The elevator doors closed, carrying Judge Catherine Whitmore, Agent Evelyn Brooks, Sergeant Thomas Lewis, and Officer Daniel Mercer toward the underground security entrance. Nobody spoke during the first few seconds.
Mercer stood near the rear wall, his arms crossed. He appeared irritated rather than frightened, but Evelyn could see the tension in his jaw. Every time the elevator stopped at another level, he glanced at the display as if searching for an opportunity to escape the uncomfortable silence.
Sergeant Lewis stood beside him.
“Daniel,” Lewis said quietly, “I need you to understand something. Whatever happened out there, you are going to have to provide a complete and accurate account.”
“I already told you what happened.”
“You told me she was suspicious.”
“She was.”
“What specifically made her suspicious?”
Mercer looked at him.
“She was loading documents into a luxury vehicle and questioning my authority.”
Lewis rubbed his forehead.
“Questioning your authority isn't evidence of a crime.”
“You weren't there.”
“No. That's why I'm asking questions.”
The elevator reached the basement level.
Judge Whitmore stepped out first, followed by Evelyn. Two security officers escorted them through a controlled-access corridor toward a private conference room. Sergeant Lewis followed with Mercer, who had been instructed to remain available while the initial review took place.
The conference room was small but secure. A long table occupied the center, surrounded by chairs and a wall-mounted screen. A second door connected the room to an administrative corridor, and a security camera monitored the entrance.
Judge Whitmore took the seat at the head of the table.
“Sergeant Lewis, I appreciate your cooperation. I want to make clear that I am not conducting a disciplinary hearing. My immediate concern is preserving evidence and ensuring that the security threat is properly investigated.”
Lewis nodded.
“I understand, Your Honor.”
“Officer Mercer should have an opportunity to provide his account through the appropriate procedures. At the same time, the evidence must remain independent of anyone's personal interpretation.”
She turned toward Evelyn.
“Please contact your supervisor. We need to determine whether the anonymous message relates to the missing documents.”
Evelyn stepped into the adjoining corridor and called Deputy Director Robert Hayes, her immediate supervisor at the federal investigative office.
Hayes answered on the second ring.
“Brooks. Tell me you're calling with good news.”
“I wish I were.”
She summarized the confrontation, the registration search, and the anonymous message. She explained that Mercer had threatened to arrest her before Judge Whitmore arrived, and that the parking garage footage had been preserved.
Hayes listened without interrupting.
When she finished, he asked, “Did the officer have access to the investigation?”
“We haven't established that. His department credentials were used to search the judge's vehicle, but we don't yet know who was operating the terminal.”
“Good. Don't jump to conclusions.”
“I won't.”
“And the message?”
“It refers directly to the missing files and threatens another disappearance.”
Hayes became silent.
Evelyn knew that silence. It meant he was considering the possibility that the incident had exposed a vulnerability in their investigation.
“Bring the message to the secure office,” he finally said. “I'll assemble a small team. Until we know more, don't discuss the missing documents over ordinary communication channels.”
“Understood.”
“One more thing. Has anyone outside your immediate team been informed that the judge is reviewing the case?”
“Only the courthouse security personnel involved in the incident.”
“Keep it that way.”
Evelyn ended the call and returned to the conference room.
Judge Whitmore was examining the anonymous message through its transparent evidence sleeve. Sergeant Lewis had moved to the opposite side of the table, while Mercer stood beside the door.
“The deputy director is assembling a team,” Evelyn reported. “He wants the message transferred through secure procedures.”
Whitmore nodded.
“Then we'll arrange that immediately.”
A knock interrupted them.
One of the courthouse security officers entered.
“Your Honor, the security director has an urgent update.”
“What is it?”
“The garage system recorded another access attempt against the judge's vehicle registration. It occurred approximately four minutes ago.”
Evelyn looked up.
“Four minutes ago? We were already inside the courthouse.”
“Yes, Agent Brooks.”
“Which account was used?”
The officer checked his notes.
“The request came from a remote terminal associated with the municipal police network. The system did not record a successful login, but it did capture the attempted query.”
