DEPUTY HALVERSON: "Sheriff, maybe we should review the stop report before making any more decisions."
Kavalik turned sharply.
SHERIFF KAVALIK: "You too?"
DEPUTY HALVERSON: "I'm saying we should make sure the paperwork is correct."
SHERIFF KAVALIK: "You should be worried about your own responsibilities."
Halverson lowered his eyes.
Naomi noticed the exchange.
She did not pressure him.
She knew that people inside a department could be afraid of speaking openly, particularly when the person they needed to challenge controlled their assignments and evaluations.
Instead, she returned her attention to the records.
The next document contained a list of vehicles transported by Kingsland Recovery during the previous six months.
There were more than forty entries.
Some were ordinary sedans.
Others were expensive SUVs, sports cars, and motorcycles.
Several had been taken during roadside stops.
A few had been collected from private properties.
Naomi noticed that the listed values were unusually high.
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "Why are the estimated values included in this transfer report?"
Rebecca examined the page.
REBECCA NOLAN: "They're used for inventory purposes, I think."
Osei shook his head.
DEPUTY OSEI: "Not on every transport sheet. Usually, we record the vehicle identification number, condition, mileage, and destination."
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "Then why are some records organized by estimated market value?"
Osei did not answer immediately.
He looked at a particular column.
It contained several figures.
The highest-value vehicles appeared near the top of the list.
The lower-value vehicles appeared farther down.
DEPUTY OSEI: "Because someone wanted to know which properties were worth the most."
Naomi studied the document.
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "Who prepared this report?"
Rebecca checked the file information.
REBECCA NOLAN: "It was exported from the property administration system."
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "Under which account?"
Rebecca scrolled to the bottom.
REBECCA NOLAN: "The same administrative account."
Naomi looked at Osei.
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "Have you seen this report before?"
Osei nodded slowly.
DEPUTY OSEI: "I've seen a similar one."
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "When?"
DEPUTY OSEI: "About eight months ago. It was circulated internally as a property performance summary."
REBECCA NOLAN: "Property performance?"
Osei looked uncomfortable.
DEPUTY OSEI: "That's what they called it."
Naomi placed the page beside the dispatch records.
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "What did the summary measure?"
Osei glanced toward Kavalik.
The sheriff was standing near the entrance, watching the conversation.
DEPUTY OSEI: "The total value of property seized during a reporting period."
Naomi looked at him.
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "Why would a police department measure its performance by the value of property it takes from people?"
Osei shook his head.
DEPUTY OSEI: "I never understood it."
Naomi studied the list again.
A vehicle's estimated value did not establish whether it was connected to a crime. It did not prove that the owner had violated any law. It certainly did not justify taking the property without the appropriate legal process.
Yet the department's internal report appeared to place financial value at the center of the process.
Rebecca opened another file.
It contained monthly totals.
Each month had a target.
Some targets were listed in terms of the number of seizures.
Others were measured by the estimated value of the property transferred.
Naomi read the figures.
The amounts were substantial.
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "Who approved these targets?"
Rebecca searched the approval field.
Several names appeared, but some entries were incomplete.
The sheriff's office was listed as one of the approving departments.
The property administration office was listed as another.
A third approval came from an account associated with the county's administrative division.
Naomi leaned back slightly.
The situation was becoming more complicated.
It was no longer enough to determine whether Kavalik had acted improperly during one roadside stop.
The records suggested that the department might have operated a system that rewarded the seizure of valuable property.
If that was true, the investigation would need to examine the entire chain of authorization, transportation, storage, and eventual disposition.
The sheriff was no longer simply a man who had made a bad decision.
He might have been part of a structure that encouraged similar decisions.
Naomi turned toward him.
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "Sheriff, are you familiar with these property targets?"
Kavalik did not answer.
SHERIFF KAVALIK: "I don't know what you're talking about."
Naomi pointed toward the report.
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "Your office is listed as an approving department."
SHERIFF KAVALIK: "Administrative documents can contain all kinds of information."
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "Then you should have no difficulty explaining them."
Kavalik looked toward Rebecca.
SHERIFF KAVALIK: "Stop printing documents."
Rebecca kept her hands away from the keyboard.
REBECCA NOLAN: "I haven't initiated another print request."
The printer suddenly produced another page.
Everyone turned toward it.
Rebecca stood up.
The page contained a record of a scheduled administrative maintenance operation.
The operation was set to begin later that evening.
It included a list of archived property entries and a description of the requested changes.
Naomi picked up the page.
At the top was a notice:
ARCHIVE CLEANUP β PENDING APPROVAL.
Below it were several categories.
Duplicate transfer records.
Inactive seizure entries.
Temporary storage documentation.
Unresolved property holds.
Naomi read the final line twice.
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "What does 'unresolved property holds' mean?"
Rebecca looked at the screen.
REBECCA NOLAN: "It refers to property that has not been formally released or transferred to another status."
NAOMI WHITLOCK: "And why are those records scheduled for cleanup?"
Rebecca shook her head.
REBECCA NOLAN: "I don't know."