Chapter 9 - The Name Inside the ReportBennett immediately began tracing the call through authorized investigative channels.
I remained beside Dr. Price.
Neither of us spoke.
For eight years, I'd wondered whether Daniel had survived.
Now I knew he had.
And I was terrified we'd lose him before I could see him again.
An hour later, Bennett returned with an update.
“The call originated from a temporary communications device. We're working with the available records and location information.”
“Did you find him?”
“Not yet.”
I looked toward Price.
“Who altered the report?”
She shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Bennett opened a folder.
“We're reviewing the document history.”
The original after-action report had gone through several versions.
Whitaker signed the final copy.
But before reaching his desk, the report had been reviewed by senior intelligence personnel.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Colonel Marcus Voss.
Another appeared only once.
Brigadier General Richard Hale.
My heart sank.
Hale had been Whitaker's deputy during Operation Silent Lantern.
He'd retired four years earlier.
Now he served as a defense consultant.
Bennett pointed to the document.
“Hale approved the final intelligence summary.”
I stared at the signature.
“Why didn't I know that?”
“Because your statement wasn't included in the version distributed to your unit.”
I looked up.
“What?”
“Your original testimony appears to have been removed from the summary.”
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
I'd spent years believing my concerns had been considered and rejected.
Now I was learning they might never have reached the people responsible for reviewing them.
“Who authorized that?” I asked.
“We're investigating.”
Bennett showed me a second document.
A memorandum from Hale to Voss.
The language was carefully bureaucratic.
But one sentence stood out.
Further dissemination of conflicting witness statements is not recommended.
I read it twice.
Then I remembered something.
During the original investigation, I'd received a call from Hale.
He'd told me that questioning the official account would distress Daniel's family.
He'd appealed to my loyalty.
My grief.
My desire to protect the people we'd brought home.
And I'd believed him.
“I need to speak with Whitaker,” I said.
Bennett nodded.
“We've already contacted him.”
Two hours later, General Whitaker arrived.
He looked older than he had at the airport.
I placed Hale's memorandum in front of him.
He read it.
Then he closed his eyes.
“I should have caught this.”
“You trusted him,” I said.
“I did.”
Evan's voice came from the doorway.
“And my father paid for it.”
I turned.
He stood beside Mason.
Bennett had arranged a controlled meeting after coordinating with his command.
Evan walked toward the table.
He looked at Whitaker.
“Sir, I need you to answer something.”
The general nodded.
“Ask.”
“If my father comes home, will you tell everyone what happened?”
Whitaker didn't hesitate.
“Yes.”
“Even if it destroys your career?”
“Yes.”
Evan studied him.
For the first time, I saw the young Marine look beyond his anger.
Then Bennett's phone rang.
She listened.
Her expression changed.
“Where?”
Another pause.
“We're on our way.”
She ended the call.
“We found the vehicle that took Daniel from the Winchester facility.”
Evan stepped forward.
“Where is it?”
“Outside Baltimore.”
“Is he there?”
Bennett looked at me.
“We don't know.”
May you like
Then she added:
“But investigators found blood inside the vehicle.”
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