He believed Lattice Integrity possessed a portable authentication drive containing an original record set that could establish who altered certain vehicle transfers.
He wanted the device recovered before the next formal disclosure.
He had even asked whether the woman could identify its approximate appearance from an internal training document.
She refused.
The manager became angry.
Then told her the problem would be handled elsewhere.
Now she understood what that meant.
The police stop wasn't random.
Somebody had arranged it.
And the officers had been looking for a device their private source had described.
The records supervisor supplied her account to investigators.
She also identified meetings, invoice discrepancies, and individuals who might possess relevant information.
The investigation had acquired something it desperately needed.
A witness from inside the contractor's operation.
Someone who could connect the paperwork to the people making decisions.
The lead Internal Affairs investigator sat across from the records supervisor in a secure interview room.
The woman was frightened.
Her hands trembled around a paper cup.
She had spent eleven years working for Harborline.
She knew many employees personally.
Some were friends.
Others had attended family celebrations.
And she was afraid that cooperating might cost her career or place her under pressure from people she'd known for years.
The investigator listened carefully.
Then explained the process.
The woman could consult counsel.
Her statements needed to be truthful.
And the investigative team would assess appropriate measures for protecting sensitive information and addressing concerns about retaliation.
The supervisor nodded.
Then she began.
She described the first unusual vehicle transfer she remembered.
A compact sedan removed from a residential street.
The owner paid the required fees.
But the system later showed that the car had already been transferred to another facility.
The supervisor questioned the sequence.
Her manager told her the records were correct.
She checked again.
The payment timestamp didn't match the transfer history.
Then she discovered an internal adjustment.
The vehicle had been reclassified under an administrative status that allowed a different disposal process.
The supervisor frowned.
She requested the authorization.
No one supplied it.
Two days later, she was told to close the inquiry.
The investigator made notes.
Then asked about the silver encrypted drive.
The records supervisor swallowed.
“The operations manager was obsessed with it.”
“Why?”
“He said the device would let the technology company prove who changed the records.”
The investigator leaned forward.
“Did he know what was actually on it?”
“I don't think so.”
“Then how did he know it existed?”