Chapter 14 The Smoking Gun #2
Garth had always been careless about locking the side inventory entrance because employees used it constantly during business hours.
Jax approached quietly.
The handle resisted for only a moment before turning.
Unlocked.
His heartbeat quickened.
He slipped inside and eased the door shut behind him.
The warehouse smelled exactly as he expected.
Rubber.
Grease.
Fresh paint.
Cardboard.
Shelves stretched from floor to ceiling, filled with boxes labeled by manufacturer, vehicle type, and inventory number.
Everything appeared neat.
Organized.
Professional.
If he hadn't already discovered counterfeit brake components, nothing about the building would have seemed suspicious.
He switched on the flashlight, keeping the beam pointed toward the floor.
Every movement remained deliberate.
Every footstep careful.
He ignored the shelves of replacement parts.
Julian already had invoices connecting recalled components to Miller Automotive Supply.
What Jax needed now was something even stronger.
A direct connection between those parts and the ambulances serviced under the municipal contract.
He quietly entered the front office.
Unlike Cooper Auto, Miller Automotive relied almost entirely on digital records.
Three computers sat dark upon matching desks.
Metal filing cabinets lined one wall.
A locked door stood partially open at the end of the hallway.
Garth's office.
Jax stepped inside.
The room reflected its owner perfectly.
Expensive desk.
Framed certificates.
Awards displayed prominently behind polished glass.
Nothing personal.
Nothing warm.
Everything carefully arranged to project success.
He searched methodically.
Desk drawers.
Cabinets.
Shelves.
Most contained ordinary business paperwork.
Tax records.
Insurance documents.
Supplier catalogs.
Nothing useful.
He crouched beside the desk and noticed faint scratches across the hardwood floor.
The desk had been moved.
Recently.
He stood again and gently pushed against one side.
It shifted more easily than expected.
Behind it sat a narrow wall cabinet almost completely hidden from view.
Locked.
Jax examined the small keyhole.
It wasn't a heavy-duty safe.
Just a standard office cabinet.
He looked around the room.
No keys.
His eyes settled on a decorative bowl near the window containing loose coins, paperclips...
...and a small brass key.
He hesitated.
Then picked it up.
The lock clicked open.
Inside rested several binders.
Nothing unusual at first glance.
Inventory summaries.
Purchase orders.
Supplier correspondence.
Then he noticed one plain black ledger without any label on the spine.
Unlike everything else in the cabinet, it looked worn from frequent handling.
He opened it carefully.
The first pages contained handwritten dates.
Vehicle identification numbers.
Part codes.
Delivery notes.
No company letterhead.
No printed forms.
Just neat handwriting.
Jax frowned.
Why keep handwritten records when every other document was digital?
He turned another page.
His pulse quickened.
Each entry listed three columns.
Original Part Number.
Replacement Number.
Installation Location.
Further down the page appeared something else.
R-2
R-4
R-6
Jax recognized the abbreviations immediately.
Rig 2.
Rig 4.
Rig 6.
Ambulance designations.
He read more carefully.
One entry referenced a brake caliper.
Another listed cooling system hoses.
Another documented oxygen regulator fittings.
Beside each appeared coded initials.
CA.
Cooper Auto.
The meaning struck him instantly.
Someone had been tracking exactly which genuine components Cooper Auto installed during scheduled maintenance.
Then recording when those same components were secretly replaced afterward.
His stomach tightened.
This wasn't random sabotage.
It was systematic.
Professional.
Every ambulance serviced by Cooper Auto became a target.
After legitimate repairs were completed, someone returned later, removed the manufacturer-approved parts, and substituted altered or defective replacements.
The handwritten ledger documented the process almost like a checklist.
Jax quickly photographed each page using his phone.
One after another.
Every entry.
Every code.
Every date.
He reached the final section.
Instead of vehicle numbers, these pages contained financial totals.
Savings.
Profit margins.
Purchase costs.
One calculation stood out immediately.
Replacing genuine emergency brake assemblies with recalled components increased profit by nearly sixty percent.
Lives had become line items.
Human safety reduced to accounting.
Jax felt anger rising inside him.
He forced himself to remain calm.
Getting angry solved nothing.
Getting out safely with evidence solved everything.
He slipped the ledger back into its original position.
Taking it would immediately alert Garth that someone had discovered it.
Photographs would serve the same purpose without revealing his visit.
He quietly locked the cabinet again.
Returned the key to the bowl.
Moved the desk exactly where he had found it.
Every detail mattered.
He switched off the flashlight.
Then froze.
A car door slammed outside.
Voices.
More than one.
Headlights swept briefly across the warehouse windows.
Jax slowly stepped away from the office door.
Another sound followed.
Keys jingling.
Someone laughed.
The side entrance handle rattled.
He looked toward the hallway.
There was no time to reach the rear exit without being seen.
His gaze searched the warehouse.
Rows of shelving.
Stacks of boxed inventory.
A narrow maintenance aisle disappearing into darkness.
The front door unlocked.
Light spilled across the concrete floor.
Footsteps entered the building.
Jax slipped silently behind a towering rack of boxed brake assemblies just as the overhead lights flickered on.
From somewhere near the entrance, Garth Miller's unmistakable voice echoed through the warehouse.
"I told you we'd only be a minute."
Jax remained perfectly still.
His heartbeat pounded loudly in his ears.
Only a few yards separated him from discovery.
And hidden safely inside his phone rested the evidence that could finally expose the entire counterfeit operation.
He only had to find a way out before Garth discovered he wasn't alone.
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