The sequence was beginning to look less like an isolated incident.
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "Who authorized these transfers?"
Rebecca opened the authorization field.
A name appeared.
Then another.
Then a department account.
Her expression changed again.
REBECCA NOLAN: "Sheriff, some of these records were approved through the administrative office."
Kavalik moved toward the monitor.
SHERIFF KAVALIK: "That's confidential department information."
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "Then it should be preserved even more carefully."
Rebecca clicked on the next record.
A warning appeared.
The system indicated that certain archived entries had pending administrative changes.
Rebecca frowned.
REBECCA NOLAN: "That's strange."
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "What is it?"
REBECCA NOLAN: "Some of these records are scheduled for deletion or archival replacement."
Osei's face went pale.
DEPUTY OSEI: "No. Not those."
Kavalik looked toward him.
SHERIFF KAVALIK: "What are you talking about?"
Osei stepped closer to the counter.
DEPUTY OSEI: "Those records are supposed to be retained."
Rebecca looked at the screen again.
A small notification appeared in the corner.
An administrative export request had been initiated.
The printer behind the booking desk suddenly made a mechanical noise.
One sheet began moving through the tray.
Then another.
Rebecca turned around.
REBECCA NOLAN: "I didn't send anything to print."
The printer continued.
Pages began emerging one after another.
Naomi looked at the documents.
Osei looked frightened.
Kavalik stood motionless.
The first page contained a list of vehicle seizures.
The second showed transfer dates and storage destinations.
The third contained a summary of property values.
At the bottom of the page was the name of the private recovery company that had taken Naomi's Ducati.
KINGSLAND RECOVERY & STORAGE.
Naomi picked up the first page.
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "What exactly am I looking at?"
Osei swallowed.
DEPUTY OSEI: "The records nobody was supposed to see."
Naomi looked at him.
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "How long has this been happening?"
Osei glanced toward the sheriff.
For several seconds, he seemed unable to speak.
Then he finally answered.
DEPUTY OSEI: "For years, Judge."
Kavalik stepped forward.
SHERIFF KAVALIK: "Put those papers down."
Naomi did not move.
She looked at the printed records, then at the sheriff.
The man who had pointed a gun at her beside the Ducati now seemed far less certain of himself.
The booking room had changed completely.
What had begun as a roadside detention was turning into something much more serious.
And the pages coming out of that printer suggested that Naomi's motorcycle might have been only one piece of a much larger operation.
She looked at Rebecca.
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "Don't let anyone remove those records."
Rebecca nodded.
But before she could answer, another notification appeared on the computer screen.
It showed that someone had attempted to access the same archive remotely.
The user account was an administrative account.
And the request had been made from inside the sheriff's department.
The administrative access notification remained on Rebecca Nolan's computer screen.
Nobody in the booking area spoke.
Naomi Whitlock stood beside the counter, holding the printed seizure records. The small injury near her mouth was still visible, but she had stopped paying attention to it. Her attention was now fixed on the administrative account that had attempted to access the archive.
Sheriff Dale Kavalik moved toward the computer.
SHERIFF KAVALIK: "Rebecca, close that window."
Rebecca did not touch the keyboard.
REBECCA NOLAN: "Someone is accessing the archive remotely."
SHERIFF KAVALIK: "I can see that. Close it."
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "Why would someone need to access the records while we're reviewing them?"
Kavalik turned toward her.
SHERIFF KAVALIK: "This is an internal department system. You have no authority to interfere with our operations."
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "I haven't interfered with anything. Your own system generated a notification showing an attempt to access the records."
She placed the printed pages carefully on the counter.
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "And I would like to know why someone is attempting to access those records immediately after we discovered irregularities in the seizure process."
Kavalik looked at the documents.
SHERIFF KAVALIK: "These are preliminary administrative records. They don't prove anything."
DEPUTY OSEI: "They prove that the same company keeps receiving property from our department."
Kavalik turned toward him.
SHERIFF KAVALIK: "You need to remember who you're speaking to."
DEPUTY OSEI: "I've remembered that for a long time, Sheriff. That's the problem."
The statement caught everyone by surprise.
Osei had always been quiet around Kavalik. He rarely challenged instructions, and he usually avoided arguments in front of other officers. But something had changed.
He had seen too many people lose valuable property without receiving clear explanations.
He had watched elderly residents arrive at the station asking where their vehicles had gone. He had seen families struggle to recover work trucks, cars, and equipment that had been taken during roadside stops.
Some of those people had been told that their property was being held as evidence.
Others had been informed that they needed to pay storage fees before they could retrieve it.
A few had never received a clear answer at all.
Osei had gradually begun to suspect that the department's procedures were being used for something other than legitimate investigations.
He had never imagined that a federal judge would become the person standing in front of him when the truth began to emerge.
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "Deputy, I want you to explain what you know. Start with the recovery company."