Marissa watched Roark carefully. Officer Roark, she said, do you remember removing the memory card from the camera system? Roark's smile was predatory. Yeah, I remember. Standard procedure when securing potential evidence.
And what happened to that memory card? Processed according to department protocol. Examined, cataloged, and stored. His confidence was absolute. Whatever you think was on there, it's been properly reviewed by our technical specialists.
Marissa nodded slowly. I see. So, you believe you've accounted for all the recordings from that afternoon. Everything that matters. Everything admissible.
Roark gestured toward the Ferrari's interior. That little camera setup might have impressed you, but we know how to handle sophisticated equipment. Grant continued recording their conversation from a lawful distance, his federal credentials clearly visible. Roark noticed the documentation but showed no concern. You're wasting government resources on this vendetta, Roark told Marissa.
The judicial council complaint is just the beginning. Every time you push this further, it gets worse for you. Officer Roark, Marissa said quietly, when you removed that memory card, did you check whether the system had remote backup capabilities? For the first time, uncertainty flickered across Rourke's expression, but he recovered quickly. Doesn't matter.
Local storage, remote storage, whatever. Nothing useful survived that camera. The evidence examiner completed his initial inspection and began preparing departure paperwork. As the group walked back toward the gate, Mercer lingered near Grant. "Marshall," Mercer said quietly.
"Can I ask you something privately? " Grant glanced toward Marissa, who nodded slightly. Rourke was already walking ahead, talking loudly about evidence protocols and judicial overreach. "What is it, Officer Mercer? " Mercer looked around nervously, confirming that Rourke was out of hearing range. "The reports we filed, how detailed are the computer logs for revisions and changes? " "Server logs preserve every keystroke, timestamp, and user access. Why do you ask? " Mercer's face went pale.
"I I wrote the initial report that night, but when Lieutenant Voss reviewed it the next morning, he said it needed clarification. He accessed my account and made adjustments to ensure accuracy. " Grant kept his voice neutral. "What kind of adjustments? Language about Judge Cole's behavior, details about her hand movements near equipment. Voss said supervisors routinely clean up officer statements to prevent misinterpretation. " Mercer paused, clearly struggling.
"But the final version said things I didn't actually observe. " "Are you willing to provide a sworn statement about those changes? " Mercer looked toward Rourke, who was now at the gate, then back at Grant. Fear dominated his expression. "I can't. If Voss finds out I talked to you, he'll blame me for everything. He'll say I wrote false information initially, and he was just correcting my mistakes.