By lunchtime, Victoria had reviewed more than thirty administrative entries.
The deeper she went, the more troubling the pattern became.
Reports were submitted.
Acknowledgments were generated.
Then, in several cases, the records simply stopped.
Some complaints had been marked as resolved without documentation showing that the individuals involved had been interviewed.
Others contained missing attachments.
A few had identical closure notes despite describing entirely different incidents.
Victoria sat at the conference table with a yellow legal pad beside her.
Colonel Mercer stood near the screen.
"Look at these three cases," she said.
Victoria examined them.
The first involved an officer who had challenged an unauthorized change to a duty schedule.
The second concerned a personnel recommendation that had been altered after submission.
The third involved a complaint about repeated intimidation within the office.
All three had been closed within forty-eight hours.
"Who approved these closures?" Victoria asked.
Mercer displayed a list of names.
Major Daniel Smarx appeared repeatedly.
Victoria looked at the screen.
"Was he authorized to close every one of these reports?"
"Not independently."
"Then who approved them?"
"That's what we're investigating."
Colonel Bennett folded his hands.
"We don't want to reach conclusions prematurely. There may be administrative explanations."
"Of course, sir."
"But the frequency is concerning."
Victoria returned to the records.
She noticed something else.
Several entries had been created at unusual times, and some were missing the supporting correspondence that should have accompanied them.
She pointed to the screen.
"These closure timestamps are inconsistent."
Mercer moved closer.
"Explain."
"Several reports appear to have been closed before the final review notes were entered. If these timestamps are accurate, the sequence doesn't make sense."
Bennett studied the screen.
"Could it be a system delay?"
"Possibly. But we should verify the original records before assuming that."
Mercer nodded.
"Good."
Victoria wrote down the relevant case numbers.
Then she noticed a familiar reference.
It was the same administrative identifier that appeared on the assignment notice she had received the previous afternoon.
She looked at it again.
"Colonel Mercer, why does my assignment reference appear in this review?"
Mercer paused.
"Because your position is connected to the corrective assessment."
"Was my appointment delayed because of the unresolved complaints?"
"Partly."
Victoria looked at Bennett.
He nodded.
"We wanted someone who could review the records without being influenced by the existing office hierarchy."
Victoria understood the significance.
She had not simply been transferred into a new workplace.
She had been brought in to help examine the very system that Major Smarx appeared to control.
That explained his reaction.
But it did not excuse it.
"Has anyone spoken to the officers who submitted these reports?" she asked.
"Not yet," Mercer replied.
"Then we should."
Mercer smiled faintly.
"That's why you're here."
At 13:20, the three officers began organizing the case files.
They established a list of records requiring preservation and identified several individuals who might provide useful information.
Victoria was careful not to label anyone guilty.
She understood that incomplete documentation was evidence of a problem, not proof of a specific person's misconduct.
Still, one name appeared often enough to deserve attention.
Major Daniel Smarx.
At 14:05, Colonel Bennett received a message.
He read it silently.
Then he looked toward Mercer.
"They've located the original electronic audit trail."
Mercer's expression sharpened.
"All of it?"
"Apparently."
Victoria closed her notebook.
"Does it identify who modified the records?"
"Some of the changes appear to be traceable," Bennett replied.
He turned the laptop toward them.
A series of administrative entries appeared on the screen.
Each contained a date, a time, and a record identifier.
Several modifications had been made using credentials associated with the operations office.
Victoria studied the information.
"Can we establish who was logged in when these changes occurred?"
"That's being verified."
Mercer leaned closer.
"Don't circulate this yet."
"Understood."
Victoria continued reading.
Then she stopped.
One entry was dated several weeks earlier.
It involved a complaint from an officer who had requested an independent review of the same office.
The report had been closed without a recorded interview.
The person who approved the closure was listed as Major Daniel Smarx.
Victoria slowly looked up.
"Colonel, did anyone ever follow up with this officer?"
Bennett checked another document.
"No."
"Then we need to find them."
Mercer nodded.
"We will."
Outside the conference room, footsteps passed along the corridor.
Someone stopped near the door.
A moment later, a knock sounded.
A junior officer entered carrying a sealed envelope.
"Colonel Bennett, this was delivered for you."
Bennett accepted it.
He examined the seal.
Then he opened the envelope.
His expression changed.
"What is it?" Mercer asked.
Bennett removed a single page.
It was a request for an urgent meeting.
The sender's name was not immediately visible.
But the subject line was.
FORMAL REQUEST FOR REVIEW OF OPERATIONS OFFICE PERSONNEL CONDUCT.
And beneath it was a reference number connected to a complaint that had supposedly been closed months earlier.