One account appeared repeatedly.
ADMIN-VOSS-02.
The final access had occurred that morning, shortly before Adrian arrived.
Adrian looked at the timestamp.
7:41 a.m.
He checked the appointment schedule.
His arrival had been listed for 8:00 a.m.
The access record showed that someone had opened the visitor schedule and the appointment information nineteen minutes before he arrived.
He looked at the monitor again.
There was another detail.
The restricted folder had been accessed using an administrative terminal located in the deputy chief's office.
Adrian did not immediately assume that Voss himself had been responsible. Several employees might have used the terminal.
But the timing was troubling.
He contacted Helen Carter.
ADRIAN COLE: "Helen, we have a new development."
HELEN CARTER: "What did you find?"
ADRIAN COLE: "The restricted archive containing records related to Iris Whitcomb was accessed at 7:41 this morning."
HELEN CARTER: "By whom?"
ADRIAN COLE: "The account is ADMIN-VOSS-02. The terminal is registered to the deputy chief's office."
HELEN CARTER: "Was anything changed?"
ADRIAN COLE: "We haven't established that yet. We only have the access record."
HELEN CARTER: "Preserve the audit trail immediately. Michael will need to examine the file history."
ADRIAN COLE: "It's already in the evidence repository."
HELEN CARTER: "Good. Do not access the restricted folder until our team can examine it."
ADRIAN COLE: "Understood."
After the call, Adrian sat quietly.
The 7:41 access was not necessarily evidence of wrongdoing.
But it raised a question that he could no longer ignore.
Why had someone opened a restricted archive containing complaint records on the morning the new commander was expected to arrive?
And why had the same department employee who had thrown water into his face been involved in transferring documents connected to those complaints?
Adrian looked at the appointment schedule once more.
His name appeared at the top.
COMMANDER ADRIAN COLE — FIRST DAY IN OFFICE — 8:00 A.M.
Below it was a note entered the previous afternoon.
VISITOR TO BE DIRECTED TO EXTERIOR SECURITY CHECKPOINT.
He read it twice.
It did not identify who had entered the note.
The system only showed that it had been added through an administrative account.
Adrian leaned back.
Someone had known about his arrival.
Someone had known he would come without a ceremonial escort.
And someone had apparently made sure that the officer standing outside would be the first person he encountered.
The situation was beginning to look less like an unfortunate coincidence.
At 3:05 p.m., Thomas Reed returned to the conference room with a preliminary document inventory.
THOMAS REED: "Commander, we found several complaint files that may be connected."
ADRIAN COLE: "What did you find?"
THOMAS REED: "There are at least eleven complaints that were referred to the administrative office after being submitted through the public counter."
ADRIAN COLE: "How many have complete supporting documents?"
THOMAS REED: "Four."
ADRIAN COLE: "And the other seven?"
THOMAS REED: "Some contain summaries without original statements. Others have no witness attachments. Two have closure notes but no evidence of a formal investigation."
Adrian looked at Helen.
HELEN CARTER: "We need to determine whether those documents were never uploaded, were transferred elsewhere, or were removed after submission."
ADRIAN COLE: "Can the system establish who last accessed them?"
THOMAS REED: "For some files, yes. For others, the audit history is incomplete."
MICHAEL FOSTER: "There are also inconsistencies between the paper index and the digital system."
ADRIAN COLE: "What kind of inconsistencies?"
MICHAEL FOSTER: "Several paper files are listed as containing photographs and witness statements, but the corresponding digital records contain neither."
Adrian looked down at the inventory.
ADRIAN COLE: "Could the documents have been stored separately?"
MICHAEL FOSTER: "Possibly. We haven't completed the search."
HELEN CARTER: "We should not assume that missing attachments were deliberately removed. But the discrepancies are significant enough to require a full review."
Adrian nodded.
ADRIAN COLE: "I agree."
Thomas turned to another page.
THOMAS REED: "There's also a complaint involving Peter Lawson."
ADRIAN COLE: "What does it say?"
THOMAS REED: "The original index describes it as a complaint about an inaccurate police incident report. Lawson claimed that officers had attributed statements to him that he never made."
ADRIAN COLE: "Was there supporting evidence?"
THOMAS REED: "The index mentions photographs, two witness contacts, and a written timeline."
ADRIAN COLE: "Where are those materials?"
THOMAS REED: "We haven't found them."
Adrian looked toward the window.
The name Peter Lawson had now appeared in multiple records, and the security footage showed his folder being taken directly to Voss's office.
ADRIAN COLE: "Has anyone contacted him?"
THOMAS REED: "Not yet. We wanted to confirm the contact information before making an approach."
HELEN CARTER: "We'll arrange a formal interview. He should be told that his complaint is being reviewed independently."
ADRIAN COLE: "Make sure he understands that he is not in trouble for coming forward."
THOMAS REED: "Of course."
The meeting continued for another twenty minutes.
The review team discussed how to secure the paper archive, identify missing attachments, and prevent anyone from accessing the relevant records without authorization.