Brooks looked up.
“What?”
“The secured compartment.”
He stood.
“It has a load sensor.”
“Why?”
“To detect unauthorized removal of stored equipment.”
Brooks’s eyes sharpened.
“Exact weight?”
“Within a tolerance.”
“Recorded when?”
“Every access event.”
They requested the encrypted telemetry from federal motor-pool administration.
The vehicle itself began telling the story.
At 2:47:33 p.m., during the roadside stop, the secured compartment recorded a forced-access event.
Weight before opening:
4.2 pounds.
Weight after:
2.8 pounds.
Difference:
1.4 pounds.
Marcus stared at the screen.
Brooks asked:
“What weighs 1.4 pounds?”
Marcus answered immediately.
“The sealed federal packet.”
“Exactly?”
“Close enough that I want it measured.”
A duplicate packet containing identical paper quantities was assembled.
1.39 pounds.
Brooks leaned back.
“So whatever disappeared was removed at roadside.”
“Not impound.”
They checked every later access.
No weight change.
The compartment was never lighter again.
Meaning the missing material had left the vehicle during Mercer’s original search.
Now they needed to prove who took it.
Danner’s body-camera footage was synchronized against the telemetry.
2:47:33.
Compartment opened.