Chapter 15 - THE NAME ON THE REPORT
Vincent spent the night reading the crash investigation from beginning to end.
He requested the original maintenance records, the flight crew statements, and the hospital communication logs. He also contacted the lawyer who had represented him after the accident.
At 6:15 a.m., Marco arrived with a second folder.
“We found Rachel Cole,” he said. “The flight attendant who helped Anna out through the rear exit.”
“Where is she?”
“She lives in Wisconsin now. She agreed to speak with us.”
“Bring her here.”
Rachel arrived that afternoon with her attorney. She was in her early forties, with a faint scar near her hairline.
Vincent stood when she entered.
“Thank you for coming.”
“I came because Anna asked me to tell the truth if anyone ever came looking.”
He nodded.
“Did you help my wife escape the plane?”
“Yes.”
“Was she alive when you reached the rear exit?”
Rachel's eyes hardened.
“She was frightened and injured, but she was alive. She was protecting her stomach. I got her out.”
“Why wasn't she listed among the rescued passengers?”
“Because the evacuation manifest was changed after the explosion.”
Vincent stared at her.
“Changed by whom?”
“I don't know. I was taken to another hospital. I was interviewed once, briefly, by a man who said he was from the airline's insurance team. When I tried to tell him Anna had survived, he said the passenger records showed otherwise.”
“Did you sign a statement?”
“No. I refused.”
Marco placed a document on the table.
“This is the final manifest. Anna's name is marked as unaccounted for.”
Rachel looked at it.
“That isn't the list I saw.”
Vincent's jaw tightened.
“Who gave you the first list?”
“A ground supervisor. He said Anna had been transported to a hospital. I remember because I asked him to make sure her husband was notified.”
“Do you remember his name?”
Rachel thought for a moment.
“Derek Shaw.”
Marco made a note.
Vincent turned to his attorney.
“Find him.”
Rachel continued.
“There is something else. Before the flight, Sophia came to the rear cabin. She asked me which exit would be used if there was an emergency.”
Vincent went still.
“Why?”
“She said she was nervous about flying and wanted to know where to sit. I thought it was an ordinary question.”
“Did she ask anything else?”
Rachel looked uncomfortable.
“She asked whether the rear exit could be opened from the outside.”
Silence filled the room.
Vincent's hands curled.
“Did you tell anyone?”
“I told the airline investigator. He said it wasn't relevant.”
“Did you tell the police?”
“I tried. They said there was no evidence of wrongdoing.”
Vincent dismissed everyone except Marco.
“Find out who paid Derek Shaw. Find the company that handled the passenger records. And get every communication Sophia had with the airline.”
Marco nodded.
Vincent stared at the final manifest.
Anna had been alive.
May you like
Someone had known.
And someone had made sure he believed otherwise.
