Chapter 2 - SEVEN COMPLAINTS
Denise turned away immediately.
But not before I saw it.
Her hand covered her mouth.
Her shoulders shook once.
Captain Parker saw it too.
“What is this?” he demanded.
Evelyn ignored him.
I stepped closer to Denise.
“Do you know the name?”
She wiped her eyes quickly.
“I can’t talk about this here.”
Parker laughed.
It was a strange sound.
Too loud.
Too forced.
“You see? This is ridiculous. We have a plane full of passengers and now we’re turning rumors into some courtroom drama.”
Evelyn closed the folder.
“These are formal complaints.”
“Then HR handled them.”
“That’s what I intend to find out.”
Parker pointed at me.
“And what about him?”
“What about me?” I asked.
“You’re standing here pretending this is some kind of neutral investigation.”
“I haven’t investigated anything.”
“You own the company.”
“I control voting shares in the company.”
“Same thing.”
“No, Steven,” Evelyn said. “It isn’t.”
He looked at her.
She continued.
“And right now the safest decision for everyone involved is for you to step off this aircraft.”
Parker’s eyes moved around the cabin.
Nobody was on his side anymore.
Even the passengers who clearly had no idea what had happened before they boarded could tell something bigger had surfaced.
Finally, Parker reached into the cockpit, grabbed his flight bag, and walked toward the door.
When he passed me, he stopped.
“This isn’t over.”
I held his gaze.
“I agree.”
He left.
The cabin seemed to exhale all at once.
Airport operations announced that Flight 418 would be delayed while a replacement captain was located.
Some passengers groaned.
Rachel Bennett didn’t.
She walked over to me.
“I have the whole thing.”
“I know.”
“If they ask me to delete it, I won’t.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to.”
She studied me.
“You really control Northstar?”
“Yes.”
She looked toward the door Parker had just walked through.
“Well, you’ve got a hell of a problem.”
She was right.
Fifteen minutes later, Evelyn, Denise, and I were standing inside a small conference room beside Gate 32.
Luis had been asked to stay with the aircraft.
Denise sat across from me.
Her eyes were red.
Evelyn put the red folder on the table.
“Denise, before we go further, you are not required to say anything without representation.”
“I know.”
“You can also request a union representative.”
“I know.”
Denise looked at me.
“Was one of those complaints from Tessa Morgan?”
Evelyn slowly nodded.
Denise shut her eyes.
“Damn it.”
“Who is Tessa?” I asked.
“A flight attendant.”
“Current employee?”
Denise shook her head.
“Not anymore.”
My stomach tightened.
“What happened?”
Denise stared at the tabletop.
“Eleven months ago, she worked a Denver flight with Steven.”
“What did he do?”
“He cornered her in the forward galley after she challenged him.”
“About what?”
“A passenger.”
Denise looked up.
“A Black veteran traveling in first class.”
The room went quiet.
According to Denise, Parker had repeatedly questioned whether the passenger belonged in the cabin, even after his boarding pass had been verified.
Tessa objected.
Parker threatened to write her up for insubordination.
She reported him afterward.
“What happened to the complaint?”
“I don’t know.”
“What happened to Tessa?”
Denise looked sick.
“Three months later, she was fired.”
“For what?”
“Attendance.”
“Was that legitimate?”
“She missed two reserve calls after her mother had a stroke.”
Evelyn started taking notes.
I asked, “Why did you cry when you saw her name?”
Denise swallowed.
“Because she called me the night she was fired.”
Her voice cracked.
“She asked me to back up her story.”
“And did you?”
“No.”
She stared straight at me now.
“I got scared.”
I didn’t interrupt.
“Steven had already told me I had a family to think about. A pension. Twenty years with the company.”
She wiped her eyes.
“So I told Tessa I hadn’t seen enough to help.”
The shame in her face was hard to watch.
“I’ve regretted it every day.”
Evelyn opened the folder again.
“Her complaint is here.”
Denise looked confused.
“Then why wasn’t he disciplined?”
“That’s what doesn’t make sense.”
Evelyn pulled out another page.
“The complaint was marked ‘investigated and unsubstantiated.’”
“By who?”
Evelyn studied the document.
Then her expression changed.
“Martin Vale.”
I knew the name immediately.
Northstar’s Senior Vice President of Flight Operations.
One of the most powerful executives in the company.
And a man who had looked me in the eye at the last board meeting and told me Northstar had no serious culture problem.
Then Evelyn turned the page.
May you like
All seven complaints had been closed by the same person.
Martin Vale.
