Chapter 7: The Missing Passenger
“Put that document on the table, Mr. Hale.””
General Nia Carter's voice carried across the consultation room.
Victor stopped in the doorway, the original inspection report pinched between two fingers. Behind him, the elevator doors slid shut, leaving him alone in the corridor with two hospital security officers watching from several feet away.
He looked at Patricia Brooks.
Then at the manila envelope.
Then back at Nia.
“I believe there has been a misunderstanding,” he said.
Nia didn't move.
“You've entered a hospital, confronted an injured patient, attempted to obtain her phone, and now you're demanding explanations from her family. I suggest you stop describing this as a misunderstanding.””
Victor gave a humorless smile.
“I'm trying to prevent innocent people from being dragged into a situation they don't understand.””
Patricia's hands shook against the table.
“You told Daniel the same thing,” she whispered.
Victor's smile disappeared.
“Patricia, you should be very careful about what you say.””
“Why? Because I kept the papers?””
“Because you don't know what those papers mean.””
“I know my nephew was afraid.””
“He was reckless.””
Patricia rose so abruptly that her chair scraped across the floor.
“He was twenty-six years old! He worked double shifts, sent money to his mother, and stayed late because he believed somebody was putting people's lives at risk. And you called him reckless?””
Victor set the inspection report down.
“Daniel interfered with matters outside his responsibilities.””
“He found falsified safety records.””
“You have no proof of that.””
Patricia pointed at the envelope.
“Those are copies of the records before they were changed.””
Victor glanced at Nia.
“Copies that could have been altered by anyone.””
“Then explain the contradictory inspection times,” Nia said.
He folded his arms.
“Administrative errors happen.””
“Not usually in two places at once, with the same vehicle listed as inspected before it arrived at the workshop.””
Victor's expression tightened.
Nia pulled the page closer.
“Who authorized the inspection?””
“I don't remember.””
“You brought the report here. You must have some idea.””
“I manage hundreds of contracts.””
“And yet you knew which document Patricia had.””
For the first time, Victor had no immediate answer.
Nia turned toward Patricia.
“You mentioned a missing page. Was it part of this report?””
Patricia nodded.
“Daniel gave me the complete set. The last page had a handwritten note about the passenger. When I checked the envelope after the accident, that page was gone.””
“Did you remove it?””
“No.””
“Did you give it to anyone?””
Patricia hesitated.
Victor leaned forward.
“Tell her the truth.””
Patricia flinched.
Nia immediately stood between them.
“Do not pressure her.””
Victor raised both hands.
“I'm simply asking her to be honest.””
“Then allow her to speak without your interference.””
Patricia swallowed hard.
“I didn't remove the page,” she repeated.
“But I did make another copy before Daniel died—or before we were told he died.””
Nia's eyes narrowed.
“Before you were told?””
Patricia lowered her gaze.
“They never showed me a body.””
The room fell silent.
Victor looked away.
Nia noticed.
“Who told you Daniel was dead?””
“A company representative called me the morning after the accident. He said there had been no survivors in the vehicle.””
“Did he identify himself?””
“He said he was calling on behalf of the company.””
“Did you receive written confirmation?””
“No. I asked for it, but they said the authorities would contact me.””
Nia turned to Victor.
“Did your company report Daniel's death?””
Victor rubbed his jaw.
“I wasn't responsible for communicating with relatives.””
“But you knew he was in the vehicle.””
“I knew he was involved in the incident.””
Patricia gripped the table.
“You just said there were no survivors.””
“I said that's what I understood at the time.””
“Then why did you come to Maya's hospital room demanding a liability waiver?””
Victor's gaze snapped toward her.
“Because the company had legitimate concerns about the incident.””
“And the passenger?”” Nia asked.
Victor's face hardened.
“There was no passenger.””
Patricia shook her head.
“Daniel wrote that there was.””
“Daniel was confused.””
“He wrote it before the accident.””
Victor slammed his palm onto the table.
“Enough!””
The nearest security officer stepped forward.
Nia didn't look away from Victor.
“Lower your voice.””
He drew back, breathing heavily.
For several seconds, the only sound was the quiet hum of the ventilation system.
Then Patricia opened the envelope again and removed a folded sheet of paper.
“I didn't want to bring this here,” she said.
“But I can't keep protecting people who won't tell me where Daniel is.””
Nia accepted the paper.
It was a photocopy of a maintenance log, with Daniel's handwriting in the margin.
Beside a vehicle identification number, he'd written three words:
*Passenger transported separately.*
Below that was a time, a location code, and a name.
Nia read the name twice.
Malcolm Reed.
“Does this mean Reed was in the vehicle?”” she asked.
Patricia shook her head.
“I don't know. Daniel never explained it.””
Victor moved toward the paper.
Nia immediately pulled it away.
“Don't touch the evidence.””
“You have no idea what that notation means.””
“Then tell me.””
Victor looked at Patricia.
For the briefest moment, his expression was not angry.
It was frightened.
“Reed wasn't the passenger,” he said.
Nia held his gaze.
“Who was?””
Victor said nothing.
A phone vibrated on the table.
It belonged to Patricia.
The screen displayed a message from an unknown number.
*STOP ASKING ABOUT DANIEL. THE PASSENGER IS ALREADY DEAD.*
Patricia covered her mouth.
Nia photographed the message with her own phone, then asked Patricia not to delete it.
“Did you receive anything like this before?””
Patricia shook her head.
Victor stepped toward the door.
Nia turned.
“Mr. Hale, you're not leaving until you explain why you recognize the missing page.””
“I have nothing to explain.””
“You just identified information that wasn't included in the copy I examined.””
Victor stopped.
Nia held up the maintenance log.
“You knew the passenger wasn't Reed before I asked you to clarify the notation. That suggests you already know who was inside the vehicle.””
Victor stared at the paper.
Then his phone rang.
He looked at the screen and immediately declined the call.
It rang again.
This time, he answered.
“What?””
A man's voice came through the speaker, loud enough for Nia to hear fragments.
“...the hospital...””
Victor turned away.
“I told you to wait.””
Another pause.
Then the voice said something that made Victor's shoulders stiffen.
“She's awake?””
Victor's face drained of color.
He ended the call.
Patricia stared at him.
“Who is awake?””
Victor backed toward the corridor.
Nia stepped into his path.
“Who is awake, Mr. Hale?””
He looked at her, then at Patricia.
Finally, his gaze shifted toward Maya's hospital room.
“The passenger,” he whispered.
Nia felt her stomach tighten.
“You told us there was no passenger.””
Victor swallowed.
“I told you what I was instructed to tell you.””
“By whom?””
His lips trembled.
Before he could answer, a hospital security officer appeared at the doorway.
“General Carter, there's an emergency call from the intensive care unit. They have a patient asking for Maya Brooks.””
Nia turned toward him.
“What's the patient's name?””
The officer checked his phone.
“Daniel Brooks.””
Patricia collapsed into her chair.
Victor stumbled backward.
And Nia understood that the missing page was no longer the most dangerous piece of evidence in the building.
May you like
Daniel was alive.
And someone had just discovered that he could talk.
