A Meeting That Had Been Canceled
Chapter 03 - A Meeting That Had Been Canceled
Rebecca returned from a nine-month overseas command expecting to brief the inspector general that morning.
The meeting disappeared from her calendar while her aircraft was still over the Atlantic.
At the Pentagon reception desk, Sergeant Noah Grant told her the inspector general had been reassigned to an emergency conference. Her visitor authorization for the procurement wing had also been suspended.
Rebecca asked who issued the change.
Noah glanced at his screen.
The order came from Malcolm Voss’s office.
That was when the elevator opened and Celeste appeared wearing Emily’s star.
Malcolm now approached through the lobby accompanied by his chief of staff and two security officers. His voice carried warm concern.
“Rebecca, we did not expect you until tomorrow.”
She held out her hand toward Celeste.
“I want the pendant secured as evidence.”
Malcolm laughed softly.
“My wife’s jewelry is not evidence.”
Celeste said it had been purchased at a charity auction in Geneva. She could produce a receipt.
Rebecca asked why a star stolen from a dead officer’s memorial case appeared at an overseas auction connected to a defense official’s wife.
Malcolm’s concern hardened into authority.
He reminded Rebecca that she was inside a secure federal facility and had just returned from a demanding command. He suggested she undergo a routine medical evaluation before making public allegations.
The implication was calculated.
A grieving mother had mistaken a piece of jewelry.
A tired general had become emotional.
Rebecca took out her phone and photographed the star.
Security ordered her to stop.
Sergeant Noah quietly activated the lobby’s incident-recording system. The camera above the reception desk captured Celeste touching the pendant, Malcolm attempting to remove Rebecca and every word spoken between them.
Rebecca lowered her voice.
“Open the clasp.”
Celeste stepped backward.
“The necklace is mine.”
“The jeweler who made it installed a hidden hinge beneath the center. Open it.”
Malcolm looked at his wife.
That glance confirmed the hinge existed.
Rebecca turned toward Noah.
“Sergeant, notify the Defense Criminal Investigative Service that property stolen from a deceased officer has entered the building.”
Malcolm ordered Noah not to place the call.
Noah’s hands remained on the console.
He was twenty-four years old, one rank below every person who could destroy his career.
May you like
Then he looked at the row of ribbons on Rebecca’s chest and the fear behind Celeste’s smile.
He called investigators.
