"That's what we're trying to establish."
He waited.
Anna continued.
"A supplemental entry changed the location to your address and described the person as potentially armed."
"Who entered it?"
"We don't have a verified answer yet."
"Was it dispatch?"
"The change appeared in the dispatch system, but we need the underlying records and operator statements before attributing it."
Marcus nodded.
"Good."
Anna paused.
"There's something else."
He stared at the wall.
"What?"
"The unit assignment was changed shortly before Officer Mason received it."
Marcus frowned.
"From whom?"
"Another patrol unit was closer."
"Why wasn't it sent?"
"The record lists supervisory reassignment."
He sat forward.
"Which supervisor?"
Anna hesitated.
"Marcus, we need to confirm that."
He closed his eyes.
"You're right."
"I know you're upset."
"That doesn't give me permission to jump ahead of the evidence."
There was silence.
Then Anna said, "That's why I wanted you to hear it directly."
Marcus looked toward his daughter's photograph on the desk.
"Anna, if somebody intentionally sent an officer to my house, we need to know whether the officer understood what he was doing."
"Agreed."
"And if he didn't, we need to know why the person directing him thought he'd respond the way he did."
Anna sighed.
"Agreed."
Marcus stared at the photograph.
His daughter wore a bright yellow dress and stood beside him at a school science fair.
She held a cardboard volcano in both hands.
The picture had been taken only two months earlier.
He remembered how excited she'd been when the project erupted with red foam.
Now he wondered whether she would look at police officers differently for the rest of her childhood.
He spoke quietly.
"Do it properly, Anna."
"We will."
"Don't protect me because I'm the director."
A pause.
"Marcusβ"
"Protect the integrity of the investigation."
Anna's voice softened.
"That's the plan."
He ended the call.
Then he opened a notebook.
At the top of the page, he wrote three questions.
Who changed the address?
Who selected the officer?
Who expected the encounter to happen?
He stared at the words.
The original incident had lasted only minutes.
But its explanation might reach much further back.
The person who first noticed the irregular dispatch assignment wasn't a detective.