Chapter 4 - The Woman Who Was Still Paying
Lorraine Beck answered on the fourth ring.
“Harbor Shield?” she asked before Mara could introduce herself. “If this is about another payment, I told you I'm waiting on Social Security.”
“No, ma'am. My name is Mara Ellis. I'm a Marine. I want to ask about the organization, if you're comfortable.”
Silence. Then a chair creaked.
“My husband died three years ago,” Lorraine said. “They promised to help us sort out his paperwork. They said the account stayed active until the review was finished.”
“What account?”
“The support account. Forty dollars every week. They told me quitting could delay my claim.”
Mara closed her eyes. “Did they put that in writing?”
“I kept everything. My daughter said it sounded wrong. I didn't want to believe her.”
“Please don't send anything to me yet. I can help you find a qualified, independent advocate. And don't make more payments without checking.”
Lorraine began to cry, quietly, like somebody who had been holding back for a long time.
Mara stayed on the phone until her breathing steadied. Afterward, she called the installation's legal assistance office to ask for general guidance and the inspector general's contact information. She did not pretend the answer would be simple. Private fundraising fraud, retaliation within a unit, and veterans' benefits involved different authorities.
At lunch, Mara returned to the cafeteria and photographed the section of floor where she had fallen. It was clean now. Nothing in the polished surface admitted what had happened.
Voss stood at the condiment counter.
“You look busy,” he said.
“I am.”
“Busy calling old ladies?”
The words landed harder than his hand on the tray. Mara kept her face neutral.
“That's a strange question, Gunny.”
“Here's advice. Some people need protecting from false hope. Others need protecting from themselves.”
“Is that what you call taking money from widows?”
His hand stopped over a stack of napkins.
“Careful.”
“I'm being careful.”
He stepped closer. “You have no idea how far this reaches.”
At the entrance, Nina appeared with two Marines from administration. Her eyes met Mara's only briefly.
Mara received a text from an unknown number.
They took Nina's phone. It wasn't the one with the footage.
May you like
A second message followed.
Look inside the cafeteria camera log for 11:42. Before they erase that too.
