"Understood."
"Start with the arrest attempt. Then examine the complaint closures in the folder."
Grace opened the folder.
Her expression changed as she read the first page.
"Where did you get these?"
"From my briefcase."
She flipped through the documents.
"These are the Ellis complaints."
"Yes."
"These were supposed to be archived."
"They were."
Grace frowned.
"Then why do you have copies?"
Jonathan gave her a measured look.
"Because I stopped trusting the electronic records."
Grace paused.
That answer seemed to concern her more than the handcuffs.
She looked toward Rebecca.
"Officer Lawson, I need the original booking entry, all access logs, and the system audit history."
Rebecca nodded.
"Yes, Lieutenant."
"Don't print anything yet. I want the electronic records preserved first."
Grace turned back to Whitmore.
"Sergeant, hand me your phone."
Whitmore stared.
"What?"
"Your department-issued phone."
"Why?"
"Because you're involved in an active Internal Affairs investigation."
Whitmore laughed nervously.
"Come on, Grace. You can't be serious."
"I am."
"I have personal information on there."
"Then we'll follow the appropriate procedures to separate personal material from departmental evidence."
Whitmore looked toward Jonathan.
"Chief, surely you aren't authorizing this."
Jonathan's expression remained cold.
"I am."
Whitmore slowly removed the phone from his belt.
But before he handed it over, the screen lit up.
A message appeared.
Jonathan could see the first line from where he stood.
DO NOT LET HAYES SEE THE BLUE FILE.
Whitmore immediately turned the screen away.
Too late.
Jonathan had already read it.
4. THE BLUE FILE
"Sergeant."
Whitmore looked up.
Jonathan pointed toward the phone.
"Who sent that message?"
"Nobody."
Grace stepped closer.
"I saw the notification."
Whitmore locked the screen.
"It's personal."
Jonathan's voice became sharper.
"Your department-issued phone just received a message referring to me by name and instructing you to hide something called the Blue File."
Whitmore shook his head.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Then you won't mind if Internal Affairs preserves the message."
Whitmore hesitated.
Grace held out her hand.
"Phone."
He gave it to her.
She placed it inside an evidence sleeve.
"Officer Lawson," Grace said, "I need you to check whether the department has any file registered under that title."
Rebecca began typing.
She searched the internal records database.
Nothing appeared.
She tried a second search.
Still nothing.
Then she entered a partial phrase:
BLUE — RESTRICTED ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS.
A result appeared.
Rebecca frowned.
"Lieutenant?"
Grace approached the monitor.
"What is it?"
Rebecca turned the screen toward her.
There was a record.
But it had no accessible title.
Only a reference number.
24-AR-0917.
The record was marked:
RESTRICTED — COMMAND AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED
Rebecca clicked the entry.
A warning appeared.
ACCESS DENIED.
She tried again.
The same warning appeared.
Grace examined the screen.
"Who has command authorization?"
Rebecca checked the permissions.
Her face changed.
"Only the precinct commander and two administrative accounts."
Jonathan looked over her shoulder.
"Which accounts?"
Rebecca read the names.
"Chief Jonathan Hayes."
She continued.