Chapter 7 - The Salvage Crew
The salvage crew had known.
Not all of them. The four junior divers had not known. They had believed, as Morgan had believed, that the wreck off Point Loma was the Sarah K. They had believed, as Morgan had believed, that the items they recovered were the property of a sunken fishing trawler. They had believed, as Morgan had believed, that the inventory they filed was the inventory of the Sarah K.
The two senior divers had known.
Their names were Chief Petty Officer Marcus Webb and Petty Officer First Class Thomas Hargrove. They had been assigned to the detachment in 2015 and 2017 respectively. They had been told by Commander Vale, in a private conversation, that the wreck off Point Loma was not the Sarah K. They had been told that the wreck was a Navy vessel that had been used in a classified program and that the recovery of the wreck's contents was classified. They had been told that they were not to speak of it.
They had not spoken of it.
They had dived on the wreck for four years. They had recovered items from berthing compartments and crew lockers and wardrooms. They had catalogued the items as property of the Sarah K. They had filed false reports. They had signed false affidavits. They had accepted the money that came from the classified budget line.
They had been presented, in the court-martial, with the nameplate.
They had been asked, in the court-martial, whether they recognized it.
Webb had said, "Yes, sir. I recognized the plate. It was recovered from the port berthing compartment on the second deck. I inventoried it myself. I catalogued it as 'Item 41, brass fitting, unidentified.' I did not know whose initials were on it. I did not ask."
Hargrove had said, "Yes, sir. I recognized the plate. I recovered it from the door of compartment 04 in October of last year. I gave it to Chief Webb. He told me to catalogue it. He told me not to ask."
Both of them had been offered immunity in exchange for their testimony. Both of them had accepted. Both of them had testified against Commander Vale.
Both of them had been convicted of lesser charges — falsification of records and dereliction of duty — in a separate court-martial. Both of them had been sentenced to written reprimands and forfeitures of pay. Both of them had been allowed to remain in the Navy.
Morgan Hale had not testified against them. She had been asked, by the prosecutor, whether she wanted to. She had said, "No, sir. They did not know about my father. They were told the wreck was a Navy vessel. They were told it was classified. They were doing what they were told by a man who had the authority to tell them. They are not the ones who sank the ship. They are not the ones who lied to my mother. They are not the ones who lied to me. The man who did those things is sitting at the defense table."
She had looked at Commander Vale.
He had looked at the table.
He had not looked at her.
She had looked away.
She had looked at her aunt in the front row.
May you like
Her aunt had nodded.
She had nodded back.
