Chapter 11 Counterfeit Truths #2
Melissa Grant's office door stood closed.
Good.
Julian wasn't interested in personnel files.
He needed fleet records.
The records room sat at the far end of the corridor beside the communications office.
The door wasn't locked.
It rarely was.
Very few people besides supervisors ever entered it.
Julian slipped inside and quietly closed the door behind him.
Rows of filing cabinets lined one wall.
A computer terminal occupied the corner beside an aging laser printer.
Everything smelled faintly of paper, ink, and old folders.
He switched on the desk lamp instead of the overhead lights.
The smaller pool of light felt less conspicuous through the frosted office windows.
He logged into the fleet management system using his employee credentials.
The database opened immediately.
Julian searched for ambulance maintenance histories covering the past twelve months.
Dozens of reports appeared.
Oil changes.
Brake inspections.
Cooling system repairs.
Routine servicing.
Nothing unusual at first glance.
He opened the report from Rig 2's brake failure.
Date.
Mileage.
Repair summary.
He compared it with the original incident report filed by his own crew.
Everything matched.
Then he remembered something Jax had said.
"Think like a mechanic. Patterns matter."
Julian stopped reading individual reports.
Instead, he opened a spreadsheet.
One column listed every ambulance that had suffered an unexpected mechanical failure.
Another listed the date.
Another showed the last scheduled maintenance.
Finally, he added a column titled Outside Inspection Access.
At first it remained empty.
Then he remembered the temporary inspection authorization Chief Harper had reluctantly approved several months earlier.
During the budget review, the town council had requested an independent evaluation of fleet maintenance.
Miller Automotive had been granted limited access to inspect several ambulances for comparison purposes.
Julian searched archived authorization forms.
It took nearly twenty minutes before he found them.
There it was.
Temporary Fleet Inspection Authorization.
Authorized Vendor:
Miller Automotive.
Duration:
Fourteen days.
Purpose:
Independent evaluation of maintenance standards.
Julian frowned.
He opened another window and began comparing dates.
Rig 2.
Independent inspection completed.
Three weeks later...
Brake failure.
Rig 6.
Independent inspection completed.
Five weeks later...
Suspension vibration.
Rig 4.
Independent inspection completed.
Six weeks later...
Cooling system malfunction.
His pulse quickened.
He continued checking.
One vehicle after another.
Every mechanical issue.
Every emergency repair.
Every unexplained failure.
Each ambulance shared one detail.
Every single one had passed through Miller Automotive's temporary inspection program.
Julian leaned back slowly.
That couldn't be coincidence.
Could it?
He checked again.
Then a third time.
The pattern remained.
Every affected ambulance had been handled by Cooper Auto...
...and later accessed by Miller Automotive during the council's temporary inspection initiative.
His heartbeat accelerated.
He wasn't looking at proof of sabotage.
But he was looking at opportunity.
Opportunity backed by documented access.
Someone had possessed legitimate permission to work around every ambulance that later experienced suspicious failures.
A sound outside the office froze him.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Approaching.
Julian immediately minimized the database and reached for the nearest folder on the desk.
The doorknob turned.
Melissa Grant stepped inside carrying a binder.
She stopped when she saw him.
"Oh."
"Julian."
He forced himself to remain calm.
"Sorry."
"I couldn't find the updated maintenance rotation."
Melissa looked mildly confused.
"At this hour?"
"I've got an early shift tomorrow."
"I figured I'd save myself some time."
She smiled tiredly.
"I admire the dedication."
Julian laughed quietly.
"I'll probably regret it in the morning."
She crossed to another cabinet without appearing suspicious.
"The new rotation isn't here."
"It's already been uploaded."
"You can access it from dispatch."
"Perfect."
"Thanks."
He gathered the random folder he'd been pretending to read and headed toward the door.
Melissa stopped him.
"Everything alright?"
Julian nodded.
"Just trying to stay ahead."
"I wish more people did."
She returned to sorting paperwork.
Julian walked calmly into the hallway.
Only after reaching the empty apparatus bay did he finally exhale.
That had been too close.
Far too close.
He stepped outside into the cool night air and immediately unlocked his phone.
He opened the spreadsheet he had emailed to himself moments before leaving the records room.
The highlighted rows stood out clearly.
Rig 2.
Rig 4.
Rig 6.
Rig 3.
Rig 8.
Every unexplained failure.
Every suspicious repair.
Every vehicle had one thing in common.
Each had undergone inspection during the exact two-week period when Garth Miller and his technicians had been granted temporary access to the EMS fleet.
Julian stared at the screen beneath the parking lot lights.
Jax had uncovered counterfeit brake components linked to a company connected to Garth Miller.
Now Julian had uncovered something equally troubling.
Every suspicious mechanical failure had occurred only after Miller Automotive had been allowed inside the fleet.
Neither discovery proved guilt.
Not yet.
But together they formed something far stronger than coincidence.
For the first time since the sabotage began, the scattered pieces of the mystery were beginning to align into a single picture.
Someone hadn't simply taken advantage of failing equipment.
Someone had been patiently positioning themselves inside the system from the very beginning.
And whoever that person was had hidden their tracks well enough that no one had questioned the pattern until now.
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