Chapter 12 - The Name Mara Never Expected
Mara's father had died when she was nineteen. Master Gunnery Sergeant William Ellis had taught her how to change a tire, admit when she was wrong, and stand still when a bully wanted a reaction. He had never served in Afghanistan with her unit.
So why would his name be in a report about the convoy?
She called her mother, Denise, who worked nights at a hospital in Kansas.
“Did Dad ever know Colonel Raymond Sutter?”
A long silence followed.
“He knew of him,” Denise said. “Why?”
“I found his name connected to an old investigation.”
Denise sat down; Mara heard the chair scrape.
“Your father filed a complaint years ago,” she said. “It was about a training accident when Sutter was younger. A maintenance shortcut. Two Marines got hurt. Bill believed the findings were changed.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because it ate him alive. He tried to fix it for three years. Then he got sick. I didn't want you carrying his anger.”
Mara stared at the ceiling. “Was Voss involved?”
“No. But Price was a junior officer assigned to the command that handled the paperwork.”
It felt as if a door had opened onto another corridor of locked rooms.
Denise continued, “Your father left a box. I never threw it away. I thought you deserved to decide when to look.”
“Is it safe?”
“In the garage cupboard. The lock still works.”
Mara asked her not to send anything unprotected and to speak with the investigators first. Denise agreed, though her voice sounded small.
Later, Mara walked the perimeter path near the barracks. She needed cold air and somewhere to think. A young Marine she didn't know caught up with her.
“Staff Sergeant?”
“Yes?”
“I'm Private First Class Devon Park. I was in the cafeteria.”
“I remember.”
“I laughed.”
Mara waited.
“I didn't think it was funny,” Devon said. “Everyone else did, and I was afraid he'd notice if I didn't.”
“Why are you telling me?”
“Because I recorded the whole thing. Even the part where Voss spoke quietly.”
Mara's pulse picked up. “Please keep it intact. Investigators need the original.”
May you like
“I will. But that's not what I came to say.”
Devon looked toward a parked truck. “After you left, Voss told Price you were exactly like your father.”
