“I don't remember the details.”
“Do you remember a time of 10:17 p.m.?”
“No.”
“Did Voss tell you that the department may have been notified of the complaint nearly two hours earlier than the official report indicated?”
“I don't recall such a conversation.”
Marcus looked at the notes before him.
“Mr. Keller, the reason we're asking these questions is that several records appear to describe a sequence of events that has not been adequately explained. We have a memorandum indicating that the department was notified of Mr. Carter's complaint at approximately 10:17 p.m. We have a partial hospital register recording chest discomfort at approximately 10:19 p.m. We have a witness who says she heard Mr. Carter request medical help and then spoke with you outside the room. We also have evidence that her statement was moved into a restricted administrative file.”
Keller listened without interrupting.
“Do you have any explanation for those records?”
“Not without seeing them.”
“We can provide the relevant documents for your review through counsel. For now, I am asking whether you remember any circumstances that might explain why a witness statement concerning medical assistance would be separated from the ordinary case file.”
“No.”
“Do you remember any concern that the statement might affect the department's official account of the timeline?”
“No.”
“Did you ever instruct anyone to keep information about Mr. Carter's medical complaint from investigators?”
“No.”
“Did you ever instruct anyone to prevent Patricia Greene from speaking to investigators?”
“No.”
“Did you ever warn Patricia Greene that her employment might be affected if she continued discussing the case?”
Keller's face hardened.
“I did not threaten anyone's employment.”
“That's not quite what I asked.”
“I don't remember speaking with her.”
Marcus paused before asking the next question.
“Did you know that Ms. Greene wrote to the department after the initial review, asking whether anyone had investigated her report?”
“No.”
“Did you know that she received a response saying the matter had been reviewed and that the department considered the available information consistent with its report?”
“No.”
“Do you know who prepared that response?”
“No.”
Elena made a note, then slid a document across the table.
“Mr. Keller, we would like you to examine this administrative inventory.”
Keller looked down.
The inventory was a photocopy of a record showing that materials connected to the Carter case had been transferred into the Special Administrative Review category. One entry corresponded to the file number written in the margin of Patricia's preserved statement.
Keller read it silently.
“Do you recognize this record?” Elena asked.
“I recognize the format. It looks like an administrative inventory.”
“Do you recognize the initials beside the authorization?”
“No.”
“Do you recognize the file number?”
“Not specifically.”
“Were you involved in authorizing the transfer of materials into the Special Administrative Review category?”
“I would have been involved in some administrative reviews during that period, but I cannot say whether I was involved in this one.”
Marcus watched him closely.
“Do you remember telling Captain Harlan that the materials needed to remain separate from the standard case index?”
“No.”
Keller returned the document to the table.
“This is a photocopy of a photocopy, as far as I can tell. I don't know who prepared it, whether it is complete, or what the underlying documents contained.”
“Those are questions we're investigating,” Marcus said. “But the inventory does identify a transfer that appears to correspond with the movement of the witness statement.”
“Then you should find the original records.”
“We are trying to.”
Keller leaned back.
“Then I suggest you do that before making assumptions about what happened.”
Marcus did not respond immediately.
It was a fair caution in principle. It was also a familiar defense: the records were incomplete, the memories were old, and therefore the people who remembered the events should not be expected to explain them.
Marcus had no intention of allowing either the evidence or the absence of evidence to be treated selectively.
“Let's turn to the evening itself,” he said. “Do you remember where you were at approximately ten o'clock on October fourteenth?”
“No.”
“Do you remember whether you visited Westbridge General Hospital that evening?”
“I cannot recall.”
“Do you remember whether you were responsible for overseeing any detainees who had been brought to the hospital?”
“I don't remember the specific assignments from that night.”
“Would it have been within your responsibilities to intervene if a detainee complained of chest pain?”
“That would depend on the circumstances. Medical personnel had responsibility for medical assessment. Officers had responsibility for custody and ensuring that requests were communicated.”
“Would you agree that a detainee's complaint of chest pain should be communicated to medical staff promptly?”
“Yes.”
“Would you agree that a senior officer who learned of such a complaint should ensure that the appropriate personnel were notified?”
“If the officer was aware of the complaint, yes.”