Chapter 21 - The Jacket in the Archive
Robert’s private archive occupied a secure floor beneath one of his San Diego offices.
Daniel’s military jacket remained inside a glass case.
The torn lining was exactly as Megan remembered.
A technician opened it under multiple cameras.
The serial plate slid onto a white evidence cloth.
Megan stared at it.
Nine years of silence rested in a piece of scorched metal smaller than her palm.
Daniel noticed another object inside the lining.
A folded strip of waterproof paper.
Megan had not placed it there.
Daniel opened it.
Coordinates.
A date.
And Samir’s handwriting.
IF I DISAPPEAR, FIND THE BLUE HARBOR.
Megan recognized the name.
Blue Harbor was a cargo vessel owned by a Parker subcontractor.
It was reported destroyed in a fire eight years earlier.
Robert searched his shipping records.
The vessel had not been destroyed.
It had been renamed and transferred through four shell companies.
Its current location was listed near the airfield from Samir’s message.
Daniel looked at his father.
“Your companies moved it.”
Robert’s face tightened.
“My companies were used.”
Megan answered, “The difference depends on what you do now.”
Robert did not argue.
He ordered every related account frozen.
He contacted an independent federal judge rather than the compromised agency team.
The judge issued emergency preservation orders.
For the first time, evidence could not legally disappear without creating a visible record.
Then the building alarm activated.
Smoke rose from the archive ventilation system.
Someone had triggered a fire suppression emergency.
May you like
The doors locked automatically.
Voss had found them.
