Chapter 5 - Daniel's Signature
The scanned letter was short, dated sixteen years earlier, and written on an ordinary sheet of lined paper.
Graham Voss was the first soldier to enter the vehicle at Khalid Crossing. He acted without hesitation under fire. I support his recognition for his part in that day's evacuation.
Beneath it was her father's unmistakable signature.
Leah checked the date against deployment photographs, then against a birthday card Daniel had mailed her from overseas. The handwriting matched. The paper itself could still have been altered, but she refused to call it a forgery just because she wished it were one.
“Maybe Dad was telling the truth,” June said.
“He usually was.”
“Then maybe Voss was brave, too.”
Leah set the page down. “The foundation says he brought out four people by himself.”
“Those are different claims.”
For the first time Leah noticed how carefully her younger sister was speaking. June had been the one who helped Daniel manage medications, appointments, and the late-night panic he sometimes called a bad dream. Leah had visited every chance she could between assignments, but she'd never stayed long enough to notice everything.
“Did Dad tell you what happened?”
“Pieces. He said Voss got them through the first door. Then Voss got stuck.”
“Stuck where?”
“That's the part I don't know.”
At dusk, Leah drove to the county veterans' center, where Ben Ortiz had agreed to meet. He was broad-shouldered and prematurely gray, with the habit of scanning an exit before choosing his chair.
“I saw the video,” he said. “I'm sorry about the ashes.”
“I want to know if my father lied.”
Ben looked at her for a long time.
“No,” he said. “But he let a lie grow beside the truth.”
He took out a yellowed pocket notebook. The first page showed dates, call signs, and casualty counts written in tiny letters.
“Your dad was the senior medic at the crossing. Voss was a squad leader. An explosion hit our lead vehicle. He went in first and dragged out the driver. It took nerve.”
“And the other three?”
“Your father and I treated them while the road was still taking fire. One was unconscious. One couldn't walk. Daniel kept going back.”
Leah gripped the edge of her chair. “Then why did Dad sign that statement?”
“Because it was true. And because Voss promised his speech would name all of us.”
“What happened to that promise?”
Ben closed the notebook.
May you like
“That's what we have to find out.”
