Chapter 5 - The Blue Seal
By noon, the original evidence pouch had become the most important object in the investigation.
It was also the most confusing.
The paper inside appeared to be an altered receiving authorization.
The handwritten initials might belong to Captain Hale.
Or someone impersonating him.
But the blue tamper-evident seal told a different story.
Agent Brooks called Elena into an interview room at the NCIS office.
On the table sat a photograph of the pouch.
"Do you recognize this seal?"
"Of course."
"Look carefully."
Elena examined the image.
A narrow blue strip.
Small black serial numbers.
A faint repeating pattern.
Then she noticed the words printed beneath the serial number.
NOT FOR GENERAL INVENTORY.
She looked up.
"What does that mean?"
Brooks folded her hands.
"It isn't a standard logistics evidence seal."
"Then where did it come from?"
"An internal quality-assurance supply system used by Harborline."
Elena stared at her.
"Why would a civilian food distributor have evidence pouches?"
"They use tamper-evident packaging for retained samples and investigation documents."
"Then Rebecca could have sealed it."
"Possibly."
Brooks leaned back.
"But there's a problem."
"What?"
"The serial number belongs to a batch issued to a different Harborline facility."
Elena frowned.
"Which one?"
"Norfolk."
She felt a flicker of recognition.
The installation where she worked was several hours away.
Harborline's Norfolk distribution center was supposed to handle supplies for a different group of Navy facilities.
"Why would Norfolk's materials appear here?"
"That's one of the questions we're asking."
Brooks slid another photograph across the table.
It showed a shipping label.
Destination: NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY HARBOR POINT.
Origin: HARBORLINE REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION, NORFOLK.
Elena read the date.
"That isn't Thursday's shipment."
"No."
"It's from six weeks earlier."
"Correct."
Elena looked up.
"Before the first reported illnesses."
Brooks nodded.
The implications settled over her.
The contaminated shipment might not have been an isolated mistake.
The investigation could involve multiple deliveries.
Multiple facilities.
Multiple people who knew what was happening.
"Agent Brooks, how many Navy installations use Harborline?"
"That's being determined."
"How many deliveries are under review?"
Brooks hesitated.
"More than one."
Elena shook her head.
"You're not telling me everything."
"No. I'm not."
"Why?"
"Because you're a witness, Lieutenant. And because the investigation is expanding."
Elena stood.
"Three sailors are in the hospital. Another sailor is being disciplined for reporting a problem. A quality inspector may have faked her own death to escape someone. I think I deserve to know whether my people are still being exposed."
Brooks didn't become defensive.
Instead, she nodded.
"You're right to care about that."
She waited until Elena sat down again.
"Public-health personnel are reviewing potentially affected inventory. The command has stopped using the questionable lots. Notifications are going through the appropriate medical and logistics channels."
Elena exhaled.
"Thank you."
"But there's something else I need to ask."
"Go ahead."
"Have you ever seen this particular blue seal before?"
Elena studied the photograph.
She almost said no.
Then she remembered.
Three weeks earlier.
A late afternoon meeting.
Commander Collins's office.
She'd been delivering a routine procurement summary when she noticed a transparent pouch on his desk.
The same blue seal.
She had only glimpsed it for a moment.
Collins had immediately covered it with a folder.
"Yes," she said slowly.
Brooks leaned forward.
"Where?"
"In Collins's office."
"When?"
"About three weeks ago."
"Was anyone with him?"
Elena closed her eyes.
She remembered Collins standing near the window.
Another man sitting across from him.
A civilian.
Gray suit.
Gold wedding ring.
A deep voice.
"You're asking for a guarantee nobody can give."
The man had spoken just before Elena entered.
Collins had snapped the folder shut.
Elena opened her eyes.
"Yes. A civilian contractor."
"Can you identify him?"
"I don't know his name."
"Describe him."
She did.
Brooks showed her six photographs.
Elena selected the fourth.
"That's him."
Brooks's expression changed.
"Are you certain?"
"Yes."
She tapped the photograph.
"Who is he?"
"Martin Vale."
"What does he do?"
"He's Harborline Provisions' regional operations director."
Elena's stomach tightened.
"Why was he meeting privately with Collins?"
"We intend to find out."
Brooks gathered the photographs.
Then her phone rang.
She listened for several seconds.
Her face hardened.
"Understood. Preserve the original."
She ended the call.
"What happened?" Elena asked.
Brooks looked at her.
"The warehouse temperature recorder has been examined."
"Did they recover the data?"
"Part of it."
"And?"
"The readings show the shipment exceeded the required temperature limits for a substantial period before arrival."
Elena felt vindicated.
"Then Mercer was telling the truth."
"His concerns appear supported."
"Does that prove the food made the sailors sick?"
"No. That still requires medical and laboratory evidence."
Elena nodded.
"What else?"
Brooks looked down at her phone.
"The recorder was connected to a laptop shortly after the shipment reached the installation."
"So someone copied the readings."
"Yes."
"Who?"
Brooks paused.
"The laptop belonged to Harborline."
Elena leaned forward.
"Martin Vale?"
"Possibly."
"But why would he copy incriminating data?"
Brooks looked directly at her.
"Because somebody may have wanted to know exactly what evidence needed to disappear."
That evening, Elena found an envelope beneath her apartment door.
Inside was a photograph.
Martin Vale standing beside Commander Collins outside a waterfront restaurant.
Between them stood a third man.
A senior Navy officer wearing the insignia of a rear admiral.
On the back of the photograph, someone had written:
THEY DIDN'T START WITH THE FOOD.
Elena turned the image over again.
She recognized the admiral immediately.
Rear Admiral Victor Sloane.
May you like
The officer scheduled to lead the next regional logistics inspection.
And the man who had personally recommended Commander Collins for promotion.
