JAMES WALKER: Understood.
He immediately contacted the federal response team.
Meanwhile, Robert Gaines instructed two uniformed officers to secure the eastern corridor.
The operations room was becoming increasingly crowded.
Employees who had previously ignored the confrontation were now watching with obvious concern.
The department had gone from an ordinary Monday morning to a situation involving missing evidence, suspected corruption, unauthorized system access, and a possible attempt to destroy records.
And the person who had initially treated Elena as an unwanted visitor was now standing under the scrutiny of a federal investigation.
A few minutes later, the first technical investigators arrived.
They carried equipment cases, evidence collection materials, and portable computers.
Their team leader, Special Agent Nathan Brooks, approached Elena.
NATHAN BROOKS: Agent Marshall. We received the alert.
ELENA MARSHALL: Good. I need the corridor cameras reviewed immediately. Identify the individual who entered the storage area.
NATHAN BROOKS: We'll start with the access logs.
ELENA MARSHALL: Also check whether the master key was duplicated or issued without authorization.
NATHAN BROOKS: Understood.
Elena showed him the photograph recovered from the command office server.
Nathan examined it carefully.
NATHAN BROOKS: Project Clean House.
ELENA MARSHALL: You've seen the name before?
NATHAN BROOKS: Not the actual document. But our financial team discovered several transactions using similar descriptions.
ELENA MARSHALL: What kind of transactions?
NATHAN BROOKS: Payments to private contractors, equipment rentals, and several property maintenance companies.
ELENA MARSHALL: How much money?
NATHAN BROOKS: Approximately two million dollars across the accounts we've identified so far.
Robert Gaines looked shocked.
ROBERT GAINES: Two million?
NATHAN BROOKS: That's the amount currently under review. We haven't established the full financial picture yet.
The chief stepped forward.
CHIEF RICHARD DONOVAN: Are you suggesting departmental money was stolen?
NATHAN BROOKS: We're investigating whether public funds were diverted through unauthorized transactions.
CHIEF RICHARD DONOVAN: That's an extraordinary allegation.
ELENA MARSHALL: Chief, I suggest you stop treating every discovery as an accusation and start helping us establish what happened.
The chief looked away.
Nathan turned toward his technical team.
NATHAN BROOKS: Pull the camera footage from the eastern corridor. Start with the last thirty minutes.
One of the technicians opened a laptop and connected it to the preserved security system.
A series of camera recordings appeared on the screen.
The team began reviewing them.
The first few minutes showed ordinary activity.
Officers walking through the hallway.
An administrative employee carrying documents.
A maintenance worker pushing a cleaning cart.
Then, at 9:42 a.m., a man appeared near the evidence storage entrance.
He wore a dark police uniform.
His face was partially hidden beneath a cap.
He walked directly toward the door.
He looked over his shoulder.
Then he removed a small object from his pocket and inserted it into the lock.
The door opened.
He entered.
Approximately forty seconds later, he emerged carrying a thin black envelope.
He closed the door and walked quickly toward the western staircase.
NATHAN BROOKS: Pause it.
The technician stopped the footage.
Elena leaned closer.
ELENA MARSHALL: Enlarge the badge area.
The image became slightly clearer.
A number appeared on the man's shoulder.
Robert examined it.
ROBERT GAINES: That's not a regular patrol designation.
ELENA MARSHALL: What is it?
ROBERT GAINES: Internal operations.
He looked at the chief.
ROBERT GAINES: That unit is supervised directly by Deputy Chief Carter.
Elena's expression hardened.
ELENA MARSHALL: Can we identify the officer?
The technician continued reviewing the recording.
A second camera showed the man entering a vehicle outside the headquarters.
The vehicle registration was visible.
Nathan typed the number into the authorized database.
A few seconds later, the result appeared.
NATHAN BROOKS: The vehicle is assigned to Officer Daniel Price.
Robert frowned.
ROBERT GAINES: Daniel Price?
ELENA MARSHALL: Do you know him?
ROBERT GAINES: He's one of the officers assigned to internal operations. He was transferred there six months ago.
ELENA MARSHALL: By whom?
ROBERT GAINES: Deputy Chief Carter.
Elena looked at the chief.
CHIEF RICHARD DONOVAN: Carter handles internal staffing decisions. I don't personally approve every transfer.
ELENA MARSHALL: That's interesting.
CHIEF RICHARD DONOVAN: What is?
ELENA MARSHALL: Every important detail in this investigation seems to lead back to the same person.
The chief did not answer.
Nathan immediately requested the vehicle's current location.
The tracking system showed that the vehicle had left headquarters approximately five minutes earlier.
It was heading toward the old municipal warehouse.
Elena looked at the map.
ELENA MARSHALL: He's going back to the warehouse.
NATHAN BROOKS: That's our assessment.
ELENA MARSHALL: Contact the field team. I want the location secured before anyone has the opportunity to remove additional evidence.
NATHAN BROOKS: Already doing it.
Elena turned toward James.
ELENA MARSHALL: We need to identify what was inside that envelope.
JAMES WALKER: We'll have the storage room examined.
ELENA MARSHALL: Good.
She looked at Marcus.
He was staring at the security footage.
His face had become pale.
Elena noticed.
ELENA MARSHALL: Officer Hale, do you recognize Daniel Price?
Marcus hesitated.
MARCUS HALE: I've seen him around.
ELENA MARSHALL: Have you worked with him?
MARCUS HALE: Occasionally.
ELENA MARSHALL: Have you ever delivered documents to him?