I stared.
Twenty-one minutes.
Enough time to enter the room.
Remove a ledger.
And leave.
"Who authorized the camera shutdown?"
Dana looked down at the folder.
Then back at me.
"Deputy Chief Mercer's office."
For several seconds, I said nothing.
Then I asked, "Any other cameras?"
Dana nodded.
"The hallway camera remained active."
I leaned forward.
"What does it show?"
She placed a printed still image on the table.
The picture was grainy.
Black and white.
But clear enough.
At 2:23 a.m., Sergeant Keller walked through the corridor carrying a rectangular storage box.
The box was marked with the archive classification used for evidence ledgers.
He turned toward a service stairwell.
At 2:26, he returned without it.
I studied the image.
"Where does the stairwell go?"
Dana looked at me.
"Basement level. Records disposal area, maintenance rooms, and the old loading dock."
I stood.
"Then let's find out what happened to the box."
The records disposal area was located in the basement of a municipal storage building connected to the precinct through a secured service corridor.
It smelled of cardboard, dust, and old electrical equipment.
Several large bins stood along one wall.
Most contained approved administrative records awaiting scheduled destruction after retention review.
Each disposal batch was supposed to have authorization paperwork.
A record of what it contained.
And a documented approval before anything was destroyed.
The box Keller carried did not appear in the authorized disposal list.
That mattered.
The absence of an entry did not tell us where the ledger went.
But it eliminated the simplest legitimate explanation for why the book might have been placed downstairs.
Our team examined the available access records, interviewed maintenance personnel, and reviewed additional hallway footage.
A custodian remembered seeing a uniformed officer carrying a box near the loading dock early Saturday morning.
He did not know what was inside.
He remembered the time because he was preparing to leave his overnight shift.
He also remembered the officer seemed irritated when asked whether he needed help.
The custodian described him.
Broad shoulders.
Short hair.
Dark uniform.
Sergeant stripes.
Keller.
The custodian said the officer placed the box inside a maintenance closet.
Then locked the door.
The investigators obtained appropriate access to the closet.
Inside were cleaning supplies, spare light fixtures, a broken vacuum cleaner, and several cardboard boxes.
One was marked with an evidence archive classification.
My pulse quickened.
The box had been opened.
The original seal was broken.
We documented its condition before examining the contents.
Inside were three binders.