"Captain Shaw," she said, raising her voice just enough to carry over the humming engines, "our records show that more than four thousand gallons of diesel were charged to Army accounts at this station in six weeks without corresponding delivery to the listed Army vehicles. Pump six appears in almost every questionable record. Do you know anything about those transactions?"
Voss made a small sound behind her. Shaw did not look back at him.
"I can't speak to billing disputes between vendors and the military," Shaw said.
"The disputed purchases include restricted system overrides. They also line up with visits by a local patrol vehicle."
"Correlation isn't proof," Shaw replied quickly.
"I agree. That's why I'm here to look for proof."
She moved toward the pump. Shaw stepped to the side just enough to let her pass, but an officer near the cabinet held up a hand. Danielle stopped rather than creating another confrontation. She photographed the outside of the access panel and the orange service seal using her secure camera. The seal looked newer than the paint around it. The faint scoring beneath the clasp suggested that the cover had been opened recently, and a tiny crescent of fresh sealant had been pressed against an older screw.
The record from the fuel-service contractor showed no maintenance visit for eight months.
"When was that seal installed?" Danielle asked.
"I don't know," Shaw said.
"Who has keys to this cabinet?"
"That's a question for the owner."
"Then I'd like to ask the owner."
Shaw lifted his phone. "Not until my people are done securing the area."
Danielle took another photograph, this time including Shaw, the officer, and the closed panel in the same frame. He appeared to notice the choice of composition.
"Are you recording me?"
"I'm documenting the scene and my attempts to preserve it," she said. "Everything we're doing is a matter of record."
"You keep saying that as if it's a threat."
"It's a promise to the evidence, Captain. Not to you."
A few feet away, Voss stood with his jaw clenched. For the first time that morning, Danielle thought he looked less like a man protecting a secret and more like a man wondering how much of it his captain intended to let him carry alone.
At 8:54 a.m., Leah's register printed a narrow receipt that she had not requested. It was not a sale, and the machine had made no noise to announce a customer transaction. The paper carried an authorization failure message for a government fleet account, followed by a string of numbers she recognized from the overnight discrepancies. A second slip emerged, then a third. Across the diesel island, three dispenser displays flashed PAYMENT RESTRICTED before returning to their ordinary retail screens.
Shaw noticed the warnings. He moved closer to Danielle, irritation breaking through his professional tone.
"What did you do to the pumps?"
"Nothing to the pumps," she replied. "The Army's purchasing office has temporarily suspended the government account codes associated with this location. The public can still buy fuel. The federal accounts cannot be charged while their integrity is under review."