This Side of Truth

Lines and Layers

This was a non-court week, the perfect time to get cases ready for the next term of court. There was a nagging at the back of her head, that brief exchange with Kamala. Siena rolled back in her office chair, grabbing the whistleblower casefile. She shifted her second cup of coffee this morning to the side, laying out all the documents.

She thumbed through until she found the original internal investigative report. She grabbed the other report, the one that had been missing. Her eyes scanned line by line, bouncing between the two documents. There it was. A single sentence. One had it and the other didn't.

Without hesitation, she grabbed her phone, scrolling through her recent calls and tapping the name. A couple of rings and her voice filled the silence.

"Ms. Rhodes," Kamala's voice was smooth, even.

"Morning, do you have a moment?" Siena asked. "I know you mentioned speaking about this today, but I did find something."

"I'm all yours, go ahead."

Siena paused, a flutter – slight, but present in that moment. Clearing her throat, Siena focused.

"So, I looked back at the report sent in the initial discovery," Siena started, and Kamala hummed in acknowledgment. "I thought about what you hinted at, so I compared that to what we got last week. It is off."

Siena could hear shuffling of papers in the background.

"Let me grab this and follow along with you," Kamala spoke softly. "Okay, I'm ready."

Line by line, they went. Siena stopped right at the line.

"Oh," Kamala's surprise shocked them both. "Oh, how did I not see that yet?" she questioned.

"Well, what made you think something was wrong with it from the jump?" Siena asked.

"The time stamps on the bottom were different, different days and different times despite the content and the creator of the document being the same," she answered. "That's when I texted. I hadn't gotten the chance to read the contents yet."

"This is significant," Siena spoke slowly.

"It is," Kamala sat with the weight of this revelation. "I'm coming to see you, and Reggie."

Siena's heart stuttered. "Wait why?"

"To talk," Kamala stated plainly. "This was already messy, but this discovery might have made it a spill we can't contain, and it needs to be handled by someone else."

"Reggie may be in meetings," Siena started.

"I'll handle it, Siena," Kamala cut her off, "I'll see you in 15 minutes." She hung up the phone.

Siena sat still, afraid if she moved Kamala would just appear at the door. The thought of Kamala at her door shot her into action. She began putting files away, straightening her extra shoes, sliding them into the small cubby designated just for that. She fluffed the pillows on her couch. She swiped at specs of dust on her desk.

She glanced at herself in the mirror, eyes bright - an obvious excitement there. She smoothed her hands down the front of her dark slacks. Breathe.

A knock at the door broke her cleaning.

"Why did Kamala call for an immediate meeting? She said you knew?" Reggie asked, an edge sharpening her words. She gave that look, a look like Siena had stepped on her toes.

"I...we, discovered that some of the reports given to us had been altered," Siena straightened, "in a significant way. She wanted to come talk to you."

"Show me," Reggie stepped into the office, closing the door behind her.