Chapter 9: The Drive
Grace filed at 8:57 a.m.
By 10:30, she called Daniel to tell him that Rear Admiral Hase had already contacted the review office — not to cooperate, but to formally object to the reinvestigation on procedural grounds.
His attorney had submitted a letter within ninety minutes of the filing.
"That's fast," Daniel said.
"It's panic dressed as procedure," Grace said.
"His attorney cited three separate regulatory frameworks in the objection letter.
Nobody cites three frameworks unless they're trying to bury the reviewer in paperwork while they figure out their next move." She paused.
"It also tells us something useful.
Hase doesn't know about the archive backup yet.
His objection is based entirely on the assumption that Sarah's testimony is uncorroborated.
Once the backup documentation enters the record, his entire procedural argument collapses."
"When does that happen?"
"I'm submitting the archive documentation this afternoon.
Once it's in, the review office has no basis to honor Hase's objection." A brief silence.
"There's something else.
I made some calls this morning about the drive.
Item forty-seven."
Daniel put the phone on speaker.
Sarah was across the room, her bag packed, ready to leave for Claremont.
She stopped.
"The drive was removed from evidence inventory in March," Grace said.
"But removal from inventory doesn't mean destruction.
Federal evidence has a handling trail even after it leaves the official log.
I found a transfer record — informal, not properly documented, but it exists — showing item forty-seven was transferred to a secure storage facility in Arlington used by contractors with federal clearance."
"Folse," Sarah said.
"The facility is registered to a holding company with three layers of incorporation between it and any individual name.
But the clearance code used to authorize the transfer matches Folse's contractor credentials." Grace's voice was steady.
"I have a colleague in the U.S.
Attorney's office who has been looking at Folse's contracting network for an unrelated matter.
I spoke to her this morning.
She is very interested in item forty-seven."
Daniel looked at Sarah.
"How long?" he said.
"If the U.S.
Attorney moves on the storage facility, they can execute a search warrant within forty-eight hours.
Possibly less, given the witness intimidation evidence you sent me this morning." Grace paused.
"Folse doesn't know we've found the transfer record.
As of right now, he believes the drive is safely buried.
That is the only advantage we have and it will not last long."
"What do we need to do?"
"Nothing.
Stay away from anything connected to Folse or Hase.
Let the process move." She paused.
"I know that's the hardest instruction I can give you."
"It is," Daniel said.
"I know." Her voice softened slightly — not much, but enough.
"Daniel.
We have the backup documentation.
We have the testimony.
We have the intimidation record.
We have the transfer trail.
Ellen's account — what she said to Sarah in those last minutes — is now part of an official record for the first time." A pause.
"She was right.
He took the drive.
And we are going to find it."
The call ended.
The room was quiet.
Sarah picked up her bag.
"I'll call you from Claremont," she said.
"Every few hours," Daniel said.
"If you don't call, I'll assume something is wrong."
She nodded.
She moved toward the door.
"Sarah."
She turned.
Daniel was standing in the middle of the room, still in yesterday's uniform — he hadn't been home either.
He looked like a man who had been carrying something for seven years and had just, in the last twelve hours, found someone else willing to carry part of it.
"She would have liked you," he said.
"Ellen.
She had no patience for people who stayed quiet when they knew something was wrong."
Sarah held the door frame for a moment.
"I know," she said.
"I could tell.
Even then.
Even in those twelve minutes."
She walked out.
Forty-one hours later, the U.S.
Attorney's office executed a search warrant on the Arlington storage facility.
May you like
They found item forty-seven.
The drive was intact.
