It was a small change, a slight tightening around the eyes, a stillness that replaced the controlled composure she'd walked in with. Like something behind the mask had just heard something terrible. "How many aircraft?" she asked. "I don't know," he said. "Could be three, could be six.
I've only seen the one and I've only pulled the procurement data for your primary airframe. To answer your question properly, you'd need an independent inspection of your entire fleet. That would ground everything. Yes, he said. That would cost me.
She stopped herself, took a breath. A significant amount of money. More than $286,000, he said simply. The room was quiet. Outside, a truck pulled past on the street. inside the shop hummed with the ambient sound of a building that was working even when the work was in pause.
My father used this airfield, Victoria said suddenly. Malcolm looked at her. He used Sterling Crowns hanger on the south end. She said this was years ago before he built the executive terminal. He used to walk the flight line in the mornings.
She paused. He knew people here. Yes, ma'am. Malcolm said carefully. Did he know you?
A beat. He knew my work. Something passed across her face. Captain Mercer told me something this morning. She said before I drove here.
He said my father had a rule. Malcolm said nothing. He said Charles Sterling had a rule about aircraft maintenance. She said he said if Malcolm Hayes won't sign it, nobody flies it. She looked at him directly.
That was the rule. my father's rule about you specifically. The silence between them was different now, heavier, like something old had just surfaced. I didn't know that, Malcolm said. And it was true. He'd worked with Charles Sterling twice.
The second time had been the one that mattered the fuel system, the defect. The day Charles had tried to pressure him, and Malcolm had refused. And three days later, the manufacturer had confirmed everything Malcolm said. After that, Charles had shaken his hand without another word and walked away. Malcolm had never known what the man thought or said or did with it after that.
I found the records, Victoria said. After Daniel told me, I went through my father's aviation files. She looked at the binder on the desk. He kept notes about every maintenance facility he worked with, every inspector, every decision. She paused.