And what if whoever was monitoring that device knew the restoration was going to uncover it? And what if they needed someone to get inside that aircraft and make the aircraft and everyone around it look like the focus of a legitimate maintenance dispute while the real problem was being quietly removed. He could hear Rachel breathing on the other end of the line. You're saying someone used you, she said. Someone used the restoration, he said. used the invoice dispute the safety flag the whole situation as a distraction from what he thought about the 14 months of flight data in aircraft 11 about.
Victoria Sterling's roots about someone wanting to know where she was when I don't know yet he said but I think Delgato needs to know what you just told me about that email today I'll pull the records right now. Rachel said he went back inside He found Delgato and said, "I need to tell you something." He told him about the email, about the timing, about the theory that was forming. Delgato listened without interrupting. His face was absolutely still. When Malcolm finished, Delgato was quiet for a long moment.
"Mr. Hayes," he said, "in 23 years with the FAA. I have had contractors come me with documentation, with reports, with verbal testimony." He paused. I have never had a contractor come to me with a theory that was both credible and structurally sound within 90 seconds of hearing new information. Malcolm looked at him.
How did you develop that connection so fast? Delgato asked. That's how I trace electrical faults. Malcolm said. You don't assume.
You follow the circuit. Delgato pulled out his phone. He made a call. He said two sentences to whoever answered and then hung up. Then he looked at Malcolm.
"We're going to need you to sit down with the full investigation team tomorrow morning," he said. "7 A.m." Our Dallas field office. "I'll be there," Malcolm said. "Bring Ms. Kim." "I'll bring Ms.
Kim," Malcolm said. Delgato paused. "Malcolm, the theory you just laid out, if it holds up, this is no longer just a procurement fraud case. Do you understand that?" Malcolm looked at him. He thought about Victoria Sterling, about a woman who'd inherited a company and a father's unfinished investigation and hadn't known enough yet to understand what she was holding.
About 14 months of flight data about someone wanting to know where she was. I understand it, he said. And you're still prepared to cooperate fully. Mr. Delgato, Malcolm said.
I've been cooperating fully since the moment I picked up the phone and called my avionics specialist instead of signing a certificate I wasn't certain about. He paused. That's not heroism. That's the job. I'm not going to stop doing it because it got bigger than I expected.
Delgato looked at him for a moment. Then he did something Malcolm hadn't seen him do since they'd met. He extended his hand. Malcolm shook it. He drove to Victoria Sterling's office at 5:45.