Elena looked toward the hallway.
"Chief, I don't know what you've been told about this department."
"Then start with what you know."
She remained silent.
Marcus did not rush her.
Finally, Elena closed the folder in front of her.
"Three years ago, I was assigned to investigate discrepancies in the department's equipment budget. Several invoices appeared to have been approved for purchases that were never delivered."
"What kind of equipment?"
"Communication systems, protective gear, surveillance equipment, and vehicle components. The invoices were unusually large, and several vendors shared the same business address."
"Who approved the payments?"
"That was the problem. The approvals came from different administrative offices, but the final authorization appeared to lead back to the deputy chief's office."
Marcus's expression did not change.
"What happened when you reported it?"
"I submitted a preliminary report. Two days later, my supervisor told me to stop investigating because the discrepancies had already been reviewed."
"Who told your supervisor to stop?"
Elena looked directly at him.
"James Vance."
Marcus made a note.
"Did you have evidence?"
"I had copies of invoices, payment records, and several emails. But before I could submit the complete report, my access to the financial database was removed."
"Where are those copies now?"
"Some were placed in the official case archive. Others disappeared."
"Disappeared?"
"Someone accessed the storage room after hours. The original folders were missing when I returned."
Marcus studied her face.
"Did you file a complaint?"
"Yes. It was dismissed as an administrative error."
"Did anyone investigate the missing evidence?"
"No."
"Why didn't you go to an outside authority?"
Elena gave a bitter smile.
"Because the department's legal office handled the complaint. And the people I was accusing were the same people who controlled the information I needed."
Marcus sat quietly for a moment.
"Why are you still here?"
Elena looked down at her hands.
"Because I thought someone might eventually ask the right questions."
Marcus closed his notebook.
"I'm asking now."
She looked up.
"What exactly do you want from me, Chief?"
"I want you to help me find out where the money went."
Elena seemed uncertain.
"That investigation could reach people far beyond this building."
"Then we'll follow the evidence wherever it leads."
"And if it reaches the city administration?"
"Then the city administration will have to answer for it."
Elena searched his face, trying to determine whether he genuinely believed what he was saying.
After a long pause, she opened a drawer and removed a small, worn notebook.
"I kept a record of the original invoice numbers. Not the full documents, just enough information to reconstruct the transactions."
Marcus accepted the notebook.
"This is useful."
"There's something else."
"What?"
"Some of the payments were connected to a company called Northbridge Security Solutions. It was supposedly an equipment supplier. But I could never find evidence that it had a functioning warehouse or a legitimate distribution network."
"Who owned it?"
"The official registration listed a man named Robert Hale. But I found several connections between him and people who worked closely with the department's former administration."
Marcus wrote down the company name.
"Do you still have the original registration records?"
"I might. I saved some documents before they removed my access."
"Bring everything you have to my office. Make copies, and don't use the department's shared network."
Elena frowned.
"Do you think someone is monitoring our systems?"
"I don't know. But until we understand what happened, we should assume that sensitive information may not be secure."
For the first time, Elena looked cautiously hopeful.
"Understood, Chief."
***
By lunchtime, Marcus had begun to see a pattern.
The department's financial records contained dozens of unexplained payments. Some were small enough to escape attention, while others involved contracts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Several payments had been approved for equipment that appeared on paper but could not be located in the department's inventory.
Vehicles had been purchased and later transferred to other agencies without clear documentation. Maintenance contracts had been renewed despite repeated complaints about poor service. Training funds had been allocated to programs that several officers claimed had never taken place.
None of these irregularities proved criminal conduct by themselves.
But together, they raised serious questions.
Marcus asked the finance division for the original records, not the summaries prepared for senior management.
The response came less than an hour later.
The files were unavailable.
According to the finance director, several years of transaction records had been moved to an external archive during a system upgrade.
Marcus called the director directly.
"Who authorized the transfer?"
"I'm not sure, Chief. It happened before my appointment."
"Who currently has access to the archive?"
"That information should be in the IT access log."
"Then send me the log."