Lena lowered her voice. "If you're here to preserve the evidence archive, you need to start before anyone changes anything else."
Mercer looked at her. "Lena, what are you talking about?"
She kept her eyes on Maya. "The administrative logs are being overwritten automatically."
Maya asked, "Since when?"
"About three weeks."
"Who changed the retention settings?"
Lena paused. "That's part of the problem."
Mercer stepped closer. "What problem?"
Lena finally looked at him. "The record showing who changed them is already gone."
Maya turned to Lena. "Show me the system."
Chief Mercer stepped forward. "Before anybody starts moving through restricted areas, I need to understand the scope of this."
Maya faced him. "The scope is preservation. Your department keeps operating. Your officers keep answering calls. And no one changes anything connected to digital evidence, contractor access, or system administration."
Mercer glanced toward the front desk, where several employees had begun watching the conversation. "We can move this upstairs."
"We can," Maya said, "after the evidence is protected."
Rebecca crossed her arms. "You're treating the entire department like a crime scene."
"No, I'm treating the records like records."
Lena led Maya toward the secured digital evidence office. Mercer followed, with Rebecca a few steps behind. Ben remained at the front desk under instructions not to touch the verification terminal or the torn credential.
The digital evidence room contained three workstations, two equipment cabinets, and a secured door leading to the main server area. Lena used her access card, then entered a personal code.
Maya stopped before crossing the threshold. "Who has administrator privileges?"
"Chief Mercer has executive-level access. I have evidence administration. Lieutenant Sloan has security and limited evidence permissions. Sloan Integrated Systems has contractor-level certificates for maintenance."
Maya looked at Rebecca. "Sloan Integrated Systems?"
"My brother owns the company," Rebecca said. "That isn't a secret."
"Was the relationship disclosed?"
"Yes," Mercer answered before Rebecca could add anything. "The contract went through city procurement. It was reviewed and approved."
Maya did not challenge him. "Then the records should confirm that."
Lena sat at the nearest workstation and opened the audit console. "This is what I was trying to explain."
A series of administrator events appeared on the screen. The newest records were detailed, showing account names, access levels, system changes, and timestamps. Older entries became noticeably less complete.
Maya leaned closer. "How long did the system retain administrative history before the change?"