Chapter 6 - Seven Minutes of Silence
Park brought us to Captain Elise Rowan, the installation's designated investigating officer, before we asked a second question. He had locked the system's overwrite function and documented who touched it. That mattered more than any wild story we could tell.
"I can request the original footage," Rowan said, "but I need each of you to give an independent account. No comparing notes."
I wrote what I remembered while Jax sat in another room. The pen dug into my middle finger. I wanted to describe Miller as a monster. Instead I described where he stood, what he said, and which direction Rusk moved the chock.
At noon Rowan returned with Park. The hallway camera had been tagged offline, but a separate dispatch recorder contained seven minutes of sound from a microphone above the door. We listened to rain, truck engines, and Miller's voice: "Give her a reason."
Then Rusk's steel chock struck the ground. My sharp cry came next. The sound made me grip the edge of the table.
Rowan stopped playback. "This is evidence of an order and an assault. We still have to identify everyone's actions and preserve the complete recording."
"Will Lowell be protected?" I asked.
"I'll request measures for him and every witness. I won't promise what I can't control."
A knock came from the door. An aide handed Rowan a second packet. Her eyes changed as she read it.
"Lieutenant Miller submitted a counterstatement," she said. "He claims you struck Staff Sergeant Rusk and instructed Private Lowell to lie."
Jax gave a bitter laugh. "He had that ready fast."
"There's more," Rowan said. "He's asked for Sergeant Vance to be barred from the parade and placed under a misconduct inquiry."
I touched my brace, suddenly aware of how easy it would be to make a woman limping through a hallway look dangerous on a piece of paper.
May you like
Rowan turned the last page toward me.
Attached was a witness statement bearing Jax Morales's name.
