Chapter 37 - “I’ll Handle It”
Grace sent the email to the document examiner and asked the outside attorney to authenticate it. The message appeared to be genuine, but the sender’s address alone was not enough. The audit team requested the original server copy.
Blair’s attorney called within the hour. Blair wanted to provide a statement.
The interview took place by video on Friday afternoon. This time, Blair had brought her laptop and consented to a limited review of relevant messages. She looked less defensive than she had during her first interview.
“I remember writing that email,” she said. “I saw the draft summary and told Victor the conclusion wasn’t supported.”
“Why did you tell him to handle it?” Grace asked.
“I was leaving for Rotterdam. He said he would revise the statement.”
“Did you check that he did?”
“No.”
“Did you tell the board?”
“I should have.”
“Did you tell the employees?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Blair stared down at her hands. “I didn’t want to create a panic over a result we didn’t understand.”
“Did you understand that workers could be affected?”
“Yes. I knew there might be an exposure concern. I believed the follow-up would happen.”
“Did it?”
“No.”
Blair’s attorney asked for a break. Afterward, she continued.
“I made a mistake when I let the matter go. I also made a mistake firing Nolan. I thought I could control the fallout by keeping everything inside the executive team.”
I remembered the night she had arrived at my house on her knees in the snow. I had accepted her apology, but I had never believed her regret made the consequences disappear.
“Why did you forward the missing report to Victor?” I asked.
“Because he asked me to send the cleaned-up version for the board packet.”
“But the file name said ‘Exposure Findings—Final.’”
“I didn’t open it. I trusted him to prepare the right document.”
Grace asked who had created the report. Blair said she believed Lang had prepared it, but she did not know who had written the final summary.
The original email was authenticated later that evening. The server record showed that Blair’s warning had been sent two days before the board meeting. Victor had replied, I’ll handle it.
The company did not have a record of what happened after that.
Charles read the exchange in his office. “This doesn’t clear Blair,” he said. “But it changes what we know.”
“It shows she raised a concern,” I said. “Then she stopped following up.”
“Exactly.”
The board voted to keep the audit open and request a formal review of Victor’s actions. His resignation did not protect him from the company’s investigation, and the company’s counsel would provide the records to the state agency.
At the warehouse, the new health consultation schedule was almost full. Maria had arranged coverage for every appointment, so no worker had to choose between privacy and a shift’s pay.
Earl thanked her in front of the crew.
“That kind of support should have been normal all along,” he said.
“It is going to be normal now,” I replied.
Earl gave me a look. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
He was right. I corrected myself. “We’re building the policy to make it normal.”
That evening, Tessa and I cooked dinner together. She chopped vegetables while I watched the timer and tried not to give her instructions.
“You’re doing that thing again,” she said.
“What thing?”
“Checking the oven every two minutes.”
“I’m responsible for dinner.”
“You can trust the timer.”
I smiled and left the kitchen.
My phone buzzed on the counter. Grace had sent a note: The authenticated email opened a new path. The company’s server log showed that Victor had forwarded the report to a second consultant before the board meeting.
The name was new to us: Janice Bell.
Tessa noticed my expression. “Another lead?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going back tonight?”
I looked at the food on the table. I had promised to come home, and I was already home.
May you like
“I’ll call Grace after dinner,” I said. “I’m staying here.”
Tessa nodded, and for once I did not feel guilty about making the choice.
