Chapter 5: The Principal Was Next
Principal Collins read the suspension notice twice.
Then she slowly lowered her hands.
"This cannot be real.""
Officer Brooks moved closer.
"What does it say?""
She turned the monitor toward him.
The notice accused her of violating district security procedures, mishandling confidential student records, and interfering with an ongoing personnel investigation.
It demanded that she surrender her school credentials immediately.
Daniel shook his head.
"They're trying to remove you before you can investigate.""
Principal Collins looked at him.
"I haven't even made a formal report.""
"That's the point.""
Mateo stood beside his father, holding the straps of his backpack.
"Are they going to fire her?""
Principal Collins forced a smile.
"I don't know, sweetheart.""
Daniel looked at the notice.
"Who has authority to suspend a principal without a hearing?""
"Under certain emergency provisions, the superintendent's office can place an administrator on temporary leave.""
"Based on what evidence?""
She didn't answer.
Officer Brooks leaned toward the computer.
"There's an attachment.""
He opened it.
A document appeared with several photographs.
The first showed Principal Collins standing outside the security office.
The second showed her speaking with Daniel.
The third showed her holding the envelope containing the student assistance records.
At the bottom was a statement accusing her of illegally obtaining confidential student information.
Daniel stared at the images.
"Someone has been following us.""
Principal Collins sat down.
"They're building a case against me.""
Officer Brooks shook his head.
"Or trying to make it look like you're the problem.""
Then the office phone rang.
Principal Collins answered.
"Margaret Collins.""
A man's voice came through.
Even from where I stood, I could hear the anger in it.
"Have you lost your mind?""
Principal Collins straightened.
"Mr. Hale?""
"This is an internal district matter. Why are you involving security personnel and outside parties?""
"Because a student was physically assaulted.""
"That has not been established.""
"We have a witness.""
"One thirteen-year-old student?""
"Two students, including the victim.""
Richard Hale sighed.
"Margaret, I suggest you stop making emotional decisions.""
Principal Collins gripped the receiver.
"I suggest you explain why your office tried to delete the footage.""
Silence.
Then his voice became colder.
"Do you understand what you're accusing me of?""
"Yes.""
"Then understand the consequences.""
He disconnected.
Principal Collins slowly put down the phone.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Officer Brooks opened another screen.
"I have an idea.""
He pulled up the security system's access history.
"Every administrative command leaves a digital record. Even if someone deletes a video, the system keeps track of who accessed it.""
Daniel nodded.
"Can you retrieve the original footage?""
"I can retrieve the access history. The video itself is stored on a separate server.""
Officer Brooks clicked through several folders.
A list of file transfers appeared.
His eyes narrowed.
"That's strange.""
"What?"" Principal Collins asked.
"Someone accessed the footage from Room 214 yesterday.""
Daniel stepped closer.
"Yesterday?""
Officer Brooks nodded.
"At 8:43 p.m.""
He opened the details.
The account belonged to Patricia Vance.
A second access had occurred at 9:17 p.m.
This time, the account belonged to Richard Hale.
Principal Collins covered her mouth.
"They were reviewing the camera before today?""
Officer Brooks continued scrolling.
"There's another file.""
He opened a document containing an audio recording index.
One entry was labeled:
*ROOM 214 — INCIDENT REVIEW — PRIOR RECORDING.*
Daniel leaned forward.
"Play it.""
Officer Brooks hesitated.
"These files may contain confidential student information.""
Daniel looked at him.
"My son has been hurt. I don't care who feels uncomfortable.""
Officer Brooks clicked the recording.
A woman's voice filled the small room.
Mrs. Whitmore.
"I told you the boy is becoming a problem.""
A man's voice answered.
"Then document his attendance violations.""
"I need something stronger.""
"Don't create something that can be traced back to you.""
A pause followed.
Then Mrs. Whitmore spoke again.
"What about the other students?""
The man laughed quietly.
"Patricia will handle the complaints.""
The recording ended.
Nobody moved.
Principal Collins stared at the screen.
"Who is that man?""
Officer Brooks checked the recording details.
"There's no name attached.""
Daniel looked toward the photograph in his folder.
"Richard Hale.""
"How can you be certain?"" Principal Collins asked.
Daniel pointed toward the speaker.
"I worked in the district for eleven years. I know his voice.""
Mateo looked confused.
"Why would they talk about me before today?""
His father turned toward him.
"Because this started long before you were hurt.""
Mateo shook his head.
"But why?""
Daniel took a slow breath.
"Remember when I told you I used to help families with transportation applications?""
Mateo nodded.
"After my accident, I discovered that several families were being charged fees they weren't supposed to pay. Some were losing assistance after refusing to sign documents.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I didn't want you involved.""
Daniel's eyes dropped.
"I thought I could fix it myself.""
He reached into his folder and removed a letter.
"This is what started everything.""
It was addressed to the district's financial oversight department.
Daniel had reported irregularities in the student transportation assistance program.
The letter was dated fourteen months earlier.
Principal Collins examined it.
"Did you send this?""
"Yes.""
"Did anyone respond?""
Daniel shook his head.
"Three weeks later, my transportation benefits were suspended. Then my employment records were reviewed. Then I received a letter claiming I had violated district confidentiality rules.""
Officer Brooks frowned.
"Was that true?""
"No.""
Daniel pointed toward the bottom of the letter.
"My former supervisor signed the disciplinary notice. But he called me privately and told me he'd never approved it.""
Mateo looked at his father.
"Is that why we lost so much money?""
Daniel nodded.
"I tried appealing. But every time I asked for help, someone told me my case was closed.""
He paused.
"Then the anonymous documents arrived.""
Principal Collins sat back.
"So your son wasn't simply being targeted by one teacher.""
Daniel looked at her.
"No. He was being used to silence me.""
I felt sick.
Mrs. Whitmore's cruelty suddenly seemed much bigger than one classroom.
Then Officer Brooks' computer chimed again.
A new video file had appeared in the restricted archive.
The filename was:
*ROOM 214 — PREVIOUS INCIDENT — 09/16.*
Officer Brooks opened the thumbnail.
The image showed Mateo sitting alone at his desk.
Mrs. Whitmore stood beside him.
Her hand was raised.
But before the recording could load, the screen went black.
A notification appeared.
*REMOTE SESSION TERMINATED.*
Officer Brooks jumped to his feet.
"Someone just disconnected the server!""
Daniel grabbed the edge of the desk.
"Can you recover it?""
"I don't know.""
Principal Collins looked toward the door.
"Who has access to that server?""
Officer Brooks slowly turned toward her.
"Only three people.""
"Who?""
He counted them on his fingers.
"Me. Patricia Vance. And Richard Hale.""
Then he opened the system's last recorded activity.
A new entry appeared.
*SERVER ACCESS: AUTHORIZED.*
The timestamp was less than ten seconds old.
The user was not Patricia Vance.
It was Richard Hale.
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And the access location showed that he wasn't in the district administration building.
He was inside Westbrook Middle School.
