“Did you know then what was coming?”
“No.”
“Would it have changed anything?”
Elise did not answer immediately.
“I don't know.”
Mark sat beside her.
“Sometimes I think I have spent eight years trying to find a version of that night where Andrew could have come home.”
Elise turned toward him.
“I understand.”
“I know there isn't one. But whenever someone tells me something new, I start imagining another possibility.”
“That's natural.”
“I don't want to turn every new detail into a reason to believe the Navy missed something.”
“Then don't.”
He looked at her.
“It's not that easy.”
“No. It isn't.”
She took his hand.
“We can listen to what people have to say without deciding in advance what it means.”
Mark nodded.
“And if it changes the official account?”
“Then the appropriate people should review it.”
“And if it doesn't?”
“Then we will still know a little more about Andrew.”
He looked at the photograph again.
“That might be enough.”
Two days later, Elise received a call from Vice Admiral Brennan.
He did not begin with a greeting.
“Commander, I understand you met with Daniel Reeves.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Did he provide you with personal notes?”
“He did. A notebook and a handwritten copy of a communications exchange.”
“Have you reviewed them?”
“Yes.”
“Did you draw any conclusions?”
“No, sir. The information is incomplete.”
“Good.”
Elise sat straighter.
“Are you aware of the prior request to review the Carver's communications timeline?”
There was a pause.
“Yes.”
“Who submitted it?”
“The request originated from a former member of the crew. It was reviewed at the time and determined not to meet the threshold for reopening the incident review.”
“Was Daniel Reeves involved?”
“I don't believe so.”
“Was the missing engineering status included?”
“The original report addressed the communications disruption and the status of the engineering personnel.”
“Was there a specific reference to a door?”
Brennan paused.
“Not one that I recall.”
Elise looked at the documents.
“Sir, I don't want to overstate what Daniel has provided. But there may be a discrepancy between his personal notes and the official timeline.”
“I understand.”
“Would it be possible to review the original communication records?”
“That would require a formal request.”
“I can submit one.”
“You can. But I want to be clear about something, Commander. You are a former participant in the incident, and you have a personal relationship with one of the deceased crew members. You should not conduct an independent review or access records outside your authorization.”
“I understand, sir.”
“I am not telling you to stop asking questions. I am telling you to make sure the questions are handled properly.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Send me a summary of the material. Do not attach copies of any records you are not authorized to distribute. I will refer it to the appropriate office.”
“Understood.”
Brennan's voice softened.
“Elise.”
“Yes, sir?”
“I know what this is bringing back.”
She looked at the photograph.
“I'm all right.”
“I didn't ask whether you were all right.”
She remained silent.
“I asked because I know you have spent years keeping certain memories in their proper place. New information can make those memories feel unfinished again.”
“I know.”
“Don't let the need to give the family an answer become a reason to invent one.”
“I won't.”
“Good. Send me the summary.”
The call ended.
Elise spent the next hour preparing a factual account of the meeting. She distinguished Daniel's direct observations from his assumptions. She listed the documents he had provided and noted that their origin and accuracy had not been independently verified.
She did not write that Andrew had returned to the lower compartment.
She did not write that he had attempted a rescue.
She wrote only that a former crew member had retained an incomplete communications record and wished to provide a statement for formal review.
When she finished, she sent the summary through the authorized channel.
Then she called Judith.
Judith answered while working in her garden.
“Elise?”
“Do you have a moment?”
“Of course.”
“I wanted to tell you something about Andrew.”
Judith stopped moving.
“Is everything all right?”
“Yes. But someone from the Carver contacted me.”
“Who?”
“Daniel Reeves. He served in engineering.”
“Did he know Andrew?”
“Yes.”
Judith sat on the low stone wall beside the garden.
“What did he say?”
Elise explained that Daniel remembered an incomplete transmission from the lower engineering section. He believed Andrew had been concerned about the missing confirmation.
Judith listened carefully.
“Was Andrew trying to rescue someone?”
“We don't know.”
“Did he go back?”
“We don't know that either.”
Judith was silent.
“Then why did this man contact you?”
“He has been carrying the memory of that transmission for years. He wanted to explain what he remembered.”
“Does he think Andrew died because of it?”
“He feels responsible, but there is no evidence that he caused Andrew's death.”
Judith's voice grew unsteady.
“Could Andrew have survived if he hadn't gone back?”
Elise closed her eyes briefly.
“I can't answer that.”
“Could someone have stopped him?”
“I don't know.”
“Was he ordered to go?”
“I don't know.”
Judith took a breath.
“I thought we had reached a point where there were no more questions.”
“I know.”
“I thought I could finally remember him without imagining another terrible thing.”
Elise leaned against her desk.
“You can still do that.”
“How?”
“By remembering the whole person. Not only the final hours.”
Judith was quiet.
Then she asked, “Will you tell me if you learn anything?”
“Yes. If it is appropriate to share.”
“Thank you.”
“Judith?”
“Yes?”
“Please don't contact Daniel or try to obtain the records yourself. The information needs to be reviewed properly.”
“I wasn't planning to.”
“I wanted to be clear.”
“I understand.”
Judith paused.
“Do you think I should be afraid of what we might learn?”
Elise considered the question.
“I think you should be prepared for the possibility that we won't get a complete answer.”
Judith looked toward the house.