OLIVIA GRANT: "I wasn't sure whether I should."
MAYA BROOKS: "Why not?"
OLIVIA GRANT: "Because the people involved were senior officers."
MAYA BROOKS: "Your responsibility is to provide accurate information. The investigators will determine what the evidence establishes."
Olivia nodded.
She opened the envelope.
Inside were printed meeting notes.
The first page listed the attendees.
Victor Hayes.
Major Richard Calloway.
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Mercer.
And a representative from the regional command office.
Maya examined the list.
MAYA BROOKS: "Were you present at this meeting?"
OLIVIA GRANT: "Yes, Colonel. I was responsible for recording the administrative decisions."
MAYA BROOKS: "Tell me what was discussed."
Olivia took a breath.
OLIVIA GRANT: "The installation was concerned about the readiness evaluation. Several aircraft had unresolved maintenance issues, and the command team wanted to know how those issues would affect the final figures."
MAYA BROOKS: "Did anyone instruct the maintenance department to change the reports?"
Olivia hesitated.
OLIVIA GRANT: "Not in those exact words."
MAYA BROOKS: "Tell me what you remember."
Olivia looked at the notes.
OLIVIA GRANT: "Lieutenant Colonel Mercer said that the final readiness status needed to reflect the command's operational expectations. Major Calloway asked how the unresolved discrepancies should be classified."
MAYA BROOKS: "What was the answer?"
OLIVIA GRANT: "Mercer said the maintenance department should review the categories and make sure that administrative issues were not being counted as operational failures."
MAYA BROOKS: "Did anyone distinguish between administrative issues and unresolved safety problems?"
Olivia shook her head.
OLIVIA GRANT: "Not clearly."
MAYA BROOKS: "What did Sergeant Hayes say?"
OLIVIA GRANT: "He said that his team could adjust the reports before the deadline."
Maya looked at her.
MAYA BROOKS: "Did anyone ask whether the physical inspections had been completed?"
Olivia paused.
OLIVIA GRANT: "I don't remember anyone asking."
Maya made a note.
The statement was important.
It suggested that the officers had discussed changing the classification of unresolved issues without establishing whether the underlying maintenance work had been performed.
But Maya still needed to know what happened after the meeting.
MAYA BROOKS: "Were any written instructions issued?"
Olivia nodded.
OLIVIA GRANT: "Major Calloway asked me to prepare a summary."
MAYA BROOKS: "Do you have a copy?"
Olivia removed another page.
OLIVIA GRANT: "Yes."
Maya examined it.
The summary stated that the maintenance department would review outstanding discrepancies and ensure that the final readiness report reflected the approved classifications.
It also instructed the department to coordinate any unresolved items with Mercer's office before the submission deadline.
The wording was careful.
But the timing was significant.
The summary had been distributed one day before several inspection reports were changed.
Maya asked whether the document had been modified after Olivia prepared it.
Olivia nodded slowly.
OLIVIA GRANT: "Yes."
MAYA BROOKS: "By whom?"
OLIVIA GRANT: "Major Calloway."
MAYA BROOKS: "What changed?"
Olivia looked at the final page.
OLIVIA GRANT: "The original version said that unresolved safety discrepancies had to remain open until the required inspections were completed."
Maya looked up.
MAYA BROOKS: "And the revised version?"
OLIVIA GRANT: "That sentence was removed."
The room became quiet.
Maya looked at the document again.
This was the first evidence suggesting that an explicit safety condition had been removed from the administrative instructions before the maintenance reports were changed.
She asked Olivia whether she had preserved the original version.
Olivia nodded.
Then she removed one final page from the envelope.
It was a printed draft.
The sentence was still present.
Maya placed the two versions side by side.
The difference was unmistakable.
MAYA BROOKS: "Why did you keep the original?"
OLIVIA GRANT: "Because I was concerned about the change."
MAYA BROOKS: "Did you ask Major Calloway why he removed it?"
OLIVIA GRANT: "Yes."
MAYA BROOKS: "What did he say?"
Olivia looked down.
OLIVIA GRANT: "He told me the wording was unnecessary and that the maintenance department already understood its responsibilities."
Maya made another note.
MAYA BROOKS: "Did you report your concern?"
Olivia nodded.
OLIVIA GRANT: "I sent a message to Lieutenant Colonel Mercer's office."
MAYA BROOKS: "Did you receive a response?"
Olivia hesitated.
OLIVIA GRANT: "Yes."
MAYA BROOKS: "What did it say?"
Olivia reached into the envelope.
She removed a printed email.
Maya read the message.
The reply stated that the revised summary had been approved and that no further changes were required.
The sender was Mercer's executive assistant.
But the message indicated that it had been issued on Mercer's behalf.
Maya looked toward the investigation officer.
MAYA BROOKS: "Preserve the original draft, the revised summary, and the email. Authenticate them through the official system."
The officer nodded.
Olivia appeared relieved.
Maya thanked her for providing the information.
After Olivia left, Daniel entered the room.
He looked at the documents on the table.
DANIEL PRICE: "Did she give you something useful?"
Maya nodded.
MAYA BROOKS: "She gave us evidence that the safety language was removed before the reports were changed."
Daniel looked surprised.
DANIEL PRICE: "Who removed it?"
MAYA BROOKS: "Major Calloway."
DANIEL PRICE: "And Mercer approved the revised summary?"
MAYA BROOKS: "The correspondence indicates that his office approved it. We still need to establish his personal involvement."