Eleanor closed her eyes.
“I heard someone knocking.”
She paused.
“James opened the door. I was upstairs. I heard two voices.”
“Did you recognize them?”
“Yes.”
“Whose?”
“Your father's.”
Hayes felt his chest tighten.
“What did they say?”
“I couldn't hear everything. But I remember one sentence.”
“What sentence?”
She looked directly at him.
“James said, 'You promised me you would never let them use Jonathan.'”
Hayes looked down.
Eleanor continued.
“Then I heard a loud noise.”
David reached for her hand.
“Grandma.”
“I came downstairs. James was on the floor. Your father was standing beside him.”
Hayes closed his eyes.
“Was he holding anything?”
Eleanor shook her head.
“No.”
“Was James alive?”
“Yes.”
Hayes looked up sharply.
“What?”
“He was breathing.”
“Did my father call for help?”
Eleanor's eyes filled with tears.
“No.”
Hayes leaned forward.
“What did he do?”
“He looked at me. Then he said something.”
“What?”
Eleanor swallowed.
“He said, 'I'm sorry. I tried to stop them.'”
Hayes sat completely still.
“Then what?”
“Your father left.”
“And James?”
“I called an ambulance.”
“Why didn't you tell the police?”
Eleanor began crying.
“Because when they arrived, they said James had been found alone. They told me I must have been confused.”
Hayes looked at David.
David was staring at the floor.
Eleanor continued.
“The next morning, a man came to the house. He told me my husband had died from an accident.”
Hayes's voice became barely audible.
“But James was still alive when you found him.”
“Yes.”
“Then he didn't die in an accident.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“No.”
Hayes looked toward the window.
For decades, he had believed his father had died peacefully.
Now he knew that the final hours of his father's life were connected to the death of his commanding officer.
But there was another question.
Why had his father left Colonel Brooks alive?
And who had returned afterward?
Eleanor reached for his hand.
“General, your father wasn't the person who finished it.”
Hayes looked at her.
“Who was?”
She whispered:
“Someone who arrived after he left.”
Chapter 27: The Second Visitor
David brought a glass of water to his grandmother.
She took a sip.
Then she looked at Hayes.
“I remember the second visitor because he was wearing a watch.”
“A watch?”
“Yes. A gold watch with a dark face.”
Hayes thought for a moment.
“Did you see his face?”
“Only briefly.”
“Can you describe him?”
“Tall. Thin. Dark hair. He spoke very quietly.”
“Did he say anything?”
Eleanor nodded.
“He asked where James had put the papers.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I said I didn't know.”
“And then?”
“He told me to go upstairs.”
“Did you?”
Eleanor shook her head.
“I stayed near the doorway.”
She looked at David.
“I was afraid.”
Hayes waited.
“What happened next?”
“He went into the study. I heard James say something.”
“What?”
“He said, 'You can't make this disappear.'”
Hayes leaned forward.
“And the man?”
“He replied, 'I already have.'”
Eleanor paused.
“Then I heard a second noise.”
David covered his mouth.
Hayes looked at the floor.
“Did you see him leave?”
“Yes.”
“Did you recognize him?”
Eleanor shook her head.
“No. But I saw the watch.”
Hayes opened the photograph from the courthouse.
He looked at the men standing beside Langford.
One wore a gold watch.
The person was standing near the edge of the photograph.
Hayes enlarged the image on his phone.
His expression changed.
He recognized the watch.
It belonged to Senator Charles Whitmore.
Hayes stood.
“Thank you, Mrs. Brooks.”
Eleanor reached for his hand.
“General.”
He stopped.
“Please don't let them turn you into the kind of man they are.”
Hayes looked at her.
“I won't.”
She squeezed his hand.
“Your father made mistakes. James made mistakes. Everyone did.”
She paused.
“But the truth still matters.”
Hayes nodded.
Then he left the room.
Outside, Turner was waiting.
“Sir?”
Hayes showed him the photograph.
“Identify everyone in this image.”
Turner studied it.
“Senator Whitmore.”
“Yes.”
“And the man beside him?”
“That's what I want to know.”
Turner zoomed in.
The man wore a dark suit and a gold watch.
Turner recognized him.
“Sir, that's Director Malcolm Reeves.”
Hayes looked up.
“Which director?”
“Former director of the National Security Records Office.”
Hayes stared at the photograph.
Reeves had retired five years earlier.
He had overseen classified government archives for nearly two decades.
He was the man who had authorized the destruction of thousands of old records.
And he had been standing beside Senator Whitmore on the night Colonel Brooks died.
Chapter 28: The Secret Service Call
At 4:10 p.m., Hayes received an urgent call from the Pentagon.
“General, you need to return immediately.”
“Why?”
“The Secretary's office has requested a formal inquiry into your conduct.”
Hayes looked at Turner.
“What conduct?”
“Your unauthorized involvement in a civilian investigation. Your use of military personnel. Your contact with a former federal employee.”
Hayes remained calm.
“Who initiated the complaint?”
“The Secretary's office.”
“Of course.”
The voice continued.
“There is also a request to review your command authority.”
Hayes looked out toward the parking lot.
“Are they suspending me?”
“Not yet.”
“Then what do they want?”
“They want you to attend a meeting tonight.”
“Where?”
“Pentagon conference room seven.”
Hayes paused.
“Who will be present?”
“The Secretary, the Army Chief of Staff, and several senior officials.”
Hayes ended the call.
Turner looked at him.
“Sir, that sounds like a trap.”
“It probably is.”
“Should we go?”
Hayes considered the question.
Then he nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because if they want to remove me, I want to know who is asking them to do it.”
Turner lowered his voice.
“And if they try to detain you?”
Hayes looked at him.
“Then we follow the law.”
He paused.
“We do not give them an excuse to turn this into something else.”
They walked toward the vehicle.
As Hayes reached the door, his phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
One message.