Sharpe shook his head. "So?"
Paul answered. "That means the data base was hacked over three hours after Chief Asher died, right, Warrant?"
"Right. Whatever else that chief did, he sure didn't mess up this data. Somebody else did that. For certain."
Paul didn't want to think about it, didn't want to consider what he'd have to do. The investigation is completed, the case closed. Nobody got their heads handed to them. Granted, I didn't come out too well for reasons I don't understand, but given that a sailor died and the ship took extensive damage to Forward Engineering, the lack of specific wrongdoing by anyone was a welcome finding to everyone. But now it looks like that finding was wrong. Somebody did do something, something that worried them enough to cause them to hack that data base to wipe out anything that might point to them. Did they cause Chief Asher's death? Or did they just make a mistake that contributed to it? And if I bring this up, will anyone thank me?
He remembered something, then, words once spoken to him by Commander Herdez after another shipboard accident had claimed the life of Petty Officer Davidas in Carl Meadows' division. That had been an unavoidable accident, with no one at fault, but Herdez had bluntly told Paul that had Carl been at fault, it would have been their duty to hold Carl accountable because the sailor's sacrifice demanded no less. And she was right. Still is right, for that matter. Chief Asher's dead. It looks like somebody played enough of a role in that to want to destroy the evidence. Well, Chief, I couldn't help you escape that fire, but I can sure as hell make sure anyone involved in causing it and your death gets brought to account.
Paul suddenly became aware both Warrant Rose and Ivan Sharpe were watching him intently. "I'm sorry. Did someone ask me something?"
The Warrant shook his head. "No. I think we're just wondering what you're going to do, Lieutenant."
"It's not like I have a choice, Warrant. Make a copy of that evidence, please, and I'd appreciate a formal report from you on what you found."
"Sure. Can I ask what you're going to do with it?"
"Take it to the captain. He needs to know this."
Rose nodded, smiling grimly. "That he does. I'll write it up here for you. Just give me a few minutes."
"No problem. Hand it to the Sheriff when you're done. I need to check some references in my stateroom."
Paul started out of Combat, pausing as Sharpe held a hand before him. "Thanks again, Mr. Sinclair."
"For what, Sheriff? Like I said, I don't have a choice."
"Yes, you do, sir. And in my book you made the right one."
Less than an hour later, Warrant Officer Rose's report in one hand, Paul waited in the line outside of the captain's stateroom. A line almost always existed there, as officers waited to get messages approved or to deliver personal reports the captain had requested, as enlisted brought by other routine reports which still required the captain's okay, and as those seeking approval or orders waited for their turn to plead or explain their case. Paul tried not to let any nervousness show, his experience on the bridge helping a great deal in that effort. One of the first things he'd learned was the need to project calm and certainty. As long as you sounded like you knew exactly what you were doing, everybody else tended to believe you did as well.
The last supplicant before Paul left through the hatch. "The captain says to go right in, sir."
"Thanks." Paul stepped through the hatch. "Sir, request permission for a private conference."
Captain Hayes examined Paul closely, then nodded. "Very well. Close the hatch. Take a seat."
Paul did both, sitting as erect as possible, as if he were still at attention even when seated.
Hayes looked at Paul, his eyes sharp. "What private issue brings you here, Mr. Sinclair?"
"Sir, I… I…"
"Spit it out, mister."
"Sir, I have reason to believe the investigation into the fire onboard the USS Michaelson missed important information."
Hayes leaned back, his face now questioning. "Is this some sort of personal appraisal? I think you got a bit of a raw deal in that investigation, Paul, but nobody wanted to go to the mat to change those findings about a junior officer. I did try."
"Thank you, sir. And no, sir. There's evidence involved." Paul let his distress show for a moment. "Serious evidence."
Captain Hayes leaned forward. "Talk to me. What've you got? Any hard evidence, or just speculation about it?"
Paul spoke cautiously, aware of the stakes in what he was saying and how he said it. "I had a computer expert check the engineering maintenance logs. He said they'd been hacked. Not damaged in the accident, but deliberately hacked."
Hayes' eyes narrowed. "The investigation reported they couldn't find any evidence of what'd caused the data loss in those logs. Who's this expert of yours?"
"Chief Warrant Officer Rose, sir."
"Bob Rose? From Fleet Staff?"
"Yes, sir."
Hayes rubbed his forehead with the fingertips of his right hand. "I know Rose. He's good. Very good. He says the logs were hacked?"
"Yes, sir. He's willing to swear to it." Paul held out the report Rose had prepared. "He gave me this."
Hayes read swiftly, his eyes darting back and forth. "Not just gun-decking to falsify data. Deliberate destruction of data. Damn. What else have you got?"
"The only other thing at this point is Petty Officer Sharpe, sir. He says Asher was mad that morning, and said something about 'just do it.' Sharpe thinks Chief Asher had been told to do something Asher didn't like."
"I don't remember seeing anything like that in the investigation report."
"Sharpe says he turned in a sworn statement, sir. But it's not listed in the attachments to the investigation, and there's no copy of it there."
"You think Captain Shen concealed it?"
"No, sir. That's not my impression of Captain Shen. I think Captain Shen never saw that statement. He didn't call Sharpe in for an interview, and he surely would've done that if he was aware Sharpe knew something."
"Sharpe's a cocky son-of-a-bitch, but he's also a good sailor." Hayes stood up, pacing back and forth within the small confines of his cabin. "A very good cop, too. He's got good instincts." The captain stopped pacing and focused on Paul. "And you're not Admiral Spruance, but you're also not a fool. What's the bottom line here, Mr. Sinclair? You're talking about the investigation being deliberately impeded, aren't you? To ensure it wouldn't reach the correct conclusions."
"Yes, sir. I think there's a chance that may have happened."
Hayes stared at the bulkhead above Paul's head. "The investigation results have already been officially approved. That means a lot of heavy-weights have signed off on them and attested to their accuracy."
"Yes, sir."
"And you and I are both aware of the personal issues involved regarding Lieutenant Silver. I was informally made aware that Vice Admiral Silver was following events."
"That's… that's illegal, sir."
"It is if there's any record of it, Mr. Sinclair. In any event, that investigation gave Lieutenant Silver a clean bill of health."
"Yes, sir."
"But he was also Chief Asher's division officer. The Main Propulsion Assistant. That was Silver's equipment in Forward Engineering. But you don't have any evidence implicating Silver?"
Paul shook his head to emphasize his reply. "No, sir. At this point, it implicates no particular individual. I have no idea who might be involved, either in misleading the investigation or possibly in the original accident."
Hayes nodded, his face pensive. "There's an awful lot of people who would be very unhappy to have the results of that investigation questioned. Even I might suffer if a reinvestigation finds me at fault."
"Yes, sir."