Outside the office, Daniel Reed heard a sudden movement in the hallway.
He turned toward the door.
Robert Miller was standing near the filing cabinets, watching someone approach from the opposite end of the corridor.
It was a man in a dark suit.
He was not wearing a uniform, and Daniel had never seen him before.
The man walked directly toward the lieutenant's office.
When he reached the door, he stopped and looked through the glass.
Then his eyes moved toward Daniel.
For a brief moment, their gazes met.
The stranger gave him a polite smile.
But there was nothing friendly about it.
He knocked twice.
Inside the office, Evelyn turned toward the door.
Harris looked up.
And before either of them could speak, a familiar voice came from the hallway.
MAN: "Lieutenant Harris. I believe we need to have a conversation."
Evelyn slowly placed the photograph back inside the envelope.
She knew that voice.
She had heard it before.
Not during the investigation.
Not in any official meeting.
But on a recording that had been delivered to her office only three days earlier.
The recording had lasted less than forty seconds.
And the final sentence had been unmistakable.
"MAKE SURE CARTER NEVER FINDS OUT WHAT REALLY HAPPENED."
The door handle began to turn.
Evelyn looked directly at Lieutenant Harris.
For the first time, she understood that the missing report concerning Marcus Bell might be only a small part of something much more dangerous.
And the person standing outside that door might be the very person she had been searching for all along.
The door slowly opened.
A tall man wearing a dark navy suit stepped inside. He appeared to be in his late fifties, with carefully combed silver hair, polished shoes, and an expression that suggested he was accustomed to being welcomed wherever he went.
He carried a leather briefcase in one hand.
His eyes moved from Lieutenant Harris to Evelyn Carter, then briefly settled on the photograph lying on the desk.
For a fraction of a second, his expression changed.
It was almost impossible to notice, but Evelyn noticed it.
She had spent years learning to recognize the smallest reactions people displayed when they encountered something they did not want to see.
MAN: "Well, this is certainly an unexpected meeting."
HARRIS: "What are you doing here, David?"
The man smiled.
DAVID: "I could ask you the same question. I was informed that a federal investigator had arrived, and I thought it would be appropriate to introduce myself."
EVELYN CARTER: "You already know who I am."
David turned toward her.
DAVID: "Of course. Special Agent Carter. It's a pleasure to see you again."
EVELYN CARTER: "I wouldn't describe it that way."
David chuckled softly, as though he had heard an amusing joke.
DAVID: "Still as direct as ever, I see."
Evelyn did not respond.
She simply watched him.
There was something familiar about his voice, something that connected him to the recording she had received three days earlier.
She remembered listening to it repeatedly in her office.
The recording was short, but the background noise had revealed that it had been made inside a building with a distinctive ventilation system.
Her technical team had identified the sound as coming from an administrative office.
At the time, she had not known which office.
Now she was beginning to understand.
DAVID: "I hope Lieutenant Harris hasn't been giving you unnecessary trouble."
EVELYN CARTER: "We've been discussing several matters."
DAVID: "I imagine so. The Marcus Bell situation has caused quite a bit of confusion."
EVELYN CARTER: "Confusion?"
DAVID: "Unfortunately, mistakes happen. Paperwork gets delayed. Evidence is sometimes transferred incorrectly. It's not always a conspiracy."
EVELYN CARTER: "That's an interesting choice of words."
DAVID: "I beg your pardon?"
EVELYN CARTER: "I never said anything about a conspiracy."
For the first time, David's smile disappeared.
Harris looked at Evelyn, then at David.
The lieutenant seemed to understand that the conversation had taken a dangerous turn.
DAVID: "Perhaps I misunderstood."
EVELYN CARTER: "Perhaps."
David placed his briefcase on a chair.
DAVID: "My name is David Mitchell. I'm the regional administrative director responsible for coordinating several departments, including this one. I assume Lieutenant Harris has explained my role."
EVELYN CARTER: "Not yet."
DAVID: "Then allow me to clarify. I oversee administrative procedures, personnel coordination, and certain operational matters. I have no involvement in individual arrests."
EVELYN CARTER: "Yet your name appears in several documents connected to Marcus Bell."
DAVID: "Administrative documents?"
EVELYN CARTER: "Communications, access authorizations, and requests to modify case classifications."
David looked toward Harris.
DAVID: "Lieutenant, have you been sharing internal documents with outside investigators?"
HARRIS: "I'm cooperating with a federal investigation."
DAVID: "That's not what I asked."
EVELYN CARTER: "He doesn't need your permission to answer my questions."
DAVID: "Agent Carter, with respect, you're entering an organization with established procedures. We all have responsibilities here."
EVELYN CARTER: "And those responsibilities include preserving evidence."
DAVID: "Naturally."
EVELYN CARTER: "Then you won't mind explaining why your credentials were used to access the Bell investigation at 11:42 p.m. on the night the original report disappeared."
David remained perfectly still.
DAVID: "I have no recollection of accessing that file."
EVELYN CARTER: "That's unfortunate."
DAVID: "Why?"
EVELYN CARTER: "Because the system recorded your login, your terminal identification, and the location from which the access occurred."
David glanced toward the desk.