Chapter 9 - The Officer Who Vanished
The following morning, Nora learned that Samuel Price had not vanished.
He had been reassigned.
Promoted.
And given a position that placed him close to the very records investigators were trying to untangle.
Special Agent Reed placed an updated personnel profile on the conference room screen.
"Commander Samuel Price."
Nora stared.
"Commander?"
Reed nodded.
"He's currently assigned to an aviation logistics oversight office in Virginia."
Nora shook her head.
"Samuel was a lieutenant when I knew him."
"People get promoted."
"Not usually after being involved in questionable maintenance reporting."
Reed looked at her.
"Do you have evidence he was involved?"
"No."
"Then we don't make that accusation."
Nora exhaled.
"Understood."
Reed continued.
"We have confirmation that his credentials accessed a component-tracking database shortly before Ketterman's flight."
"Did he change anything?"
"That's under review."
"Has he been interviewed?"
"Arrangements are being made."
Nora studied Samuel's official photograph.
He looked older.
More confident.
His dark hair was cut close to his scalp.
His expression was almost aggressively neutral.
She remembered him differently.
A young officer who loved terrible jokes.
A man who helped junior sailors study for qualification boards.
Someone who once spent an entire weekend repairing a fellow officer's damaged car because the lieutenant couldn't afford a mechanic.
She struggled to imagine him participating in a cover-up.
But she had once trusted Victor Shaw, too.
Holloway entered the room carrying a folder.
"Reed."
"Commander."
"We have a new development from the engineering office."
He placed the folder on the table.
"An older internal safety notice references intermittent failures in a specific oxygen-system control assembly."
Nora leaned forward.
"What kind of failures?"
"Pressure-regulation anomalies and inconsistent cockpit indications."
Her heart quickened.
"Was the notice issued before my crash?"
Holloway looked at her.
"Yes."
"How long before?"
He hesitated.
"Four months."
Nora stared.
For several seconds, she couldn't speak.
Finally, she whispered.
"Four months?"
Holloway nodded.
"The notice was distributed through a restricted technical channel."
Nora looked from him to Reed.
"I was never told."
Reed answered carefully.
"We haven't established who received the notice or what actions were required."
Nora stood.
"They said there was no known problem."
Holloway said nothing.
Nora's voice rose.
"Shaw looked me in the eye and told me the system had no history of that kind of failure."
Sloan entered behind Holloway.
She had heard enough.
"Nora."
Nora turned.
"Ma'am, they knew."
"We know a safety notice existed."
"They knew something was wrong."
"We need to establish exactly what the notice said and which aircraft it covered."
Nora stared at her.
"You're telling me to wait."
"I'm telling you that an incomplete conclusion can destroy a good investigation."
Nora opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
Sloan continued.
"Someone may have failed to act on a warning."
Her voice became firm.
"Someone may have altered records."
She looked directly at Nora.
"But we're going to prove what happened before we accuse anyone."
Nora sat down.
The captain placed a hand on her shoulder.
"And if the evidence confirms a cover-up, we will not bury it."
For the first time, Nora believed her.
That afternoon, Agent Reed interviewed Samuel Price through official channels.
Nora wasn't present.
She wasn't supposed to be.
Instead, she spent three hours helping Briggs reconstruct the maintenance history of Dale's aircraft.
They worked in a secured maintenance office.
Every record they examined had been copied for the investigation.
Briggs pointed at a sequence of component numbers.
"Look at this."
Nora leaned closer.
"What?"
"Same assembly family."
"And?"
"Your old aircraft and Dale's aircraft both received components processed through the same regional repair facility."
Nora frowned.
"That's a large facility."
"Yes."
"Thousands of components pass through there."
"Also yes."
Briggs tapped another line.
"But here's something interesting."
He enlarged the screen.
"Both assemblies show the same unusual revision code."
Nora stared.
"That code wasn't supposed to be used after the engineering update."
Briggs nodded.
"Exactly."
"Could it be a documentation problem?"
"Certainly."
"But if the actual components weren't updated..."
Briggs finished the thought.
"Then a known defect may have remained in service."
Nora leaned back.
"How many aircraft?"
Briggs's expression tightened.
"We don't know."
Nora looked at the screen.
"Chief."
"Yeah?"
"If these records are right, Dale and I might not be the only ones."
Briggs didn't answer.
He didn't have to.
At 5:46 p.m., Agent Reed called.
Nora answered immediately.
"Did you speak to Samuel?"
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
Reed paused.
"He admitted accessing the component database."
Nora stood.
"Why?"
"He's not prepared to explain everything yet."
"What does that mean?"
"It means he's concerned about personal exposure."
Nora stared at the wall.
"Exposure to what?"
Reed's voice became serious.
"He says he was instructed to change the classification of a maintenance discrepancy after your crash."
Nora closed her eyes.
"By whom?"
"He's named Victor Shaw."
Nora gripped the edge of the desk.
Then Reed continued.
"But there's a second person he mentioned."
"Who?"
"A civilian program manager."
Nora opened her eyes.
"Name?"
"Dr. Elena Voss."
Nora had never heard of her.
Reed continued.
"She oversaw part of the oxygen-system reliability program."
"Where is she now?"
"She resigned from her position six months after your accident."
Nora felt her pulse quicken.
"Did Samuel say why?"
"No."
A pause.
"But he gave us an address."
Nora waited.
May you like
Reed's final words sent a chill through her.
"According to Price, Dr. Voss kept a private copy of the original failure analysis because she believed someone intended to destroy the official one."
