Chapter 5: What Brooks Remembered
Major Daniel Brooks was sitting against the side of an abandoned maintenance building when we found him.
His dress uniform was gone.
His shirt was torn at the collar.
There was dried blood along his temple.
But his eyes were sharp.
The moment he saw me, he tried to stand.
“Rachel.””
I rushed toward him.
“Don't move.””
He grabbed my wrist.
“You have the document?””
“Yes.””
“Original?””
“Yes.””
His eyes closed briefly.
“Good.””
General Hayes crouched beside him.
“What happened?””
Brooks looked toward the road.
“Turner found me.””
“How?””
“I don't know.””
“Did he have anyone with him?””
“No.””
“Where did he go?””
Brooks hesitated.
“Back to the storage facility.””
I looked at him.
“We were there.””
“He knew you would be.””
“What?””
Brooks pushed himself upright.
“He wanted you to find the recording.””
The words made my skin prickle.
“Why?””
“Because he knew you would think it proved everything.””
General Hayes frowned.
“You're saying the recording is fake?””
“No.””
Brooks looked at me.
“The recording is real.””
“Then what's wrong with it?””
“It's incomplete.””
My stomach sank.
“How?””
Brooks rubbed his forehead.
“There were three people in that conversation.””
I stared at him.
“We heard Jason and a woman.””
“There was a third.””
“Who?””
He looked directly at Madison.
She went pale.
“Madison knows.””
I turned toward my sister.
She shook her head.
“No.””
Brooks's voice was quiet.
“You've heard his voice before.””
Madison stepped backward.
“Stop.””
“Who?”” I demanded.
Brooks looked at me.
“Your father.””
The world seemed to tilt.
“My father?””
Madison covered her mouth.
General Hayes stood.
“Major, are you certain?””
“Yes.””
“Why wasn't this in the original investigation?””
“Because the recording was never submitted.””
“Where was it?””
Brooks looked at me.
“Jason had it.””
I turned toward Madison.
She was trembling.
“Did you know Dad was involved?””
“No.””
Brooks interrupted.
“She didn't.””
Madison stared at him.
“How do you know?””
“Because Jason never trusted you enough to tell you.””
She looked devastated.
I sat beside Brooks.
“Start from the beginning.””
He nodded.
“Six years ago, the equipment transfer wasn't supposed to happen.””
“I know.””
“No. You don't.””
He pulled a small notebook from his pocket.
“The transfer was a cover.””
“For what?””
“Money.””
My pulse quickened.
“How much?””
“Enough to buy silence from several people.””
“Who?””
“That's what I couldn't prove.””
He looked at General Hayes.
“Until now.””
Hayes's jaw tightened.
Brooks continued.
“The classified authorization was necessary because the equipment being moved was worth millions. The paperwork made it appear legitimate.””
“But my signature was forged.””
“Yes.””
“By Jason?””
“Yes.””
“Why did he need me?””
“Because he needed someone with a clean record and no financial connection to the contractor.””
I stared at him.
“And because my family would believe him.””
Brooks nodded.
“That too.””
Madison began crying.
“I didn't know.””
I looked at her.
“Not all of it.””
She flinched.
I regretted the words immediately.
But Brooks spoke again.
“Your sister knew enough to be frightened.””
Madison looked at him.
“You were there?””
“I interviewed you.””
“You remember?””
“I remember everything.””
He opened his notebook.
“You told me something that day.””
Madison's breathing became shallow.
“What?””
“You said Jason had threatened to expose a secret.””
Her face drained.
“What secret?””
Brooks looked at me.
“Your family had been receiving money.””
I stared.
“From the contractor?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“We never figured that out.””
I thought of Dad's accusation at the ceremony.
You always find some way to make everything about yourself.
Suddenly it sounded different.
Defensive.
Afraid.
I shook my head.
“No.””
Brooks looked at me.
“What?””
“My father wouldn't.””
“Rachel.””
“He's not part of this.””
Brooks held my gaze.
“I saw the records.””
“Records can be forged.””
“Yes.””
