Chapter 6: The Door They Locked From Outside
"Stop him!""
Special Agent Mercer shouted.
Two agents intercepted William Shaw before he reached the ballroom doors.
Shaw raised both hands.
"Don't touch me. I have done nothing wrong.""
Mercer stepped closer.
"Then you'll have no problem answering a few questions.""
Shaw looked toward my father.
"Richard, tell them.""
My father remained silent.
I moved toward him.
"Did you know?""
He shook his head.
"Know what?""
"That the compartment was sealed from outside.""
He looked genuinely horrified.
"No.""
"Then why did the caller tell me to ask you?""
"I don't know.""
I studied his face.
For the first time that evening, I couldn't tell whether he was lying.
Admiral Reed approached with a photograph from the original naval investigation.
It showed the compartment entrance after the fire.
The emergency release mechanism had been damaged.
But something else was visible.
A locking assembly.
"Captain," Reed said, "we recovered this photograph from the initial engineering report. The outer locking mechanism was engaged during the incident.""
I stared.
"That should have been impossible.""
"Why?""
"Because the compartment doors were designed to open automatically during an emergency evacuation. The external override could only be activated from the ship's central control station.""
Mercer asked, "Who had access to that station?""
"Three people during the operation. The commanding officer, the chief engineer, and the emergency systems supervisor.""
"Names?""
I took a breath.
"Commander James Holloway. Lieutenant Peter Collins. And me.""
Peter Lawson interrupted.
"Wait. The original system records listed another operator.""
I turned toward him.
"Who?""
He opened his binder and pulled out a printed maintenance log.
"An external contractor.""
I leaned closer.
The name was unfamiliar.
*GRAHAM VOSS — TECHNICAL SYSTEMS CONSULTANT.*
Peter looked at Admiral Reed.
"Voss worked directly for Victoria Hale. He was authorized to inspect the system before deployment.""
Mercer wrote down the name.
"Where is he now?""
Peter shook his head.
"I don't know.""
Shaw suddenly laughed.
It was a short, nervous sound.
"You're chasing ghosts. Graham Voss left the company years ago.""
I looked at him.
"How do you know?""
"Because I approved his termination.""
"When?""
Shaw didn't answer.
Mercer repeated the question.
"When did you terminate him?""
"Six months after the incident.""
Peter turned sharply.
"That's impossible.""
"Why?""
"Because I saw Voss at Harrington Defense headquarters last month.""
The ballroom went silent.
My father stood slowly.
"Victoria told me Graham was overseas.""
Peter shook his head.
"He wasn't.""
Admiral Reed looked at Mercer.
"Find him.""
One agent immediately left the room.
I felt a cold pressure building in my chest.
The more we uncovered, the more the fire began to look less like a manufacturing disaster and more like an organized attempt to eliminate witnesses.
I remembered the compartment.
The first alarm.
The emergency lights turning red.
The sound of the external locking mechanism engaging.
At the time, I had assumed the door was jammed by the heat.
But now I remembered something else.
Just before the mechanism locked, I had heard a voice through the intercom.
A man's voice.
He had said, "Keep the compartment secured.""
I had never included that detail in my official report.
Because I hadn't known who was speaking.
I looked at Reed.
"Admiral, I need to tell you something.""
He moved closer.
"Go ahead.""
"Before the door locked, I heard someone give an order over the intercom.""
Mercer immediately began writing.
"What exactly did you hear?""
"'Keep the compartment secured.''"
"Did you recognize the voice?""
"No.""
I paused.
"At least, I didn't think I did.""
My father looked at me.
"What does that mean?""
I closed my eyes.
Then I remembered.
The voice had sounded like someone who had spoken to me many times before the deployment.
Someone who knew my name.
Someone who knew exactly where I was.
I opened my eyes.
"It sounded like William Shaw.""
Shaw went completely still.
"That's absurd.""
"You visited the Meridian before deployment.""
"I visited dozens of ships.""
"You were on the vessel the morning of the fire.""
"I was nowhere near the compartment.""
Peter Lawson suddenly stepped forward.
"That's not true.""
Everyone turned toward him.
Peter opened the maintenance binder to a page marked with a yellow tab.
"This is the original visitor access log.""
He placed it in front of Mercer.
William Shaw's name appeared at 08:17 on the morning of the incident.
His departure time was blank.
Mercer examined the page.
"Mr. Shaw, why was your departure time never recorded?""
Shaw looked at the document.
"Administrative error.""
Peter shook his head.
"No. The visitor log was electronically synchronized. Every person entering the restricted section had to scan out before leaving.""
He pointed to a second entry.
"Except one person.""
I leaned forward.
The second entry had been added manually.
*GRAHAM VOSS — EMERGENCY CONTROL ACCESS.*
The timestamp was 08:43.
Twenty-three minutes before the fire.
My father gripped the table.
"William, what did you do?""
Shaw looked at him.
"Richard, don't be foolish.""
Mercer stepped closer.
"Mr. Shaw, you're being detained pending further investigation.""
Shaw suddenly lunged toward the table, grabbed the maintenance binder, and threw it across the room.
Papers scattered over the polished floor.
The agents seized him before he could reach the doors.
"Get your hands off me!""
One agent forced his arms behind his back.
Shaw struggled.
"You have no idea what Victoria will do when she finds out!""
Mercer tightened the restraints.
"Then perhaps you should tell us where she is.""
Shaw stopped struggling.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he looked directly at me.
"Ask your father why he received a phone call thirty minutes before the fire.""
I turned toward Richard.
My father had gone pale.
"That's not true," he whispered.
Shaw smiled bitterly.
"You should tell her, Richard.""
I approached my father.
"Thirty minutes before the fire?""
He stared at the floor.
"What phone call?""
He swallowed.
Then he reached inside his jacket and removed an old photograph.
It showed me standing beside my father aboard the USS Meridian during a family visit several years before the incident.
On the back was a handwritten date.
And beneath it, a message.
The next time you see your daughter, make sure she doesn't come back.
My father began crying.
"I thought it was a threat. I didn't know they were going to do it.""
I stared at him.
"Who sent it?""
He looked toward Shaw.
Then he whispered a name.
"Graham Voss.""
Admiral Reed's phone rang.
He answered.
Listened.
And slowly turned toward me.
"Captain, they've located Graham Voss.""
"Where?""
Reed's expression hardened.
"At the Norfolk safe house.""
I exhaled.
"Is he in custody?""
The admiral paused.
"Not yet.""
He looked at the photograph in my father's hand.
"He's holding someone hostage.""
My heart stopped.
"Who?""
May you like
Reed lowered his voice.
"Your mother.""
