Others had been transferred to companies that claimed to provide security services overseas.
The records showed that Brooks had approved several transactions.
Cross had signed the destruction certificates.
Hale had received payments through an intermediary.
Vance had been used to recover Arthur's credential.
But one part of the investigation remained unresolved.
The original signature page.
Without it, Brooks could argue that the authorizations had been forged or altered.
Arthur knew that the page was the key.
And he knew Brooks would never surrender it voluntarily.
When Miller visited him again, Arthur asked the same question.
ARTHUR: “Have you found the page?”
MILLER: “Not yet.”
ARTHUR: “Then Brooks still has something to bargain with.”
MILLER: “He hasn't admitted possessing it.”
ARTHUR: “He doesn't need to.”
MILLER: “What do you suggest?”
Arthur looked toward the window.
ARTHUR: “He'll try to make a deal.”
MILLER: “For immunity?”
ARTHUR: “For protection. He'll offer the names of other people involved. He'll claim that the project was too large for him to control. He'll say he was following instructions.”
MILLER: “And you think he has the page?”
ARTHUR: “I know he does.”
Miller sat down.
MILLER: “How?”
Arthur opened the folder beside his bed.
He removed an old photograph.
It showed three men standing in front of the facility.
Arthur was on the left.
Daniel Cross stood in the middle.
Nathaniel Brooks stood on the right.
ARTHUR: “This was taken during the final audit.”
MILLER: “What am I looking at?”
Arthur pointed to Brooks's hand.
ARTHUR: “He's holding a document case.”
MILLER: “So?”
ARTHUR: “The case belonged to the project director. It was used to carry the original authorization documents.”
MILLER: “You believe the signature page was inside?”
ARTHUR: “I watched him put it there.”
Miller studied the photograph.
MILLER: “Where was it taken?”
ARTHUR: “Outside the facility.”
MILLER: “Then we can search the property.”
ARTHUR: “No. The case was never left there.”
MILLER: “Where did he take it?”
Arthur pointed to a building in the background.
ARTHUR: “The old administration building. There was a private office on the second floor. Brooks kept a safe behind the wall panel.”
MILLER: “You know the combination?”
ARTHUR: “No.”
MILLER: “Who does?”
Arthur paused.
ARTHUR: “The project director.”
Miller looked at him.
MILLER: “You were the project director?”
ARTHUR: “No.”
MILLER: “Who was?”
Arthur took a breath.
ARTHUR: “Colonel Nathaniel Brooks was the administrator. But the original director was someone else.”
MILLER: “Who?”
Arthur turned the photograph over.
A name was written on the back.
DR. ELLIOT MERCER.
MILLER: “Who is he?”
ARTHUR: “The man who designed the entire system.”
MILLER: “Is he alive?”
ARTHUR: “I don't know.”
MILLER: “Why didn't you mention him before?”
Arthur looked at the photograph.
ARTHUR: “Because I thought he had died.”
***
The FBI located Dr. Elliot Mercer through an old federal retirement record.
He was eighty-two years old and living in a small assisted-living residence in Pennsylvania.
His medical records showed declining mobility, but his mind remained sharp.
When Miller and two agents arrived, Mercer was sitting beside a window, reading a newspaper.
MERCER: “I wondered when someone would come.”
MILLER: “Dr. Mercer?”
MERCER: “Depends who's asking.”
MILLER: “Special Agent Daniel Miller. We're investigating the old transportation security project.”
Mercer lowered his newspaper.
MERCER: “Then you should have come eight years ago.”
MILLER: “We're here because of Arthur Whitmore.”
Mercer's expression changed.
MERCER: “Arthur?”
MILLER: “He's alive.”
Mercer slowly put the newspaper down.
MERCER: “I thought they had finally managed to silence him.”
MILLER: “Who?”
Mercer looked at the agents.
MERCER: “Brooks.”
MILLER: “You know what happened?”
MERCER: “I know enough.”
MILLER: “We recovered the original ledger, but the final authorization page is missing.”
Mercer gave a quiet laugh.
MERCER: “Of course it is.”
MILLER: “Do you know where it is?”
MERCER: “Brooks has it.”
MILLER: “We have Brooks in custody.”
MERCER: “Then he will use it to negotiate.”
MILLER: “We believe he has hidden it in the old administration building.”
Mercer shook his head.
MERCER: “No.”
MILLER: “Why not?”
MERCER: “Because Brooks was never foolish enough to keep the most important document in a building that could be searched.”
MILLER: “Where would he keep it?”
Mercer stared at the window.
MERCER: “He would keep it somewhere that belonged to someone else.”
MILLER: “Do you have a specific location?”
Mercer nodded.
MERCER: “The original laboratory.”
MILLER: “The facility?”
MERCER: “Not the main building. The underground testing chamber.”
MILLER: “We searched the facility.”
MERCER: “You searched the rooms that were on the official floor plan.”
Miller leaned forward.
MILLER: “There's another level?”
MERCER: “There was a chamber beneath the laboratory. It was used to test the identification system under emergency conditions. The entrance was hidden behind the old calibration wall.”
MILLER: “Why wasn't it included in the records?”
MERCER: “Because the project was never supposed to exist.”
Miller waited.
MERCER: “The government wanted a system that could identify sensitive equipment even if the primary database was destroyed. The chamber contained the original master key and the first-generation records.”
MILLER: “And the signature page?”
MERCER: “It was supposed to be stored there.”
MILLER: “Supposed to be?”
Mercer looked directly at him.
MERCER: “I gave Brooks the key.”
MILLER: “Why?”