“But you said you had evidence.””
“I do.””
He pulled a photograph from his pocket.
It showed my father standing beside Jason outside a private office.
The date was six years ago.
The night before my investigation.
I stared at the image.
“Where was this taken?””
“Denver.””
“Why were they together?””
“That is what I tried to find out.””
“And?””
Brooks looked away.
“Jason made sure I couldn't.””
I understood.
“The transfer.””
He nodded.
“Three days after your case closed, I was reassigned.””
“To where?””
“A remote installation.””
“And then?””
“I resigned.””
“Why?””
He looked at General Hayes.
“Because someone broke into my home.””
The general's expression changed.
“They threatened your family?””
Brooks nodded.
“My daughter was eight.””
I felt my anger soften into something heavier.
“Why come back now?””
He looked at me.
“Because I got tired of being afraid.””
Madison wiped her cheeks.
“Why didn't you tell us?””
Brooks gave her a tired smile.
“Who would have believed me?””
Nobody answered.
Then his phone vibrated.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
“What?””
He handed it to me.
An unknown number had sent a photograph.
It showed the inside of the storage unit.
Then another image arrived.
Jason standing beside my father.
Then a third.
My father was holding the same black recorder we had just found.
My hands went cold.
“He was there.””
Brooks nodded.
“He was.””
Madison stared at the images.
“No.””
Her voice was barely audible.
“He told me he was at home that night.””
I looked at her.
“When?””
“The night Rachel's investigation started.””
I stood.
“Where is Dad now?””
General Hayes checked his phone.
“I'll find out.””
His phone rang before he finished.
He answered.
“Hayes.””
A voice spoke rapidly on the other end.
His expression hardened.
“What?””
He listened.
Then looked at me.
“Your father has left his house.””
“When?””
“Twenty minutes ago.””
“Where is he going?””
The general ended the call.
“We don't know.””
I looked at Brooks.
“Jason?””
Brooks shook his head.
“No.””
“Then who?””
Brooks stared at the photograph.
“There's only one person Jason would run to now.””
“Who?””
He looked at me.
“The woman from the recording.””
I remembered the photograph.
The administrative officer.
The woman who had contacted the investigators that morning.
I pulled the address from my pocket.
“We need to get there first.””
Brooks stood.
“I'll come.””
“No.””
“I know what we're looking for.””
General Hayes nodded.
“We go together.””
Madison stepped forward.
“I want to come.””
I looked at her.
“No.””
“Rachel—”
“You've done enough.””
Her eyes filled again.
“I need to fix it.””
I stared at her.
Then I handed her the transcript.
“Then start by telling the truth.””
She looked down at the pages.
I turned away.
We climbed into the vehicles.
The address was outside Colorado Springs, in a quiet neighborhood tucked against the foothills.
The sun had nearly disappeared.
Snow still clung to the distant mountain peaks.
As we drove, Brooks sat beside me.
“Rachel.””
“Yes?””
“There is something else you need to know.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
“The woman we're going to see isn't just a witness.””
“Who is she?””
“She was Jason's administrative officer.””
“I know.””
“No.””
He shook his head.
“She was his mistress.””
I stared at him.
For six years, Jason had told my sister he was faithful.
For six years, Madison had defended him.
And now we were driving toward the woman who had helped him hide everything.
Brooks lowered his voice.
“She had a child with him.””
My stomach dropped.
“Ethan.””
He nodded.
“You know?””
“Madison told me.””
Brooks looked through the windshield.
“Then you don't know the most important part.””
“What?””
He hesitated.
“Ethan wasn't Jason's only child.””
My pulse quickened.
“What are you saying?””
Brooks turned toward me.
“Jason had another child.””
“With whom?””
He looked at me for several seconds.
Then said,
“Your sister.””
The vehicle seemed to stop moving.
“What?””
Brooks didn't answer.
Instead, his phone rang.
He answered.
“Brooks.””
A voice shouted through the speaker.
His face went white.
“What happened?””
He listened.
May you like
Then looked at me.
“The house is on fire.””
