Nicky broke the seal and turned the first page toward the room.
Deputy Chief Vale’s smile disappeared before anyone else understood why.
The page looked almost identical to the copies already spread across the conference table.
It carried the same case number, the same evidence inventory, and Danny Reagan’s familiar signature at the bottom.
But Nicky had placed two versions side by side.
On the official copy, Danny was listed as entering the evidence room at 9:42 p.m.
On the archived copy, recovered from an automatic backup, the line was blank.
Danny leaned closer.
“That entry wasn’t there when I signed it.”
“I know,” Nicky said.
Vale recovered quickly.
He lowered himself into his chair and gave a dismissive shrug.
“A corrected report proves nothing.
Records are updated all the time.”
Nicky slid another page from the folder.
“Corrections require the original officer’s acknowledgment.
Danny’s electronic approval appears twenty-three minutes before the entry was created.”
One of the detectives behind the glass opened the door and stepped into the room.
The others followed, no longer willing to remain silent witnesses.
Vale’s eyes narrowed.
“You accessed restricted audit records without authorization.”
“I was authorized by the office conducting the review.”
“You failed to disclose a conflict of interest.”
“I disclosed it before accepting the assignment.
I also removed myself from the final ruling.
Everything in this folder was independently verified.”
Vale turned toward Danny.
“This is what she does? She walks in here, waves technical details around, and expects us to forget that evidence vanished during your operation?”
Danny did not answer him.
He was staring at Nicky.
The anger he had shown when she arrived had drained away, leaving something heavier behind.
“You knew the report was altered before you came here,” he said.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because whoever changed it knew enough about internal procedure to hide the edit.
I could not risk warning the wrong person.”
Danny glanced at Vale.
Vale noticed.
His hand moved toward his phone again.
Nicky reached across the table and covered it with her palm.
“Please leave that where it is.”
Vale’s voice dropped.
“You have no authority to seize my property.”
“I am not seizing it.
I am asking you not to contact the person who replaced the report.”
Sean stepped away from the wall.
“You know who did it?”
“I know which terminal was used.”
Nicky removed a photograph from the folder.
It showed a workstation in the records office, its monitor dark, its chair pushed beneath the desk.
The detectives exchanged confused looks.
Vale almost laughed.
“A photograph of a computer?”
“A computer registered to your administrative credentials,” Nicky said.
“The report was changed at 11:18 p.m., after the records staff had gone home.”
Vale folded his arms.
