Elena identified him as the officer who seized her phone.
His name appeared in amended property records.
And Ortiz's notes connected him to a previous suspicious evidence correction.
After consulting with an attorney, Rourke requested an interview through the prosecutor's office.
I was not present for the initial meeting.
That was intentional.
He had assaulted me.
I was a witness to that separate incident.
There was no need to place me in a position where his cooperation might later be portrayed as something obtained through my personal anger.
Dana and another investigator handled the interview.
When she returned, she found me reviewing financial records.
She placed a folder on my desk.
"Rourke talked."
I looked up.
"About what?"
"The raid."
I set down my pen.
Dana sat opposite me.
"He says Keller ordered the original money count changed."
I felt my chest tighten.
"Does he admit participating?"
"Yes."
I waited.
She continued.
"He says the currency came into the precinct in two packages. One hundred seventeen thousand four hundred in the first. One hundred thousand in the second."
I nodded.
"Matches the ledger."
"Keller told him a recount had been completed and that he needed to sign the amended receipt."
"Did he?"
"Yes."
"Did he count the money?"
Dana shook her head.
"No."
I looked toward the window.
She continued.
"He says he knew the amount was wrong."
I turned back.
"Then why did he sign it?"
Dana opened the folder.
"He said Keller told him it was being handled at command level."
I stared.
She continued.
"And he didn't want to risk his career."
I felt something familiar rise inside me.
The same explanation appeared again and again in corruption investigations.
Fear.
Loyalty.
Career pressure.
The belief that following an improper instruction was safer than questioning it.
Those pressures could be real.
They could also be used to excuse decisions that harmed innocent people.
I looked toward Dana.
"What about Elena's phone?"
"Rourke admits taking it."
"Under what authority?"
"He says he was told she had recorded sensitive search activity."
I waited.
Dana continued.
"He turned it over to Keller. When it came back, some files had been deleted."
"Did Rourke delete them?"
"He denies it."
"Any corroboration?"
"Not yet."
I nodded.
Then asked, "The recording device?"
Dana's expression changed.
"He says Mercer personally ordered it removed from the normal evidence-processing route."
I leaned forward.
"Did he hear the order?"
"Yes."
"Exactly what did Mercer say?"
Dana checked her notes.
Then read.