Through the glass, Murphy sat at his desk. Clearly ending a phone call. Nothing revealing in that stern countenance he always wore. Yet something about his posture made my skin prickle. He arranged papers with methodical precision. Lined up edges with unusual care.
"He already knows something." I straightened my tie. Fixed my most confident smile in place.
Murphy gestured us in with a subtle wave. The weathered lines around his face seemed deeper today. Like someone had carved new grooves of concern into his skin overnight. My back straightened instinctively as we entered.
"Sir." A nod. Hawley took up position beside me.
The energy that had been building since leaving 52 came pouring out as I detailed our findings. I described the altered files with precise detail. Dates that had been shifted. Names systematically removed. Connections deliberately erased. How Voss had staged the entire interrogation. How Marshall's rehearsed testimony pointed to multiple officers involved in leaking informant identities.
"It's a coordinated cover-up, sir." I leaned forward. "They've sanitized the records to hide who really had access to CI information. Protecting someone, or several people."
"The security footage shows a police vehicle near Daniel's attack location." Hawley's deep voice filled the small office with quiet authority. "Minutes before the estimated time of the assault. Disappears for twenty minutes, then reappears heading back toward 52."
"Sir, with your authorization, we can request the unaltered digital backups from central records. If we move quickly before they realize what we've found..."
Murphy's face darkened as we spoke. The lines around his mouth deepening into furrows. He never looked away. Studied us with an intensity that made me increasingly uncomfortable. When we finished, he stayed silent for a beat too long. Tapping rhythmically against a manila folder on his desk.
"That call I just finished was about you, Carlson." A tap on the folder before him.
My confident smile faltered. Something in his tone sent a chill down my spine.
"There's talk of reopening your IA file."
The words hit like a physical blow. I blinked. Tried to process.
"What? Why now?" Genuinely confused. Still standing while Hawley had already taken a seat, sensing what was coming. My unsteady legs gave out. I sank into the chair.
Murphy exhaled slowly. Maintained steady eye contact. "Someone has been pushing the issue up the chain of command. Suggesting new evidence has emerged that you were directly responsible for the leak that compromised your informants."
"That's ridiculous." Heat rising in my cheeks. "I was cleared..."
"You were transferred. There's a difference."
Blood drained from my face as the implications sank in. The investigation into Voss had triggered exactly what Hawley warned about. A counterattack.
"IA hasn't confirmed yet, but they're looking. The timing of your 52 visit couldn't be worse."
My mind raced. Connecting the dots. Voss must have made a call. The interrogation. The altered files. The staged witness. All part of a larger strategy to bury the truth and frame me as the scapegoat. Again.
"They're trying to discredit me before I can expose them." The words sounded hollow even to my own ears.
"Or using your investigation as an opportunity to finish what they started." Hawley's quiet addition from beside me.
Murphy's attention shifted between us. "Whatever their motivation, they want you out. Badly."
"Sir, we found evidence. The altered files, the security footage..."
"Evidence that would be your word against theirs. And right now, your word doesn't carry much weight with the brass."
The truth of his statement stung more than any direct accusation could have. Years building my reputation, only to watch it crumble in a matter of weeks. Now, when it mattered most, that same damaged reputation was being used as a weapon against me.
I glanced at Hawley. Searched for something. Support, anger, anything. But that carefully neutral expression stayed in place. His attention fixed on the Inspector.
"What happens now?" Steadier than what churned inside.
"I need you to step back from this investigation." Murphy leaned back. Watched me with those weathered features that seemed to see through every performance I'd ever given.
"What?" The word escaped before I could stop it. The composure I'd been holding all day finally giving. "No. Sir, with all due respect..."
