Chapter 8 Shadows Around Cooper Auto #2
The room smelled of coffee and printer paper.
Maps of the county covered one wall while maintenance calendars filled another.
Chief Harper sat near the head of the table beside Fleet Coordinator Melissa Grant.
Across from them sat three council representatives.
The final chair belonged to Garth Miller.
Julian paused almost imperceptibly.
Why was Garth here?
Miller Automotive hadn't held the municipal contract in nearly six months.
Melissa noticed him.
"Perfect timing."
"I've got the mileage reports."
Julian handed over the folder.
As he turned to leave, Garth's voice stopped him.
"Julian."
He looked back.
"Mr. Miller."
Garth smiled pleasantly.
"I've got a quick question."
Julian waited.
"Your ambulances..."
Garth tapped a pen thoughtfully against the table.
"...what nights do they usually come in for after-hours maintenance?"
Julian blinked.
"I'm not sure."
"You don't schedule them?"
"Dispatch coordinates emergency repairs."
"I only drive them."
Garth nodded as though the answer were perfectly ordinary.
"What about routine inspections?"
"Those are scheduled by fleet administration."
"I don't handle that either."
"I see."
His smile never faded.
"What time does Cooper usually finish work?"
Julian's expression remained neutral.
"I couldn't tell you."
"You've been there."
Garth said casually.
"A few times."
"For vehicle drop-offs."
"Exactly."
"So..."
He leaned back slightly.
"...is he usually there late?"
Julian met his gaze.
"Most mechanics work long hours."
Garth chuckled.
"Fair enough."
Chief Harper finally looked up from his paperwork.
"Garth."
"We've got schedules to review."
The rival mechanic raised both hands innocently.
"Just making conversation."
Julian excused himself and walked back toward the apparatus bay.
Outwardly, he remained calm.
Inside, every question echoed in his mind.
Not whether Cooper Auto handled repairs.
Not how inspections were documented.
Not technical procedures.
Only schedules.
Only times.
Only when ambulances and mechanics might be alone.
Something about the conversation felt wrong.
Later that evening, Julian carried completed transport reports toward the administrative office.
The hallway outside remained unusually busy.
Council representatives moved between offices while Fleet Coordinator Melissa searched filing cabinets for requested documentation.
Julian waited politely outside the records room until Melissa stepped away to answer a phone call.
As she disappeared down the corridor, another figure quietly entered the room.
Garth.
Julian slowed his pace without attracting attention.
The office door remained slightly open.
Inside, Garth stood beside the maintenance calendar pinned to the wall.
He wasn't reading vehicle inspection reports.
He was copying dates.
Specific dates.
Julian watched him write several entries inside a small black notebook.
Routine ambulance inspections.
Late-night service appointments.
Scheduled maintenance at Cooper Auto.
Why would a competing garage owner need those dates?
A voice called from farther down the hallway.
"Melissa?"
Garth quickly slipped the notebook into his jacket pocket before reaching for a stack of unrelated paperwork as though that had been his purpose all along.
Julian continued walking.
He didn't want to be seen watching.
As he reached the corner, Melissa returned carrying another folder.
"Oh, Garth."
"There you are."
He smiled warmly.
"Just helping myself to the maintenance schedule."
Melissa frowned.
"I thought I already emailed that."
"You did."
"I misplaced it."
"No problem."
She handed him another packet.
"There are next month's fleet rotations."
Julian noticed Garth glance through the pages.
One sheet slipped partially free.
For only a brief second, Julian saw something that made him stop.
Several inspection dates had been highlighted.
Not every ambulance.
Only the units serviced after normal business hours.
His pulse quickened.
The highlighted dates matched exactly the kind of opportunities someone would need to access vehicles with fewer witnesses nearby.
Melissa turned toward the filing cabinet again.
Garth laid the paperwork on a nearby desk while signing a visitor log.
For just a moment...
His attention shifted away.
Julian's phone rested inside his pocket.
His heartbeat accelerated.
He wasn't stealing documents.
He wasn't breaking into computers.
He was standing in a public administrative office where paperwork had been left unattended.
He quietly removed his phone.
One quick photograph.
No flash.
The highlighted schedule.
The visitor log beside it.
Click.
The sound was almost inaudible.
He slipped the phone away immediately.
At that exact moment, Garth turned back.
For a heartbeat, Julian thought he'd been caught.
Garth narrowed his eyes slightly.
"You still here?"
Julian lifted the transport reports in his hand.
"Dropping these off."
Garth's expression relaxed.
"Long day?"
"They usually are."
"I imagine."
The rival mechanic gathered the paperwork from the desk, completely unaware that one page had already been captured forever inside Julian's phone.
Julian offered a polite nod before leaving the records office.
He maintained an even pace until he rounded the hallway corner.
Only then did he finally allow himself to breathe.
He unlocked his phone and opened the photograph.
The image was clear.
Highlighted maintenance dates.
Official fleet schedules.
Garth Miller's handwritten notes visible beside the calendar.
It wasn't proof of sabotage.
Not yet.
But it was the first piece of evidence connecting Garth's unusual interest to the municipal fleet.
Julian locked the phone and slipped it back into his pocket.
For the first time since Jax had shown him the damaged brake line, they had something tangible to discuss.
And somehow, Julian couldn't shake the feeling that the man trying to destroy Cooper Auto Repair had just made his first real mistake.
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