Supervisory access.
Modified inventory.
Monique turned toward Aaron.
“You have something to tell me?”
He nodded.
They moved into a conference room.
Aaron explained what happened on the road.
The green camera light.
Derek checking the files.
The claim that they were corrupted.
The initial evidence status.
Russell entering the evidence room.
“I didn’t copy anything,” Aaron said.
“What did you do?”
“I made maintenance notes describing what the system showed before the supervisory changes.”
Monique nodded.
“Show us.”
He opened the first.
Device responded normally during initial intake before supervisory review.
Daniel checked the timestamp against the deeper audit history.
Match.
Aaron showed the second.
Original camera classification visible before supervisory access.
Match.
Then the transition case.
Initial inventory contained additional numbered entries before supervisory review.
Daniel compared it.
Again, the timestamp matched.
Monique looked at Aaron.
“Did you see Captain Hollis destroy anything?”
“No.”
“Did you see Maddox delete the video?”
“No.”
“Do you believe they did?”
Aaron hesitated.
“I have suspicions.”
Monique nodded.
“Good distinction.”
He seemed confused.
“Good?”
“Keep knowing what you know and suspecting what you suspect.”
She closed the laptop.
“Don’t turn one into the other just because you think you’re right.”
Maya heard about that answer later.
It was exactly the kind of investigator she wanted.
The surviving transition files were examined next.
One introductory memorandum settled the question of Maya’s possession.
AUTHORIZED TEMPORARY CUSTODIAN: MAYA WHITFIELD. FINAL RECIPIENT UPON ASSUMPTION OF OFFICE: SHERIFF MAYA WHITFIELD.
The case had never been stolen.
The documents had been where they were supposed to be.
The problem was what happened after Derek found them.
Several page-number sequences now contained gaps.
Fourteen.
Fifteen.
Then nineteen.
Another section skipped two pages.
The missing portions could not immediately be identified.
What remained was troubling enough.
Derek’s name appeared in multiple unresolved incidents.
So did Russell’s.
Not as proof of criminal conduct.
As reviewing supervisor.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Monique closed the file.
“This stopped being one traffic stop a while ago.”
Maya stood near the doorway.
“I know.”
Then she left the room.
Derek watched her go.
“You’re not going to see what’s missing?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Maya stopped.
“Because if I start interpreting the evidence, every conclusion becomes easier to dismiss as revenge.”
Then she walked away.