Chapter 4 - The Password
Ben had dealt with men who lied under pressure.
They usually made one of two mistakes: they talked too much, or they tried too hard to control the room.
Principal Keene did both.
"This is an internal matter," he said. "We have privacy rules. Data-security rules. You cannot simply demand access to district systems."
"I'm not demanding access," Ben replied. "I'm asking why my living status was changed to deceased under my daughter's record."
Alvarez spoke for the first time. "Sir, if the record shows an unauthorized edit, IT should preserve the login history."
Keene shot him a look.
"Officer Alvarez, your role is campus safety."
"Changing a parent record can affect who is allowed to pick up a child," Alvarez said. "That's safety."
Clara reached for Ben's hand.
He took it.
Ms. Harrow stared at the username on the screen. "I swear I didn't change that."
Dr. Voss looked at her. "Who has your password?"
"Nobody."
"Think carefully."
Ms. Harrow's eyes flicked toward Keene, then away.
Ben saw it.
"Someone?"
She rubbed her thumb against her teacher ID badge.
"At the start of the year, Mr. Keene asked for staff credentials because the new attendance program wasn't syncing. He said IT needed temporary access."
Keene laughed once. "That's absurd."
"You wrote them down," Ms. Harrow said. Her voice had changed. "You collected them in the conference room."
"Passwords are not stored on paper."
"You told us to write them on the yellow forms."
The room went quiet again.
Dr. Voss pulled out her phone. "I'm calling district technology."
Keene moved toward the door.
Scout rose from a sit, not aggressive, simply responding to Ben's movement as Ben shifted closer to Clara.
Keene stopped.
"Get that dog out of my classroom."
"He's not your problem," Ben said.
A notification chimed on Dr. Voss's phone.
She read it.
Her expression changed.
"We have a bigger problem."
"What?" Ben asked.
She turned the screen so only the adults could see.
"Clara's record wasn't the only one changed."
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There were eleven student names on the audit alert.
All eleven had parents connected to the military.
