"Officer Price, I want you to provide a formal statement. You will be protected against retaliation for giving truthful evidence. If anyone threatens or pressures you, report it directly to Internal Affairs."
Price nodded.
"Thank you, Chief."
As he stood, Marcus added one more question.
"Have you seen Thomas Reed since his suspension?"
Price hesitated again.
"Yes."
"When?"
"Last night. He was in the parking lot talking to Deputy Chief Vance."
Marcus looked at him.
"What time?"
"A little after eight."
"Did you hear what they were discussing?"
"No. But they were arguing."
Marcus leaned forward.
"Did you see where they went afterward?"
Price shook his head.
"No. Vance left in his car. Reed stayed for a few minutes, then drove away."
Marcus thanked him and arranged for the statement to be documented.
After Price left, he called Internal Affairs.
"Confirm whether Thomas Reed has had any contact with suspended personnel or command staff since his suspension. I want the contact documented, not assumed to be misconduct."
"Understood."
Marcus then called Sarah.
"Please ask Detective Alvarez to come upstairs."
***
When Elena arrived, Marcus showed her the emails.
She recognized several names.
"These complaints were never included in the official records."
"Which means the department's complaint statistics may be incomplete."
"Much more than incomplete. They may have been deliberately manipulated."
Marcus pointed to one message.
"Thomas Reed was involved in at least one of these cases."
Elena nodded.
"That doesn't surprise me."
"Do you think he was acting alone?"
"No. Thomas was never the kind of person who could make a complaint disappear by himself. Someone higher up must have approved the process."
Marcus looked at the date.
"Two years ago, the deputy chief was responsible for administrative oversight."
Elena nodded slowly.
"Vance."
"We still need evidence connecting him to the decisions."
"Then we need the original complaint files."
Marcus picked up his phone.
"Let's request them through the official system."
He called the records division.
The employee who answered sounded nervous.
"Chief, I checked the database. Those complaint numbers don't exist."
Marcus looked at Elena.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I searched by case number and complainant name."
Marcus ended the call.
The complaints were in the Shadow Vault, but not in the official database.
Someone had created a separate record system specifically to keep them away from normal oversight.
That evening, the independent forensic team confirmed another discovery.
The Shadow Vault had been accessed using an administrative override account linked to a device registered in the deputy chief's office.
The access did not prove that Vance personally operated the device.
But it placed the account under his administrative control.
Marcus requested that the evidence be preserved and referred to the city's independent investigators.
He knew the next step would be difficult.
Vance had spent decades building relationships throughout the department.
If the deputy chief was involved, he would not simply accept an investigation without resistance.
And Marcus was about to discover how far that resistance could go.
***
At 8:40 a.m. the next day, Deputy Chief Vance entered Marcus's office without waiting for an invitation.
"We need to talk."
Marcus looked up from his documents.
"Close the door."
Vance did.
"I've been informed that you are examining confidential records involving senior personnel."
"That's correct."
"Some of those records contain allegations that were never substantiated."
"Then the investigation will determine whether they were substantiated."
Vance placed a document on the desk.
"This is a formal request from the department's legal office. They are asking you to suspend the review of the Shadow Vault until the ownership and classification of the records can be established."
Marcus read it.
The request argued that the archive contained sensitive information and that access should be restricted until a legal review had been completed.
Marcus put the document down.
"The records are already secured. The independent forensic team is examining them under legal supervision."
"That is not what the request says."
"Then the request needs to be updated."
Vance's voice became sharper.
"Chief, you cannot simply disregard the legal office."
"I am not disregarding them. I am following the advice of the independent legal adviser assigned to this investigation."
Vance stared at him.
"You are making a serious mistake."
Marcus stood.
"Deputy Chief, I have a question. Did you authorize Robert Collins to remove records from the archive?"
Vance did not answer immediately.
"I authorized an administrative reorganization."
"Did you tell him to move the original financial documents?"
"I don't remember the exact details."
"Did you know that the Shadow Vault existed?"
Vance's expression changed.
For a brief moment, Marcus saw something close to anger.
"Every department has restricted archives."
"That wasn't my question."
Vance stepped closer.
"You're new here, Harris. You don't understand the history of this place."