Chapter 12 - THE NIGHT OF THE BROKEN PROMISE|
Claire showed the message to Agent Shaw.
Within minutes, investigators began trying to locate Colonel Sarah Bennett.
Her last verified assignment had placed her at a secure administrative facility outside Washington.
But she had left three hours earlier.
Her phone was no longer connecting to the network.
Claire paced the hallway.
“She knew someone was targeting us.”
Shaw nodded.
“Yes.”
“Then why would she leave without telling anybody?”
“We don't know.”
Claire stopped.
“Unless she was following a lead.”
Shaw looked toward her.
“What lead?”
Claire thought back to their conversations.
Bennett had repeatedly asked about the forged detention order.
She had seemed particularly concerned about the credentials used to generate it.
Then Claire remembered something Bennett had said aboard the transport aircraft.
Sometimes the person holding the key doesn't know who built the lock.
Claire turned toward Shaw.
“Can you check whether she was investigating the Strategic Operations Directorate?”
Shaw made a call.
A few minutes later, an investigator entered.
“Agent Shaw, Colonel Bennett accessed a personnel file shortly before disappearing.”
“Whose?”
“Lieutenant General Nathaniel Voss.”
Claire's heart sank.
Shaw looked up.
“What else?”
“She also requested an interview with a former administrative assistant named Laura Keene.”
Claire frowned.
“I've never heard that name.”
The investigator continued.
“Keene worked directly for Voss until last month.”
“Why did she leave?”
“Medical retirement.”
Shaw's expression tightened.
“Find her.”
Outside, rain began striking the windows.
Claire sat beside Daniel, who had joined the group after another medical examination.
He watched her trembling hands.
“You need to rest.”
Claire shook her head.
“Sarah is out there.”
Daniel nodded.
“I know.”
“She believed me before she knew whether I could prove anything.”
“Claire—”
“She stood beside me when Hayes tried to turn everyone against me.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“Then honor that by thinking clearly.”
Claire looked at him.
“What would you do?”
He considered the question.
“I'd look for what she left behind.”
Claire stared at him.
“Her last message?”
“Maybe.”
Claire opened the secure message history they had been authorized to review.
Most of the messages were routine.
One contained a brief note sent earlier that morning.
Remember the first page.
Claire frowned.
“The first page?”
Daniel leaned closer.
“Of what?”
Claire searched through her memory.
The first page of the supplemental report contained the timeline.
The first page of the shipment ledger listed Depot Seven.
The first page of the forged detention order contained her personal information.
Then she remembered the notebook.
Daniel's notebook.
She opened her bag and removed it.
On the inside cover, beneath a faded unit insignia, was a handwritten address.
Claire had seen it dozens of times.
She had assumed it was an old contact address.
Now she looked closer.
It wasn't an address.
It was a filing reference.
A case number.
Claire called Shaw over.
“Ma'am, Bennett may have been referring to this.”
Shaw examined the number.
An investigator checked it against available records.
His expression changed.
“That's a sealed inspector general referral.”
Claire felt her heartbeat quicken.
“Filed by whom?”
The investigator looked up.
“Colonel Sarah Bennett.”
“Against?”
He hesitated.
“Lieutenant General Nathaniel Voss.”
Claire stared.
“When?”
“Four years ago.”
Daniel whispered, “She knew.”
Shaw shook her head.
“Not necessarily everything.”
The investigator continued.
“The referral was closed after an internal review found insufficient evidence.”
Claire felt anger surge.
“Who conducted the review?”
He looked at the screen.
Then at Shaw.
“Robert Hayes.”
The room fell silent.
Claire suddenly understood why Bennett had remained so composed during the investigation.
She had walked this road before.
She had reported concerns.
She had watched the complaint disappear.
And now she had been given another chance to expose the truth.
Shaw's phone rang.
She answered.
After listening, she closed her eyes briefly.
Claire stood.
“What happened?”
Shaw looked toward her.
“We located Colonel Bennett's vehicle.”
“Where?”
“Outside a closed office complex in Arlington.”
Claire's voice trembled.
“Is she there?”
Shaw hesitated.
“She's been transported to a hospital.”
Claire felt sick.
“Is she alive?”
“Yes.”
The single word filled Claire with relief.
Shaw continued.
“But she's seriously injured.”
Daniel stood slowly.
“What happened?”
“Investigators believe she was attacked after meeting someone at the property.”
Claire covered her mouth.
Shaw stepped closer.
“She's receiving emergency treatment.”
“Can I see her?”
“Once the medical team allows visitors.”
Claire lowered herself into a chair.
All the fear she had suppressed finally caught up with her.
She thought of Daniel's memorial.
Brooks's betrayal.
Her father's secrets.
The water soaking her uniform while dozens of soldiers watched.
And now Bennett was fighting for her life.
Daniel sat beside her.
“You don't have to carry everything by yourself.”
Claire stared at the floor.
“I keep thinking that if I'd stayed quiet, none of this would have happened.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
“Sarah wouldn't be hurt.”
“Claire.”
“My father wouldn't be in danger.”
Daniel reached for her hand.
“Listen to me.”
She looked at him.
“These people were hurting others long before you discovered the first missing crate.”
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
“You didn't create their crimes.”
He squeezed her hand.
“You exposed them.”
Several hours later, Shaw received a call from the hospital.
Bennett had regained consciousness.
She was weak.
But she was able to speak.
And she had insisted on sending Claire one message.
Shaw read it aloud.
Tell Morgan I found the witness who can end this.
Claire stood immediately.
“Who?”
Shaw continued reading.
Laura Keene has the original authorization records.
A second message arrived.
Shaw's expression changed.
Claire stepped closer.
“What does it say?”
Shaw looked up.
Keene is hiding because Voss knows she copied them.
May you like
Then came a final line.
He plans to leave the country tomorrow.
