25 My Commander Blamed Me For A Drowning In Front Of The Whole Crew — He Didn't Know A 10-Year-Old Boy Still Had My Glove

Nakamura called her three days later.

"Seaman Brooks," he said, "I need you to come to my office."

"Senior Chief, is something wrong?"

"Something is right." His voice was flat but there was something underneath it that she had not heard before. "I've got the original recording. I've got the tower log. I've got the watch officer's statement. I've got the launch record. And I've got your buoy tag analyzed."

"And?"

"And I think you should come to my office."

His office was on the second floor of the station administration building. There was a desk and a laptop and a wall of files and a photograph of a woman and two children on the desk.

"Close the door," Nakamura said.

Leah closed the door.

Nakamura opened the laptop.

"At 21:47 and eleven seconds," he said, "Marcus Dawson transmitted a distress call from 38-47 North, 74-35 West. That is sector 2. The call was received by the tower and was routed to the watch officer on duty, Lieutenant Commander Amy Chen. At 21:49 and thirty-two seconds, Chen transmitted launch orders to the rescue swimmer on duty. Those launch orders directed the rescue swimmer to 38-52 North, 74-41 West. That is sector 4."

"I know," Leah said.

"At 21:52 and eight seconds, Marcus Dawson transmitted a second distress call, again from sector 2. In this call, he stated that his vessel was being fired on by a larger vessel. He stated that he had a child on board. He stated that he was taking on water. And then the transmission ends."

"I know."

"At 21:52 and eleven seconds, the watch officer transmitted a message to the rescue swimmer. That message said, 'Return to sector 4.' The rescue swimmer responded, 'Negative, I am redirecting to sector 2.' The watch officer responded, 'Brooks, if you do this you will be relieved.' The rescue swimmer responded, 'Yes, ma'am.'"

"I know."

"At 22:11, the rescue swimmer arrived at sector 2. At 22:14, she recovered a ten-year-old boy from the water. At 23:16, she recovered the body of a thirty-eight-year-old man."

"I know."

"Now." Nakamura looked up from the laptop. "Here is what I did not know until this morning. The tower log was flagged at 03:15 the following morning by an account belonging to Commander Rusk. The flag did not modify the recording. It did not delete the recording. It added a note that said, 'Audio reviewed and confirmed. Watch officer transmission at 21:47 directed rescue swimmer to sector 4. Rescue swimmer transit to sector 4 confirmed.'"

"That note is false," Leah said.

"That note is false. And it is written in the tower log at 03:15 in the morning by a man who was not on duty and who had no reason to be in the tower log at 03:15 in the morning." Nakamura closed the laptop. "Seaman Brooks, why would Commander Rusk add a false note to the tower log at three in the morning?"

"Because he wanted the record to say I was directed to sector 4."

"Which would mean what?"

"Which would mean I disobeyed orders. Which would mean I went to sector 2 on my own. Which would mean I was responsible for the delay. Which would mean I left Marcus Dawson behind."

"Correct."

"Senior Chief," Leah said, "why did the watch officer give me sector 4 in the first place?"

Nakamura looked at her.

"Because Commander Rusk told her to," he said.

Leah's stomach turned over.

"Lieutenant Commander Chen gave a statement yesterday," Nakamura said. "Under oath. She said that at 21:49, before she transmitted the launch order, she received a phone call from Commander Rusk. He told her the distress call was from sector 4. He told her to direct the rescue swimmer to sector 4. She said, 'Sir, the dispatcher says sector 2.' He said, 'The dispatcher is wrong. Direct the rescue swimmer to sector 4. That's an order.' And she did."

"Why?"

"Because she's a lieutenant commander and he's a commander and she had been told, on more than one occasion, that her promotion depended on Commander Rusk's recommendation. And she was afraid of him." Nakamura closed his folder. "She was afraid of him, and she was wrong, and she knows she was wrong, and she has agreed to testify against him in exchange for immunity on the obstruction charge."

Leah sat very still.

"Senior Chief," she said, "why did Commander Rusk want the rescue swimmer in sector 4?"

Nakamura looked at her.

"Because the boats that were firing on Marcus Dawson were poaching vessels owned by Victor Gage," he said. "And Victor Gage is Commander Rusk's brother-in-law. And Commander Rusk did not want a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in sector 2 on the night of October 14."

"Because—"

"Because if a Coast Guard rescue swimmer had been in sector 2 on the night of October 14, she would have seen the poaching vessels. She would have seen the boats that were firing on Marcus Dawson. She would have seen the operation that Commander Rusk has been protecting for three years."

Leah closed her eyes.

"Senior Chief," she said, "Marcus Dawson died because Commander Rusk sent me to the wrong sector."

"Marcus Dawson died because Commander Rusk sent you to the wrong sector, and because Marcus Dawson was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and because Commander Rusk had decided, three years ago, that the poaching operation in sector 2 was more important than the fishermen who were trying to report it." Nakamura stood up. "Seaman Brooks, I am going to recommend to the Fifth District commander that Commander Rusk be relieved of duty immediately and that he be charged with negligent homicide, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy to defraud the United States."

"Senior Chief—"

"And I am going to recommend that you be restored to duty, that your record be corrected, and that you receive a letter of commendation for your actions on the night of October 14."

Leah's eyes filled.

"Senior Chief," she said, "I don't want a letter. I want Marcus Dawson to be alive."

"I know," Nakamura said. "And he isn't. And that is not your fault. It is Commander Rusk's fault. And it is Victor Gage's fault. And it is the fault of everyone who knew about the poaching and did nothing. And the only thing you can do now is make sure that the next time a fisherman calls for help in sector 2, someone answers."

Leah wiped her eyes.