Chapter 2: The Phone That Shouldn't Exist
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Captain Harris extended his hand.
“Let me see that.””
I folded the document and slipped it into my coat pocket.
“Why?””
“Because that's an internal evidence transfer form.””
“Exactly. Which makes it interesting that your signature is on it.””
His jaw tightened.
“Detective, I have been with this department for thirty-one years. I don't appreciate being accused of misconduct based on a piece of paper someone walked in off the street.””
Emily shook her head.
“I didn't make it up.””
Harris turned toward her.
“Miss, do you understand the seriousness of making false allegations against a police captain?””
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
“I understand that someone told me to destroy a missing man's property.””
Derek stepped between them.
“Captain, maybe we should take this conversation into your office.””
“No,” I said.
Both men looked at me.
“This conversation stays right here until I understand why my brother's phone was hidden.””
Captain Harris exhaled through his nose.
“Detective Carter, you're too close to this case.””
“I know. That's why I requested an independent review.””
“And who approved it?””
I held his gaze.
“Deputy Chief Morrison.””
That name changed the atmosphere.
Harris's expression became unreadable.
Derek looked down at his shoes.
I noticed both reactions.
Deputy Chief Robert Morrison had personally assigned me to the case after I submitted a formal request for an external investigation. He had also instructed me not to discuss the assignment with anyone at the local station until the preliminary evidence review was complete.
I had thought it was a standard precaution.
Now I wondered whether it had been a warning.
“Emily,” I said, turning toward her.
“Where is the phone?””
She pointed toward the envelope.
“I brought the transfer receipt, but the phone is somewhere else.””
“Where?””
“The evidence warehouse. I left it in a locked cabinet before coming here.””
“Who else knows?””
Her lips trembled.
“Someone called me last night.””
“Who?””
“I don't know. He said he was calling from the police department. He knew my address. He knew my daughter's school.””
Emily looked down.
“He told me that if I didn't destroy the phone, my little girl would have an accident.””
The words landed heavily.
I stepped closer.
“Did you report the threat?””
“No. I was afraid.””
I softened my voice.
“You did the right thing coming here.””
Derek suddenly laughed.
It was a short, nervous sound.
“Are we really going to believe all this? A warehouse employee shows up with a suspicious piece of paper, makes an accusation, and suddenly we're supposed to believe the entire department is corrupt?””
I turned toward him.
“Did I say the entire department was corrupt?””
He said nothing.
“Then stop answering questions nobody asked.””
Captain Harris rubbed his forehead.
“Derek, go back to your post.””
Derek hesitated.
“Captain—”
“Now.””
He walked away, but not before looking directly at Emily.
The look lasted only a second.
It was enough.
Emily flinched.
I noticed.
So did Harris.
“Detective,” he said, “my office. We need to discuss this privately.””
I shook my head.
“Not without a witness.””
He stared at me.
Then I heard a phone vibrate.
It came from the envelope.
Emily had placed her own phone inside it without realizing.
I pulled it out.
The screen displayed a message from an unknown number.
You shouldn't have brought the envelope to the station.
Another message appeared.
Now we know you're helping her.
Emily covered her mouth.
A third message arrived.
Tell Detective Carter to check her brother's voicemail.
I looked at her.
“Did you give anyone your phone number?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
I took a photograph of the messages and sent them to the independent case supervisor.
Then I called Deputy Chief Morrison.
He answered after two rings.
“Carter.””
“Sir, I have a problem.””
“What's happened?””
“Malik's phone was recovered and transferred under Captain Harris's signature. The evidence was concealed. Someone threatened the warehouse employee who found it.””
There was a pause.
Then Morrison asked, “Are you still at the station?””
“Yes.””
“Leave immediately.””
I frowned.
“Sir?””
“Do not discuss this with Harris. Do not access their evidence system. Get the witness somewhere safe and call me from a secure location.””
“Why?””
His voice dropped.
“Because the officer who signed that transfer isn't the person we're looking for.””
I felt cold spread through my chest.
“Then who are we looking for?””
“Someone who had access to the original case before Harris ever touched it.””
“Who?””
Morrison didn't answer immediately.
Then he said, “Your brother's assigned investigator.””
I looked across the lobby.
Derek was standing beside the printer, pretending to read a document.
He wasn't looking at the paper.
He was looking at me.
“His assigned investigator was Officer Derek,” I said.
“I know.””
The call ended.
I stared at the screen.
Emily whispered, “What did he say?””
Before I could answer, the station lights flickered.
A moment later, the evidence room alarm began ringing.
Captain Harris rushed out of his office.
“What happened?””
A young officer came running down the corridor.
“Captain! The evidence room has been breached!””
Harris looked at me.
“Stay here.””
I didn't move.
“Who has access to that room?””
“Authorized personnel.””
“Names, Captain.””
He hesitated.
Then Derek appeared behind him.
“Captain, I've got it.””
He pulled a keycard from his belt.
I looked at the silver card.
The same design.
The same department marking.
The same type of card found beside Malik's photograph.
“Interesting,” I said.
Derek's hand stopped halfway to the security panel.
“What?””
I pointed at his card.
“Where did you get that?””
“Department issue.””
“What's the serial number?””
He looked at me.
“Excuse me?””
“Read it.””
Derek slowly lowered his hand.
Captain Harris turned toward him.
“Derek, show her the card.””
For the first time, Derek looked genuinely angry.
“Are you serious?””
“Show her.””
He tossed the card onto the counter.
I picked it up.
The serial number was clearly visible.
I checked it against the number written on the evidence bag photograph.
They matched.
Exactly.
Emily made a small sound behind me.
I turned the card over.
There was something written in black marker on the back.
A date.
Six days earlier.
The night Malik disappeared.
I looked at Derek.
“Where were you at 11:47 p.m. that night?””
He didn't answer.
Captain Harris reached for his radio.
“Security, lock down the station.””
But before he could finish, the young officer who had reported the breach came running back.
His face was white.
“Captain!””
“What now?””
“The evidence room is empty.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“What do you mean empty?””
The officer looked at me.
“The phone. The transfer records. Everything connected to Malik Carter's case is gone.””
Then he held up a second item.
A small black flash drive.
“We found this taped underneath the evidence cabinet.””
I took it.
A strip of paper was attached.
It contained just six words.
Ask your mother what happened in 2018.
My fingers went numb.
May you like
My mother had been dead for three years.
And I had never told anyone in this department about the last conversation we shared.
