Chương 9
I felt something cold settle in my chest.
Priya scrolled to the signature block.
The memo had been signed by an engineering director whose name I did not recognize.
Below that was an approval notation.
T. Vale.
Haskell sat back.
“So they knew there was deviation.”
“Within tolerance,” Priya said.
“According to this test.”
“Under these test conditions.”
Reyes looked at me.
“You said Kerr’s failure happened after a bird strike.”
“Yes.”
“Heat?”
“High system load.”
“Vibration?”
“Severe.”
Priya’s face had lost its earlier humor.
“And yesterday?”
Haskell pulled up the sortie data.
“High-G maneuvering before the anomaly.”
“Temperature?”
He checked.
“Elevated, but normal range.”
Priya turned toward me.
“Different trigger.”
“Maybe same vulnerability.”
Reyes folded her arms.
“Now we have enough to ask harder questions.”
Before anyone could answer, my personal phone rang again.
Unknown number.
I nearly declined it.
Then I saw the Virginia Beach area code and answered.
“Commander Maddox?”
The voice was male.
Formal.
“This is she.”
“My name is Detective Aaron Bell, Virginia Beach Police.”
Every muscle in my back tightened.
“I’m calling regarding an incident reported this morning involving your husband and his brother, Chase Maddox.”
I looked through the secure room glass at Reyes.
She saw my face and stood.
Bell continued.
“Mr. Chase Maddox has requested to file an assault complaint.”
I closed my eyes.
Of course he had.
“Detective, I’m currently on duty.”
“I understand.”
“I can speak briefly.”
“I mainly need to confirm whether you witnessed the altercation.”
“No.”
“Were you present at any earlier conflict between the two men?”
I looked at the closed door.
“Yes.”
“At Thanksgiving dinner?”
“Yes.”
Bell paused.
“And were you involved in a physical incident with Chase Maddox at that dinner?”
The question was neutral.
Professional.
Still, I felt the day tilt another degree.
“He grabbed my wrist.”
“What happened after that?”
“I disengaged his grip and redirected him into a chair.”
“Did he sustain injury?”
“Not that I observed.”
“Did you?”
“Minor redness.”
“Photographs?”
“No.”
“Any witnesses?”
“Twelve.”
Bell exhaled quietly.
“All right.”
I could hear papers moving.
“Commander, I need to advise you that Mr. Maddox also alleged you threatened him using your military position.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“I did not.”
“He says you implied you could destroy his life.”
“I did not.”
“He says your family can confirm.”
“They cannot truthfully confirm that.”
Bell’s voice stayed even.
“I’m not asking you to argue the allegation with me.”
“I understand.”
“I’ll need a formal statement later.”
“I’ll cooperate.”
“Thank you.”
He hesitated.
“One other thing.”
“Yes?”
“He brought screenshots.”
My stomach tightened.
“Of what?”
“Messages he says came from your husband.”
That was bad enough.
Then Bell added, “And a message he claims came from you.”
My first instinct was anger.
My second was procedure.
“What does the message say?”
Bell shuffled another page.
“I’d rather not characterize evidence over the phone.”
“Does it contain my number?”
“It appears to.”
“Appears?”
“The screenshot shows a contact label, not the full number.”
I looked through the glass at Reyes.
She had stopped pretending not to listen.
“Detective, I did not message Chase.”
“Understood.”
“No, I need you to hear the distinction.”
“I do.”
“I’m not saying I don’t remember sending it.”
“I understand.”
“I’m saying I did not send him a message.”
Bell was quiet for half a second.
“That’s useful.”
“What does it say?”
Another pause.
Then he read carefully.
“Something to the effect of, you touched the wrong woman and now you’ll learn what my rank can do.”
Heat climbed the back of my neck.
“I never wrote that.”
“All right.”
“It doesn’t even sound like me.”
Bell gave a small, almost sympathetic exhale.
“That part is subjective.”
“Yes.”
I hated that he was right.
“Can you send it to me?”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re preserving what he provided and determining whether there’s a complaint that moves forward.”
I closed my eyes.
“Fine.”
“I’ll contact you later today.”
“I may be difficult to reach.”
“Because of duty?”
“Yes.”
“Give me a window.”
“After eighteen hundred.”
“I’ll note it.”
He paused.
“Commander.”
“Yes?”
“If someone is fabricating messages, don’t confront them.”
“I wasn’t planning to.”
“Good.”
He ended the call.
I stayed in the corridor with the phone against my ear after the line went dead.
Reyes opened the door.
“Come inside.”
“I need thirty seconds.”
“You’ve had twelve.”
I looked at her.
She pointed at the room.
“Inside.”
That was how she handled people she cared about.
Badly, but effectively.
I followed her.
Priya was pretending not to watch.
Haskell made no effort to pretend.
Reyes shut the door.
“Tell us only what affects work.”
“Chase gave police a screenshot of a message he claims came from me.”
Priya’s eyebrows rose.
“Did it?”
“No.”
Haskell said, “Can that be spoofed?”
“Almost anything can be made to look convincing in a screenshot,” Priya said.
Reyes held up a hand.
“We are not turning into amateur digital forensics.”
Priya closed her mouth.
I put my phone on the table.
“The message threatens him using my rank.”
That changed the room.
Haskell looked away first.
Not because he believed it.
Because he understood what the allegation could become.
Reyes asked, “Exact wording?”
I repeated what Bell had read.
Her face hardened.
“Do not delete anything from your phone.”
“I won’t.”
“Do not reset it.”
“I know.”
She stared at me.
I almost smiled.
“Understood.”
“Better.”
Priya looked between us.
“Could this affect her clearance?”
Reyes answered carefully.
“An allegation can create questions.”
“Even if it’s fake?”
“Especially until it’s proven fake.”
I sat down.
That was the thing about systems.
They were designed to pause before trusting anyone.
Usually I respected that.
It felt different when the pause was pointed at me.
Haskell slid a printed module history across the table.
“We can keep working.”
I looked at him.
He shrugged.
“Seems preferable to staring at your phone.”
He was right.
May you like
We went back to the serials.
For the next forty minutes, I let maintenance records occupy every available piece of my attention.
