There was another pause.
Then Price said something that made Marcus stop moving.
"Commander, the brown envelope isn't the only copy."
"What do you mean?"
"Iris has the original list. But someone else has the names of everyone involved in changing the reports."
"Who?"
Price took a breath.
"One of the people who helped Voss build the system."
"Do you know the person's identity?"
"Yes."
"Tell me."
Price hesitated.
Then he spoke.
"Your own deputy chief isn't the highest person involved."
The line went silent.
Marcus stared at the phone.
For several seconds, he heard nothing except the faint sound of traffic outside.
Then Price spoke again.
"There is someone above Voss. Someone who has been protecting him for years."
"Who is it?"
"I can't say until I know you're not being monitored."
Marcus looked at the office ceiling.
The department's internal systems had already become part of the investigation.
He could not assume that every phone line, computer, or administrative channel was secure.
"Then we will find a safe way to speak."
Price's voice became urgent.
"Commander, there's something else."
"What?"
"Forty-nine people were affected. But there were fifty original files."
Marcus frowned.
"Why are you saying forty-nine?"
"Because one file was removed before the others were changed."
"Whose file?"
Price hesitated.
"Yours."
Marcus went completely still.
"My file?"
"Yes, Commander."
"What was in it?"
Before Price could answer, the call abruptly ended.
Marcus immediately tried calling back.
The number was unavailable.
He stood beside his desk, staring at the phone.
For the first time that day, the investigation had become personal in a way he had not expected.
Someone had targeted him before he arrived.
Someone had prepared Briggs to intercept him.
Someone had connected his photograph to an envelope containing hidden records.
And now a former evidence officer was claiming that Marcus's own file had been the first one removed.
He opened the appointment documents again.
He searched for any reference to an old investigation involving his name.
Nothing appeared.
But the thought remained.
Why would his file have been among the fifty original records?
What had happened years earlier?
And why had Graham Voss been so determined to keep him away from the headquarters?
Marcus picked up his phone and called Captain Evelyn Carter from the external investigations liaison office.
"Carter speaking."
"This is Commander Reed. I need an urgent confidential meeting."
"Of course, Commander. What's happened?"
"I believe we have evidence of interference involving Deputy Chief Graham Voss, an officer named Noah Briggs, and a former records employee named Iris Whitcomb."
There was a brief silence.
"Do you have supporting evidence?"
"Security footage, witness information, and an anonymous communication from a former evidence officer."
"Has the evidence been preserved?"
"Yes. But I want an independent team to take custody of the relevant records."
"Understood. I'll arrange it."
Marcus paused.
"There's another issue. A former employee has told me that fifty original case files were involved. Forty-nine were altered or concealed, and one belonged to me."
Carter's voice became more serious.
"Yours?"
"Yes."
"Do you know what the file contained?"
"Not yet."
"I'll arrange a secure briefing. Do not access or modify any records connected to that file until we establish the proper procedure."
"Agreed."
After the call, Marcus looked at the photograph of Voss on his computer screen.
The man had once taught him that integrity was the foundation of law enforcement.
Now he appeared to be connected to the very system that had destroyed the credibility of dozens of investigations.
Marcus could not yet know how much of the accusation was true.
But he knew one thing.
The investigation could no longer remain inside the department.
He turned off the office monitor and placed the original appointment folder inside a locked cabinet.
Then he looked toward the entrance.
Outside, officers continued their daily routines.
Visitors walked through the doors.
The department appeared unchanged.
But beneath its polished floors and official records, a hidden network of decisions had affected forty-nine lives.
And the person who might finally expose it was an older woman carrying a brown envelope.
Marcus reached for his jacket.
He had no intention of allowing the evidence to disappear again.
Somewhere in Riverton, Iris Whitcomb was waiting.
And before the day ended, Marcus needed to find her.
Marcus Reed left his office shortly after five o'clock.
He had informed only a small number of trusted personnel that he would be leaving the headquarters. The external investigations liaison team was arranging a secure meeting, but Marcus knew that waiting behind his desk would not help him locate Iris Whitcomb.
The woman had been trying to deliver evidence for months.
If she had disappeared after the confrontation outside the building, there was a real possibility that someone had reached her before the department could protect her.
Marcus walked down the corridor toward the private parking area.
Daniel Kim was waiting near the elevator.
"Commander, I received your message."
Marcus nodded.
"Have you found anything?"
"Not yet, sir. We checked her previous address, but nobody answered. Her apartment appears to have been empty for several days."