We walked toward the administration building, where I could give the independent team everything they needed about my orders. Halfway there, Reed called me. He had spoken with Dad, secured his statement, and arranged to have the original recording reviewed. Brandon's access to the maintenance system had been suspended pending the inquiry.
"The technical review is yours to observe," Reed said, "but not to decide. That's what we agreed."
"Understood."
"There is one matter I want you to hear in person. Meet me in the conference room."
Marcus heard enough to look at me. I shook my head. Reed's voice had been calm; I had no idea what he wanted.
The conference room was small, with a view of the same pier from a different angle. Reed arrived carrying no folder. The independent reviewing officer came with him and laid a copy of Brandon's emergency complaint on the table.
"The engineering finding is straightforward," the officer said. "The valve requires repair and a new test. We are reviewing the sign-offs and account access separately. I am not asking you to decide either matter."
I waited.
Reed tapped the first page of the complaint. "Brandon's allegation of a family conflict required us to examine your role. Robert's statement made that necessary as well. You were right to step away from the final findings."
"Then what did you need me to hear?"
"Brandon's legal officer asked whether he could withdraw the complaint."
I thought of Dad at the barrier. "Can he?"
"He can submit a correction. He can explain what he believes he got wrong." Reed pulled out a chair but did not sit. "He cannot make the original complaint, its attachments, or your father's statement disappear."
The reviewing officer turned the page toward me. Brandon had named the maintenance records in the complaint. To explain why he claimed I was targeting him, he had written that I arrived intending to question his handling of those specific records. He had attached the photograph of my sealed orders as support.
I traced the edge of the page with my finger. "He included the records himself."
"Yes," the officer said. "Before Ellis called us, before we opened the drive, he directed the review to the exact entries we needed to examine."
For a moment I heard only the air conditioning and the distant clank of work along the pier. Brandon had filed his complaint to get me removed. He had succeeded in one narrow respect. I would not make the findings against him. An independent team would. He could not blame those findings on a sister's anger, and he could not withdraw the document that had pointed the team toward the log.
I looked out at the Sterett. Marcus's five words at the gangway had ended Brandon's joke. His own words on the tablet had done something bigger: they had helped keep his ship in port long enough for Ellis to show what needed fixing.
Reed gave me a moment, then said, "You can go home, Sarah. We'll call if the team needs you."
I picked up my cap. Outside, sailors were still crossing the gangway. One of them paused to let a repair crew carry tools aboard. The crew stepped around him and disappeared into the ship, heading down to the valve.
I went home without speaking to Brandon again. For once, the people who needed to be heard were the ones working below decks.
