Chapter 9 - Evidence in a Dead Man's Bag
Military police sealed Mara's room before she returned. Turner insisted that a neutral investigator photograph the bag, its lock, and the chain of custody.
Inside, beneath Adam's old field jacket, lay a handgun wrapped in an Army maintenance cloth.
"That is not mine," Mara said.
Harlan folded his arms. "Convenient."
"Where did it come from? Who found it? Who opened the door?"
He offered no answer.
Turner noticed a pale strip of adhesive near the bag's zipper. "Someone replaced the tamper tag," she said. "The new adhesive is still tacky."
Kessler, posted outside the room, overheard and looked toward the stairwell.
The handgun was taken for testing. Mara consented to an interview, then requested counsel. She didn't shout, threaten or try to leave. Each ordinary procedural step denied Harlan the scene he apparently wanted.
Later, alone in Turner's car, Mara finally broke. "He was twenty-six," she said. "Adam collected broken watches. He sent our mom a postcard from every training trip. Somebody wants me to remember him as a case number."
Turner waited as tears came and went.
"Then we don't let them," she said.
Chen arrived after dark with the preliminary weapon record. It wasn't associated with Adam's death. Its serial number belonged to an inventory lot reported missing three years earlier.
"Harlan fabricated the description," Chen said. "That gives us a new line of inquiry."
"Does it clear me?"
"It helps. We still need to prove who placed it there."
Chen showed them a grainy corridor image. A maintenance worker carrying a cleaning cart had entered Mara's building during the outage. The face wasn't visible, but the cart bore a numbered contractor sticker.
Shaw Logistics.
"Evelyn Shaw," Mara said.
Chen shook her head. "Not yet. Her company was bought last spring. Its new owner is listed as a nonprofit veterans' support foundation."
Mara scanned the foundation's officers.
May you like
The chairman was Colonel Daniel Rourke.
