Chapter 5 - The Investigator at the Door

Major Bell stood in the doorway with two military police officers behind her.

"Nobody touch another thing," she ordered. "Staff Sergeant Whitcomb, step away from the locker."

I held up Liam's dog tags. "My brother was alive after the blast. We just heard him."

"I heard enough." Her eyes shifted toward Voss. "Sergeant, you need to tell me why government evidence was concealed in a maintenance bay for two years."

"Because the last man who tried to turn it in disappeared," Voss said.

Bell froze. "Name."

"Owen Finch."

Addie spoke up. "He's alive. He was inside the dining hall today."

Bell's officers photographed the case, sealed the recorder in an evidence bag, and collected the note with gloves. I hated letting the paper go. It felt like losing Liam all over again. Bell gave me a receipt with the evidence numbers, then quietly took a photo of my swollen knee where the brace rubbed through my pants.

"You shouldn't have had to fight for basic dignity today," she told me.

I wanted to believe her. Belief had become expensive.

Outside, Voss caught my sleeve. "The recording isn't the whole thing. There's a second file. Liam hid it before they found him."

"Where?"

"I don't know. Owen does."

"Then why did you make my life miserable for months?"

He looked at my crutches. "Because Price said if I didn't, my fourteen-year-old son would lose the medical coverage he needs. I knew it was wrong. I did it anyway."

"Your son deserved protection," I said. "Mine deserved an uncle."

Voss swallowed. He accepted the words without arguing.

Back at my apartment, I found my front door unlocked. I was certain I'd locked it. Liam's photo had been turned face down on the shelf. Nothing else seemed missing.

A note lay on the kitchen counter, written on ordinary printer paper.

YOU AREN'T THE ONLY PERSON WE CAN HURT.

May you like

Billionaire’s Wife Kicked a Waitress in Front of 300 Elites—One Slap Exp...

The billionaire’s wife tried to kick a waitress in the face in front of 300 wealthy guests. But seconds later, she whispered three...

My Mother Grabbed My Wife by the Hair Over Cold Soup—But What My Father...

My mother grabbed my wife by the hair over a bowl of cold soup. And the most shameful part? For one terrible second, I almost defe...

My Parents Kicked My 6-Year-Old Daughter and Me Out on Christmas—Then I...

My mother kicked my six-year-old daughter out of Christmas dinner, never realizing I was the only reason she still had a house to...

My mother's address appeared underneath. So did my seven-year-old niece's school.

I called Bell. Before she answered, my mother sent a photograph of two headlights parked outside her house.