"Public confidence is undermined when officers assault people and the department refuses to investigate."
"I understand that. But perhaps we should avoid making the situation worse."
Daniel looked at the folder on his desk.
"That depends on what you mean by worse."
The city manager paused.
"I mean we should allow the department to settle into its new leadership before initiating a broad internal review."
Daniel's voice remained calm.
"The department does not need time to become accustomed to following the law."
The city manager sighed.
"I will inform the mayor that you intend to proceed."
"Please do."
The call ended.
Daniel leaned back in his chair.
He had expected resistance from certain officers.
He had not expected the city administration to begin applying pressure before the first day was over.
That made him more determined to understand the department's history.
He opened the personnel dossier he had prepared before arriving.
One name stood out.
Detective Elena Alvarez.
Her record was unusually strong. She had solved several difficult cases, received commendations for investigative work, and earned consistently positive evaluations during her early years in the department.
Then, four years earlier, her career had abruptly changed.
She had been transferred from investigations to the Property and Records Division.
Her assignments became administrative.
Her performance reviews remained satisfactory, but she was no longer involved in major cases.
The reason listed in the official personnel record was vague:
"Operational restructuring and reassignment based on departmental requirements."
Daniel had seen similar explanations before.
They often concealed decisions that had little to do with performance.
He picked up the telephone.
"Olivia, I need you to locate Detective Elena Alvarez."
"Elena Alvarez?"
"Yes. I want her in my office this afternoon."
"Understood, Chief."
Daniel ended the call.
He opened another document.
It was an old internal complaint involving a falsified arrest report.
Elena's name appeared in the supporting notes.
According to the record, she had refused to approve an arrest report after discovering that the account of the incident did not match the available evidence.
The report had been amended.
The case had been closed.
And Elena had been transferred shortly afterward.
Daniel placed the document beside his appointment papers.
There was a pattern forming.
The department had not simply failed to correct misconduct.
It appeared to have discouraged people who tried to expose it.
***
At 1:20 p.m., Olivia returned with a message.
"Chief, Detective Alvarez is here."
"Send her in."
The door opened.
A woman in her early forties entered carrying a thick manila folder. Her dark hair was tied back neatly, and she wore a dark grey business suit.
Her expression was composed, but her eyes immediately moved toward Daniel's injured lip.
"Chief Brooks?"
"Detective Alvarez. Please come in."
She closed the door.
"I was told you wanted to see me."
"That's correct. Take a seat."
Elena placed her folder on the desk but remained standing for a moment.
"I heard what happened this morning."
Daniel gave a slight nod.
"Most of the building has heard."
"I hope you're all right."
"I'll recover."
Elena glanced at the folder in front of him.
"Are you looking into the department's internal complaints?"
"Yes. I've reviewed your personnel record."
Her expression became guarded.
"Then you've probably seen why I'm no longer working in investigations."
"I have seen the official explanation."
"And do you believe it?"
Daniel looked at her.
"I believe official explanations should be supported by evidence."
Elena studied him for several seconds.
Then she pulled out the chair and sat down.
"Chief, if you want to understand Bellwood, you need to understand that some records are not where they're supposed to be."
Daniel leaned forward.
"What do you mean?"
"Internal Affairs complaints. Evidence discrepancies. Financial reviews. Some were closed without proper documentation. Others were moved to storage locations that do not appear in the official records."
"Do you have evidence?"
Elena opened her folder.
"I kept copies of several reports before my access was removed."
She placed a small stack of papers on the desk.
"These are the original transaction references from a procurement investigation I worked on three years ago."
Daniel looked through them.
"What were you investigating?"
"Equipment purchases. The department paid for surveillance systems, protective equipment, and vehicle components that could not be found in the inventory."
"How much money?"
"At the time, I identified several hundred thousand dollars in questionable transactions. But I never got access to the complete financial records."
"Who approved the payments?"
Elena paused.
"Different administrators signed different documents. But the final authorization on several transactions appeared to come from the office of the acting chief."
Daniel looked up.
"James Vance?"
Elena nodded.
"I submitted a report. Two days later, my supervisor told me the issue had already been reviewed and that I should close my notes."
"Did you agree?"
"No."
"What happened?"
"My access to the financial database was removed. I was transferred to records management, and the investigation was closed."
Daniel studied the documents.
"Did you appeal?"
"Twice."
"What happened?"
"Both requests were rejected."
Elena folded her hands.
"After that, people stopped asking me about the investigation. They treated me as if I had done something wrong."
Daniel looked at the papers again.
"Why did you keep these copies?"