12. Erik #2
Peter arrives fifteen minutes later with Liya behind him. Neither of them is dressed for the reception anymore. Peter has removed his tie, while Liya traded her heels for shoes that make more sense at nearly eleven at night.
Makari arrives seconds after them. He puts a printed access report on my conference table. "Workstation four."
I know the machine. It's in the assistant workroom between my office and the smaller conference room.
Rowan reads the first page beside me. "The proxy begins at eight-fifty-two."
Makari points to the next line. "The workstation was already authenticated to the university network. The user tunneled through an administrative token associated with Erik's account. That token should only exist on his desktop."
"Could someone copy it?" Rowan asks.
He nods. "With enough access."
Peter takes the report from her and reads the authentication sequence. "Or with help from inside IT."
Makari shakes his head. "Possibly, but the physical workstation matters. Whoever did this chose a machine inside Erik's suite even though a remote compromise would've been easier if the only goal was access."
Liya pulls out a chair. "They wanted the location in the log."
Rowan looks at her. "Exactly."
Peter glances at Rowan before turning back to the report. "Why Garcia?"
I answer him. "Because I removed his hand from Rowan at the reception."
Peter's attention moves between us. "Publicly?"
"Very."
Rowan puts her phone on the table. "Tyler's file was accessed at nine-fourteen. Erik and I entered a second-floor conference room at nine-ten. Harper messaged me when she caught the access."
Liya looks at me with enough comprehension that I don't need to explain why Rowan can account for my location.
Peter notices too, because unfortunately Peter also notices and smiles.
"This isn't amusing," I say sternly.
He raises a brow. "I didn't say anything."
"You were about to."
Rowan sits beside Liya. "Can we postpone the family commentary until after we determine who tried to make Erik look like a retaliatory asshole?"
Peter pulls out the chair across from her. "That description is more specific than I would've chosen."
She shrugs. "It's also accurate."
Makari clears his throat before I answer either of them. "There's more."
He puts a second report on the table.
The workstation wasn't used only at nine-fourteen. Someone activated the proxy at eight-fifty-two, then opened Tyler's disciplinary file twenty-two minutes later.
Before that, they searched donor records, the athletics suspension file, and the administrative index for Rowan Bennett. I stare at her name.
Rowan reads the line without moving. "What did they open?"
"Nothing under your name from this workstation." Makari points to the query record. "The search returned your law-school enrollment, spirit-program affiliation, and a restricted notice that records touching you are subject to the dean's recusal."
Peter leans back. "They checked the recusal."
"Yes." Makari looks at me. "Then they opened Garcia."
The sequence removes any chance that this was curiosity.
Whoever sat at that workstation knew exactly what my recusal meant. They searched Rowan, confirmed the restriction, then accessed the file of a man they could connect to her in front of witnesses.
Rowan turns toward me. "This wasn't just about getting Tyler's records. They wanted the access to look like yours."
Richard has been quiet for several minutes. Now he moves toward the table. "You need to notify the board tonight."
"I will."
"And outside counsel."
I concede that too. "Yes."
Rowan points to the access report. "The notification needs to include that Erik was recused before the breach. If the board learns about the file access first and the recusal second, somebody will claim the recusal was created afterward."
Richard looks irritated at being instructed by a law student, but he doesn't disagree. "The filing is timestamped."
"Then attach it."
"I know how to notify my board."
Rowan meets his gaze. "Good. Then we agree."
Liya looks down quickly, hiding amusement. Richard doesn't.
I send the report and recusal filing to outside counsel myself, copying the board's independent compliance chair rather than allowing Richard's office to control the order in which anyone receives them.
Makari waits until I finish. "I'm having the building footage duplicated now. One copy stays with university security. One goes to outside counsel. We keep a third."
Rowan looks toward him. "Make the preservation request cover the elevators, stairs, connecting corridor, parking entrances, and exterior doors. Whoever did this may never appear near the suite if they used an access route the university doesn't consider part of the incident."
Makari types while she speaks. "Anything else?"
"The original system logs should be hashed before anyone exports them."
Peter looks at her. "You've done this before."
"I've studied what happens when people do it badly." That answer sounds like Rowan.
The woman beside me in the conference room half an hour ago was angry about my interference with Tyler. This one is already building the record that may keep the same incident from destroying me.