Sergeant Lewis frowned.
“Can you identify the user?”
“Not yet. The access token is being reviewed.”
Mercer immediately spoke.
“That has nothing to do with me.”
Nobody had accused him.
Evelyn slowly turned toward him.
“I didn't say it did.”
“I just want that clear.”
Judge Whitmore placed the message on the table.
“Then allow the investigation to establish the facts.”
The officer continued.
“There is another issue. Someone attempted to access the courthouse's visitor directory using an administrative account that was temporarily disabled last month.”
The room fell silent.
“What information does the directory contain?” Evelyn asked.
“Visitor names, appointment times, and limited access records.”
“Could it identify people meeting with the judge?”
“Yes.”
Judge Whitmore leaned back in her chair.
“Can the account's activity be traced?”
“We're working on it.”
“Preserve everything. I want the access history, the failed login records, and any related security alerts.”
The officer left to carry out the instructions.
Mercer looked increasingly uncomfortable.
“This is turning into some kind of conspiracy theory.”
Evelyn faced him.
“An unauthorized database query and an attempted access to a protected directory are documented events. We do not yet know who is responsible, but investigating them is reasonable.”
“You're acting like somebody's trying to kill the judge.”
“No one has reached that conclusion.”
“Then why all the security?”
“Because someone left a threat inside a vehicle connected to a federal investigation.”
Mercer looked away.
Judge Whitmore rose from her chair.
“Sergeant Lewis, please arrange for Officer Mercer to be interviewed by the appropriate investigators. He should not access any records connected to this incident while the review is underway, subject to his department's procedures.”
Lewis nodded.
“I'll coordinate with the department.”
Mercer looked at him sharply.
“You're taking me off the investigation?”
“I'm ensuring that the review is handled properly.”
“I haven't done anything wrong!”
Lewis's voice became firmer.
“Daniel, nobody has made a final determination. But shouting at people who are trying to establish the facts will not help you.”
Mercer fell silent.
Judge Whitmore moved toward the conference room's inner door.
“Agent Brooks, walk with me.”
Evelyn followed her into a private corridor.
Once the door closed behind them, the judge lowered her voice.
“There is something about this incident that concerns me more than the threat itself.”
“What is it, Your Honor?”
“The message was placed in the folder before you arrived at the garage, or someone had an opportunity to put it there while the vehicle was unattended. Yet the officer's account search occurred before he approached you.”
Evelyn nodded.
“The timing is suspicious.”
“Exactly. Someone may have known where I would be, what you would be carrying, and when you would arrive.”
“Or the events could be connected through someone who had access to the vehicle's registration.”
“Which is why we need to examine the evidence before drawing conclusions.”
The judge stopped beside a narrow window overlooking the courthouse's inner courtyard.
“Evelyn, if someone is monitoring our movements, I want you to assume that every unnecessary disclosure creates another risk.”
“I understand.”
“Then tell me honestly: is there anything about today's encounter that you haven't reported to Deputy Director Hayes?”
Evelyn hesitated.
There was one detail she had not mentioned.
Before leaving the judge's office that afternoon, she had received a brief message from an unknown number. It contained no explicit threat, only a photograph of the black sedan parked in the garage.
She had assumed it was a routine security notification sent by the courthouse's automated system.
Now, after discovering the anonymous message, she was no longer certain.
“Yes,” she admitted. “I received a photograph of the vehicle from an unknown number shortly before the encounter.”
Judge Whitmore looked directly at her.
“Do you still have it?”
“Yes.”
“Then do not delete it, forward it, or respond to the sender. Preserve the original message and let the technical team examine it.”
Evelyn took out her phone.
The photograph showed the sedan from the far end of the garage. It had been taken only minutes before Mercer arrived.
She enlarged the image.
In the reflection of the sedan's rear window, a figure stood near the elevator.
The face was indistinct, but the person appeared to be holding a phone.
Evelyn's stomach tightened.
Someone had been watching the vehicle before the confrontation began.
And whoever had taken the photograph might have been standing only a few meters away when Mercer approached her.