Chapter 8 - THE CAPTAIN'S FIVE MINUTES
I ended the call with Rebecca and immediately requested Chief Vance.
I did not request Captain Rourke.
Vance arrived alone twenty minutes later.
The moment he saw my face, he knew something had changed.
"What did Rebecca tell you?"
"That Captain Rourke was present during the incident three years ago."
Vance did not sit down.
"Present how?"
"She says he opened the connecting door and gave Charles five minutes before security arrived."
Vance's expression became unreadable.
"Those are serious allegations."
"So is lying to me."
"Did Rourke tell you he wasn't there?"
"He allowed me to believe he knew Charles only from private events."
"That's not the same thing."
"Stop."
My voice rose for the first time since the attack.
"I am tired of people shaving truth into shapes they can defend later."
Vance flinched slightly.
"Did you know Rourke was involved?"
"I knew he spoke with Charles that night."
"Did you know he entered the suite?"
"No."
"Did you know he delayed security?"
"No."
"Do you believe Rebecca?"
Vance looked toward the closed door.
"I believe Rebecca was telling the truth three years ago."
"That's not what I asked."
He finally sat.
"I believe she deserves to be taken seriously now."
It was another careful answer, but this one carried shame.
"Why were you transferred?"
"Because I refused to change my incident report."
"What did your report say?"
"That Rebecca alleged unlawful confinement and threats by Gregory and Charles Hartman."
"And Rourke?"
"My report said Captain Rourke had contact with Charles before security was dispatched."
"Did you know why?"
"Rourke said Charles called him as a friend because Rebecca was having an emotional episode."
"And you believed that?"
"No."
"Then why is he captain of this ship?"
Vance gave me a tired look.
"Because institutions are very good at surviving things individuals never recover from."
That sentence stayed in the room.
"Does Rourke know we're talking?"
"Not yet."
"Keep it that way."
"I can't conceal an allegation from the captain."
"Then report it to corporate security above him."
"I already have."
That surprised me.
"When?"
"While I was walking here."
"What did they say?"
"They instructed me to preserve all communications and restrict Captain Rourke's access to security systems pending review."
I exhaled slowly.
"Can you do that without him knowing?"
"For a few minutes."
As if summoned by the sentence, Vance's radio chirped.
He checked the screen.
His face hardened.
"What?"
"Rourke just tried to access the camera archive."
"Can he?"
"Not anymore."
"Will he know?"
"Yes."
We both looked at the door.
A knock came thirty seconds later.
"Chief Vance."
Captain Rourke's voice was calm.
Vance stood.
"Stay behind me."
"I'm not hiding behind you."
"For once in your life, please make my job easier."
Despite everything, I almost laughed.
I moved to the far side of the room instead.
Vance opened the door only a few inches.
Rourke stood outside with a staff captain and two security officers.
"Why has my systems access been revoked?"
"Corporate security instruction."
"On whose report?"
"Mine."
Rourke's jaw tightened.
Then he saw me.
"Mrs. Hartman."
"Captain."
"What have you told him?"
Vance stepped into the doorway.
"Sir, this is now an internal integrity matter."
"Move."
"No."
The staff captain looked horrified.
Rourke stared at Vance for several seconds.
Then the professional mask returned.
"Very well."
He looked past him at me.
"Rebecca Vale contacted you."
It was not a question.
"How do you know?"
"Because history has a way of arriving late."
"Did you give Charles five minutes?"
Rourke said nothing.
"Did you?"
"I made a decision three years ago that I regret."
"That isn't an answer."
"Yes."
The word stunned everyone except Vance.
"Why?"
Rourke looked older than he had that morning.
"Because Charles told me his son was having a private dispute with his fiancée."
"Wife."
"I did not know they had married."
"So a private dispute justified delaying security?"
"No."
"Then why did you do it?"
He looked at Vance.
"Charles had helped my brother years earlier."
"With what?"
"Debt."
The answer was almost painfully ordinary.
"You owed him."
"I believed I owed him a conversation."
"Rebecca paid the price for your conversation."
His face tightened.
"I know."
"Did you help bury her complaint?"
"No."
"Did you pressure Vance?"
"No."
"Did you accept anything from Charles afterward?"
"No."
Vance spoke quietly.
"Did you recommend my transfer?"
Rourke looked at him.
"Yes."
The room went silent again.
Vance's face did not change, but something behind it did.
"Why?"
"Because you were angry and becoming insubordinate."
"Because I wouldn't alter my report."
"Because you accused senior officers without evidence."
"Rebecca was evidence."
Rourke looked away.
Corporate security called Vance's radio again and instructed the staff captain to assume temporary operational command while Rourke remained restricted to quarters.
Rourke did not resist.
He surrendered his access badge and ship radio with the dignity of a man who had spent years imagining he would handle consequences well if they ever arrived.
Before leaving, he turned to me.
"There is something you need to know."
Vance stiffened.
"Sir, you should not discuss the investigation."
"This isn't about the current investigation."
"Then what?" I asked.
Rourke looked directly at me.
"Charles did not choose cabin 1427 because of the connecting door."
"Why did he choose it?"
"Because of the balcony."
I felt my pulse slow.
"What about the balcony?"
"It sits outside the direct view of the exterior promenade cameras."
The room went very quiet.
"Why would that matter?"
Rourke's face was gray.
"Three years ago, Charles asked me which premium cabins had blind spots over the water."
Vance stared at him.
"You never reported that."
"There was nothing to report at the time."
"There is now."
Rourke nodded.
"Yes."
I thought about Gregory backing me toward the balcony doors while holding the bat.
I had assumed he wanted space to corner me.
Maybe the corner had never been the point.
Vance asked the staff captain to escort Rourke away.
As the door closed, Elena called from the security office.
Martin Cole had finally been found.
He was hiding in a storage compartment near the theater.
He had a prepaid phone, twelve thousand dollars in cash, and a copy of the deck plan with three locations circled in red.
Cabin 1427 was one of them.
The second was the security archive room.
The third was a crew access point beside Lifeboat Station Six.
And written beside Lifeboat Station Six were four words that made my blood run cold.
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