Chapter 31 - Thomas Hale's Final Decision
No one in Room 214 moved.
Kevin Ross stared at the tablet as though it had become something impossible.
"There isn't any network," he whispered. "The Wi-Fi is disabled. Cellular signals are blocked. This file shouldn't exist."
Marcus Hale took the tablet carefully.
On the screen, only one button appeared.
OPEN
Detective Susan Ortega immediately stopped him.
"Wait."
Marcus looked up.
"If this is another trap..."
"It probably is."
Kevin connected the tablet to an isolated forensic reader they had brought from headquarters. Every investigator watched the progress bar inch forward while the software searched for hidden code.
"No malware."
"No remote connection."
"No executable files."
Kevin frowned.
"It really is just a document."
Marcus pressed OPEN.
A scanned page appeared.
Across the top, in faded typewriter text, were the words:
CONFIDENTIAL INTERNAL MEMORANDUM
Beneath it sat Thomas Hale's signature.
Rachel immediately noticed something unusual.
"The signature..."
Marcus looked closer.
"It isn't handwritten."
Kevin enlarged the image.
"It's a photocopy."
Marcus nodded slowly.
"So someone copied my father's signature."
The first paragraph appeared ordinary.
It described an investigation involving fraudulent custody cases.
The second paragraph mentioned unidentified financial transactions.
The third paragraph abruptly changed.
> Detective Thomas Hale voluntarily requests reassignment and agrees to terminate all inquiries relating to Evergreen.
Marcus read the sentence twice.
Then a third time.
"No."
Rachel looked at him.
"What is it?"
"My father would never write this."
Kevin compared the document with authentic reports recovered from the archives.
Within seconds, several differences appeared.
Different spacing.
Different formatting.
Different typewriter font.
Even the punctuation was inconsistent.
Detective Ortega folded her arms.
"Another forgery."
Marcus nodded.
"But this one wasn't made to fool the court."
He tapped the page.
"It was made to fool history."
Kevin continued scrolling.
Near the bottom, another section had been added.
The heading read:
Reason for Investigation Closure
Only one sentence followed.
> Subject deceased before final interview.
Rachel looked at Marcus.
"They declared your father dead before the investigation ended."
Marcus stared silently at the screen.
"If this document became official..."
He looked around Room 214.
"...then nobody would ever reopen his case."
Officer Brooks suddenly called from the hallway.
"Marcus."
"What?"
"I found another room."
At the far end of the archive corridor stood a steel security door hidden behind rows of filing shelves.
Unlike every other door in the building, this one looked modern.
Electronic lock.
Biometric scanner.
Fresh paint.
Someone had maintained it.
Kevin examined the keypad.
"This wasn't installed twenty years ago."
Marcus slowly smiled.
"No."
He looked at the steel door.
"This is still in use."
Rachel glanced back toward the windows.
The three black SUVs remained outside.
None had moved.
Whoever waited in those vehicles wasn't trying to stop the detectives from entering Evergreen.
They had been waiting for them to discover this hidden room.
Marcus reached toward the biometric scanner.
Just before his hand touched the glass, the scanner activated by itself.
A calm electronic voice echoed through the hallway.
Identity recognized.
Everyone froze.
Marcus slowly pulled his hand back.
"I never touched it."
The scanner flashed green.
Then displayed a single line of text.
WELCOME BACK, DETECTIVE THOMAS HALE.
For several long seconds, nobody spoke.
May you like
Then the heavy steel door unlocked with a deep mechanical click...
...and slowly began opening on its own.
