"Which archive?"
"One that officially doesn't exist."
David slowly took the photograph.
He examined it carefully.
Then he turned it over.
There was a handwritten note on the back.
NORTHBRIDGE — FINAL TRANSFER — 11:30 P.M.
And underneath:
THREE SUBJECTS. ONE WITNESS.
David's fingers tightened around the paper.
He looked at Shaw.
"Who else has seen this?"
"Nobody."
"You're sure?"
"As sure as I can be."
David shook his head.
"Then you shouldn't have brought it here."
Shaw frowned.
"Why?"
"Because if this photograph is real, somebody already knows you have it."
Jessica looked between them.
"Can somebody explain what's happening?"
Shaw nodded.
"Eleven years ago, three individuals disappeared from a private maintenance facility operated by Northbridge Security."
She pointed toward the photograph.
"Michael Miller was investigating the disappearance. David Morgan was assigned to the same case. Lieutenant Harris was the supervising officer."
Jessica looked at Harris.
"You told me you barely knew my father."
Harris looked away.
Shaw continued.
"The investigation was officially closed after all three missing employees were declared to have resigned voluntarily."
Jessica shook her head.
"But my father was a police officer."
"Yes."
"Why would he be at a maintenance facility?"
"Because he believed the facility was being used to store evidence removed from other criminal investigations."
David nodded.
"Northbridge wasn't just a maintenance company."
He opened the metal case and removed another document.
"It was a private security contractor. It had access to municipal buildings, police databases, evidence storage facilities, and several restricted government properties."
Jessica looked at the document.
"What was it doing with all that access?"
David answered:
"Making things disappear."
Shaw added:
"Evidence. Personnel records. Surveillance footage. Arrest reports. Sometimes entire investigations."
Jessica felt her stomach tighten.
"You're saying they could erase a person?"
David looked at her.
"Not physically. Not at first."
He paused.
"They would erase the records that proved the person existed. They would alter employment histories, change identification numbers, falsify medical records, and create documents showing that the person had voluntarily left."
Jessica looked down at her father's forged resignation.
"Like this."
David nodded.
"Exactly."
Harris suddenly spoke.
"You're leaving out something important."
Shaw turned toward him.
"Go ahead, Lieutenant."
Harris looked at David.
"Tell her what happened after Michael discovered the operation."
David remained silent.
Harris continued.
"He didn't just disappear."
Jessica looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
Harris took a breath.
"He contacted someone outside the department."
"Who?"
"An investigative journalist."
David's expression hardened.
"That journalist was murdered three days later."
Jessica stepped backward.
"What?"
Harris nodded.
"The department classified it as a robbery. His apartment was searched, his computer was stolen, and the investigation went nowhere."
David looked toward the ground.
"His name was Peter Lawson."