But for now, he needed to figure out what to do with the twelve crates of imitation applesauce in his hold. He was fully prepared to look the other way while Haig and Otis tried to carry out Luke’s plan, but he needed to minimize the risk to his ship and his company.

The captain’s cabin had enough room for a small table, and soon they were all seated. Gray listened while they filled him in on the plan. Captain Haig showed him a jar with the original label, which simply said Applesauce in bold letters printed over a drawing of shiny red apples. There was no list of ingredients, which meant the label was perfectly legal. Had they lied on the label and claimed the jar contained real apples, it would be a problem, but the omission of an ingredient list was permissible.

“The labels Luke designed have already been printed, so the next step is to paste them on the jars,” Otis said. He continued to outline their plan for distributing the jars to a select number of food critics, laboratories, and journalists.

It didn’t sound like the contents were dangerous, just unpalatable. The Magruders probably saved only a few cents per jar by using the cheaper pumpkin. That meant they were planning on producing this counterfeit food on a massive scale to realize a profit. Likely millions of jars would be sold in the coming years to unsuspecting consumers. What if one of those customers was allergic to pumpkin?

“Under no circumstances do I want those jars in grocer’s stores,” Gray said.

“Amen,” Otis replied. “Luke’s plan was to send them to people who help shape opinion, along with the real ingredient list. He knows journalists all over the country, but Haig and I don’t have those connections. We need help.”

Silence hung in the air. It was obvious they expected him to step up to the plate and open those doors, but everything about this plan went against the grain for him. He wasn’t a rule breaker. He wasn’t reckless or foolhardy.

But he knew the food business. He knew how publicity channels and distribution to grocers worked, and could help get this slop off the market.

“I can open a few doors with the press,” he conceded. “I can contact the mail order catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward to alert them to what’s in those jars and get them to pull the product.”

Otis and Captain Haig both beamed, sensing his capitulation was only moments away. And it probably was. They needed him for credibility with the journalists, but it didn’t have to stop there. The government could probably help, and Caroline had access to a megaphone louder than all the others combined.

He immediately rejected the idea. “I don’t want Caroline involved in this,” he said, for she had too much to lose.