Marcus picked up one page.
It contained a list of payment dates and reference numbers.
Several names appeared beside the entries.
He recognized two of them from the department's senior management structure.
He also recognized Graham Voss.
Marcus looked at Iris.
"Who else?"
She pointed toward the bottom of the page.
A name had been highlighted.
Deputy Commissioner Harold Bennett.
Marcus slowly lowered the document.
Harold Bennett was the regional deputy commissioner who had supported Marcus's appointment.
He was one of the highest-ranking officials in the entire law enforcement structure.
"Are you certain this is authentic?"
"I kept the original records. Daniel Price verified the evidence transfer numbers before we made copies."
"Have you ever met Bennett?"
"Once. He came to the archive after I reported the missing files."
"What did he say?"
"He told me that I was misunderstanding administrative procedures. He said the department could not function if every employee questioned decisions made by senior management."
Marcus remained silent.
Iris continued.
"Then he asked me to sign a statement saying I had made an error while updating the records."
"Did you sign it?"
"No."
"What happened?"
"My access was removed. My contract was terminated. A few weeks later, I received a letter warning me not to disclose confidential information."
Marcus looked through the documents again.
The case was no longer limited to a corrupt deputy chief.
It appeared to involve a network reaching into the department's senior leadership.
He understood why the evidence had been hidden.
He also understood why his own file might have been removed.
He turned toward Iris.
"What was in my original file?"
Iris looked uncomfortable.
"Your file was connected to an investigation from seven years ago."
Marcus frowned.
"Which investigation?"
"The Eastbridge warehouse case."
Marcus felt something shift inside him.
He remembered it.
Seven years earlier, he had been a senior investigator assigned to a series of thefts involving valuable electronic equipment. The stolen goods were believed to have been moved through several warehouses on the outskirts of the city.
The investigation had lasted nearly eight months.
A man named Victor Hale had eventually been convicted.
But the case had been controversial.
Several witnesses had withdrawn their statements.
The defense had questioned the reliability of the evidence.
Marcus had believed the investigation was solid.
He had signed the final report.
"What does my file have to do with Eastbridge?"
Iris opened a separate folder.
"Your original investigation included a witness statement that was never presented in court."
Marcus looked at her.
"Which witness?"
"A warehouse supervisor named Samuel Grant."
Marcus remembered the name.
Grant had claimed to have seen a Northbridge vehicle entering the warehouse shortly before the thefts.
His statement had been included in the initial investigation.
But he later disappeared from the case.
Marcus had been told that Grant had relocated and could no longer be contacted.
Iris placed a document in front of him.
"This is his original statement."
Marcus read it.
The statement contained details he had never seen in the final case file.
Grant had described two men entering the warehouse.
One was believed to be Victor Hale.
The other was identified as a private security contractor connected to Northbridge Solutions.
Marcus read the final paragraph.
It stated that the contractor had been carrying a departmental access card.
Marcus looked up.
"Why wasn't this included in the final report?"
Iris shook her head.
"Because the statement was removed before the case file was submitted."
Marcus stared at the document.
"Who removed it?"
She pointed to the transfer record.
The authorization had been approved by Graham Voss.
Marcus slowly sat down.
He remembered the Eastbridge case.
He remembered presenting the evidence in court.
He remembered the prosecutor asking whether the department had any reason to believe the investigation was incomplete.
He had answered no.
He had believed that answer.
If the original witness statement had been removed, then the investigation had not been complete.
The conviction might have been based on an incomplete record.
Marcus looked at Iris.
"Why was my file removed?"
She hesitated.
"Because the original investigation could connect Northbridge to the department."
Marcus closed his eyes briefly.
"Was Victor Hale innocent?"
"I don't know."
"Then we need to establish that."
Iris nodded.
"There are other things in the file."
She opened another section.
A photograph showed Victor Hale standing outside the warehouse with two men.
One of them was the contractor mentioned in Grant's statement.
The other was a police officer.
Marcus recognized the officer immediately.
Michael Turner.
The same man who had been seen photographing Iris outside headquarters.
Marcus stared at the image.
"Turner was involved in the Eastbridge investigation?"
"He was a junior officer at the time."
"Was he assigned to the case?"
"Yes."
Marcus looked at the photograph again.
Turner had been present at the warehouse.
He had signed several evidence collection forms.
And he had later been promoted to a position that gave him access to the records system.