“Yes. Your wife and daughter.”
“No.”
His voice became urgent.
“Don't contact them.”
Hayes stopped.
“Why?”
Turner shook his head.
“Because they already know where they are.”
The room fell silent.
Hayes looked at Mitchell through the glass window.
“Lieutenant.”
He entered immediately.
“Yes, ma'am?”
“Find out whether Staff Sergeant Turner's family has been placed under any military protection.”
Mitchell checked his tablet.
A few seconds passed.
Then his expression changed.
“Ma'am…”
“What?”
“There's a problem.”
Hayes approached him.
“What kind of problem?”
“According to the base security system, Turner's wife and daughter entered the military housing complex at 10:56 this morning.”
Turner stood so quickly that his chair fell backward.
“That's impossible.”
Mitchell continued.
“They were escorted by two uniformed personnel.”
Hayes stared at the screen.
“Who authorized the escort?”
Mitchell opened the record.
Then he stopped.
“Ma'am, the authorization is listed under your name.”
Hayes didn't move.
“What?”
Mitchell turned the tablet toward her.
There it was.
An electronic authorization.
Her name.
Her identification number.
Her signature.
And a timestamp showing approval at 10:51 a.m.
Five minutes before Turner's family had entered the base.
Hayes looked at the document.
Then at Mitchell.
“I didn't authorize that.”
Mitchell's face tightened.
“I know, ma'am.”
Hayes slowly looked toward the interview room.
Turner was pale.
“They've got my family,” he whispered.
Hayes closed the tablet.
“Not yet.”
She took out her secure phone.
“Lieutenant, lock down the housing complex. Quietly. No alarms.”