Chapter 2 - The Dead Mechanic's Last Warning
"MEGAN, IF YOU PLAY THAT RECORDING, YOU COULD DESTROY MORE THAN MY CAREER!"
Captain Collins's warning echoed through the first-class cabin.
Victoria watched the flight attendant's face change.
Until that moment, Megan Brooks had looked frightened.
Now something stronger was emerging beneath her fear.
Anger.
Ten months of grief.
And the terrible realization that the man standing in front of her might know why her sister had died.
"That's what you told Nora, isn't it?" Megan whispered.
Collins looked away.
"Megan, you don't understand what you're getting involved in."
"Then explain it."
He said nothing.
Victoria stepped between them.
"Captain, I strongly recommend that you stop attempting to influence a potential witness."
Collins looked exhausted.
"I'm not threatening her."
"You just told her that producing evidence would destroy your career."
He rubbed one hand across his forehead.
"I want my attorney."
"You're entitled to legal counsel. In the meantime, don't interfere with the preservation of evidence."
Victoria turned toward Megan.
"Do you still have the original recording?"
Megan nodded.
"It's on my phone. My sister sent it to me before she died."
"Has anyone else heard it?"
"Not all of it."
"What does that mean?"
Megan glanced toward the passengers.
"I tried telling someone at the airline. They said it was a personal dispute and had nothing to do with my job."
"Who told you that?"
The captain looked toward the cockpit.
Megan lowered her voice.
"Victor Rourke."
Victoria recognized the name immediately.
Victor Rourke was Crestline Airways' executive vice president of maintenance operations.
He controlled maintenance budgets, repair facilities, technical contractors, and aircraft service authorizations across the airline.
His name had appeared repeatedly in Victoria's investigation.
But until now, there had been no direct evidence connecting him to the forged maintenance records.
"Did Rourke hear the recording?"
Megan nodded.
"I played the first thirty seconds in his office."
"What happened?"
"He took my phone, listened, and told me Nora had been emotionally unstable before her death."
Victoria's expression hardened.
"And then?"
"He said if I continued spreading accusations, I could lose my job."
Megan swallowed.
"He also reminded me that my mother depended on the health insurance I provided."
Victoria felt a sharp pang of anger.
Threatening an employee's livelihood was cruel enough.
Using a sick parent as leverage was another level of calculated intimidation.
"Your mother is ill?"
"She has advanced rheumatoid arthritis. Some days she can't hold a coffee cup without pain."
Megan lowered her eyes.
"Nora used to help with her appointments. After she died, everything fell on me."
Victoria touched Megan's arm lightly.
"You shouldn't have been forced to choose between protecting your family and telling the truth."
Megan gave a small, painful smile.
"That's exactly what Nora said before she died."
Within fifteen minutes, the first-class cabin had become the center of a federal investigation.
FAA safety inspector Anthony Chen arrived with two airport operations officials.
Chen was a quiet man in his early fifties with silver-rimmed glasses and the deliberate manner of someone who preferred facts to arguments.
He examined Victoria's credentials, reviewed the disputed maintenance release, and confirmed that the aircraft would remain out of service until its condition could be independently assessed.
The passengers were instructed to gather their belongings and leave the aircraft.
Some complained.
Others looked frightened.
A few demanded immediate explanations.
Victoria understood their frustration.
Many passengers had appointments, weddings, funerals, and family emergencies waiting at their destinations.
But convenience could never justify an unresolved mechanical hazard.
A middle-aged businessman approached her.
"Are you saying we were about to fly on an unsafe plane?"
Victoria chose her words carefully.
"I'm saying there is a serious question about the validity of the aircraft's maintenance clearance. We're checking the actual condition before anyone is allowed to fly on it."
The man glanced toward the cockpit.
"Thank you for stopping it."
Victoria shook her head gently.
"Thank the people who reported the problem. Someone tried to warn the airline before I ever arrived."
When the last passengers had left, Megan sat beside Victoria in the now-empty first-class cabin.
Her hands trembled as she unlocked her phone.
"I've listened to this so many times," she said.
"Whenever you're ready."
Megan pressed play.
At first, the recording contained only traffic noise.
Then came Nora's voice.
"Richard, I checked the numbers twice. Those parts weren't approved for passenger service."
Another voice answered.
Collins.
"I told you I'd speak to Maintenance Control."
"You said that three weeks ago."
"I have a family, Nora."
"So do the people who board those airplanes."
There was a brief silence.
Then Nora spoke again.
"If something happens to one of those planes, they're going to make you the person responsible."
Collins's recorded voice became strained.
"You think I don't know that?"
"Then help me."
A car horn sounded somewhere nearby.
Nora lowered her voice.
"Victor knows about the missing inspection reports. He ordered them removed."
Megan paused the recording.
Victoria looked toward Collins, who remained near the cockpit with Officer Mason Price.
"Did you know she was recording you?"
Collins nodded slowly.
"She told me afterward."
"Did you tell Victor Rourke?"
"No."
"Are you certain?"
"I know what you're thinking."
Victoria waited.
Collins lowered his eyes.
"I didn't kill Nora Brooks."
Nobody had accused him of murder.
Not yet.
The recording continued.
Nora sounded increasingly frightened.
"Richard, there's a folder in my car. Copies of every altered release."
"Where are you going?"
"To someone who can actually investigate."
"Don't drive tonight."
"Why?"
A long pause followed.
Then Collins spoke so quietly that Victoria had to increase the volume.
"Because Victor knows where you live."
The recording ended abruptly.
Megan stared at her phone.
"She died six hours later."
Victoria asked how.
"Her car went off a service road near the airport. The police said she probably fell asleep."
"Was there another vehicle?"
"They never proved it."
Victoria turned to Collins.
"What happened after you spoke to Nora?"
He stared at the floor.
"I went home."
"Did you contact her again?"
"No."
"Did anyone from the airline ask you about the meeting?"
Collins hesitated.
That hesitation told Victoria more than his answer.
Before she could question him further, Anthony Chen returned from the cockpit.
He carried a photograph taken by one of the technicians inspecting the aircraft.
"Victoria, you need to see this."
The photograph showed a section of the landing gear assembly.
Beneath one fitting was a fresh trace of hydraulic fluid.
Chen pointed to the image.
"The leak appears consistent with the problem documented in the original complaint. We'll need a full inspection to determine its severity."
Victoria examined the timestamp.
The photograph had been taken just minutes earlier.
"Meaning it wasn't repaired?"
"Not adequately, at least. The aircraft should not have been released without resolving and documenting the discrepancy."
Victoria looked at Collins.
The captain's face was gray.
"I never saw that leak," he whispered.
"Someone made sure you saw a clearance instead," Chen said.
Victoria was about to respond when her phone vibrated.
A message from her investigative partner, Special Agent Daniel Shaw.
We have a problem. Somebody accessed the federal evidence portal this morning using your credentials.
Victoria frowned.
She typed a reply.
That's impossible. I've been on the aircraft.
Another message appeared.
The system shows you approved the disputed maintenance release at 8:47 a.m.
Victoria stared at the screen.
Five minutes after a dead mechanic had supposedly certified the aircraft, someone had entered a document falsely suggesting federal approval.
May you like
Under Victoria's name.
And whoever had done it possessed information that should have been accessible only to a very small number of people inside the government.
