Moreno frowned. "The audit should identify the account that accessed it."
"It may. But a login isn't the same as proving who was sitting at a terminal. They'll need to check permissions, timestamps, device records, and whether anyone shared credentials."
Malik appreciated the caution even as it increased his frustration. A record could point toward wrongdoing without answering every question, and investigators had a duty to distinguish a strong suspicion from an established fact. Halbrook was entitled to that distinction just as Malik had been entitled to a basic verification before the lieutenant forced him against his car. The principle was easy to defend in a speech and considerably harder to live by when he was the person carrying the bruises.
Another call followed almost immediately. Ward listened, closed her eyes for a second, and leaned against the counter. "Halbrook has filed a new statement with the state team," she said. "He claims you manipulated your residential security footage to manufacture an assault allegation against him. Vivien Caroway signed a statement supporting that claim."
"On what basis?" Malik asked. "Neither of them has examined the security files."
"They say the recording you described could have been altered after the confrontation. They're treating the door-camera system as a disputed source."
"It has continuous upload records. And it was installed before I met either of them."
"I know. But the investigators have to examine that independently."
Moreno looked from Malik to Ward. "So he's accusing the homeowner of tampering with evidence while someone has apparently been accessing his own body-camera file?"
"That's why all of it needs a separate examiner," Ward replied. "Nobody can reach a conclusion simply because the accusations are absurd or convenient. We have to establish what the systems actually recorded."
Malik stepped toward the window. A black investigative vehicle was pulling into the driveway, followed by another with a county registration. Three people climbed out carrying protective cases and a folded document. Their arrival had the orderly pace of an operation with written authorization, not a lieutenant making threats on a porch. Still, the sight of strangers approaching his front door once again made the muscles in his shoulders tighten.
"What's this?" he asked.
Ward looked at the paper sent to her phone. "The investigators obtained a court order authorizing examination and seizure of the local security hub. The allegation has been placed before a judge, and the order is limited to the system relevant to the disputed recording. They are authorized to take it for forensic review."
Malik watched the lead investigator approach the steps. He understood why a neutral examination could protect him better than any argument, but he hated that the people who had tried to force their way into his home were now succeeding in bringing government officials inside by accusing him of exactly the misconduct they appeared to be concealing. He reminded himself that the investigators outside were not Halbrook's private agents. They had legal documents, a narrow scope, and an obligation to preserve the evidence in their custody.