Chapter 10 - THE FEDERAL CALL
I assumed that would be the end of it.
It wasn’t.
The next afternoon, while my sister was heating bottles in her kitchen and Emma was drawing airplanes at the table, I got a call from a federal investigator named Agent Hollis.
He asked whether Emma would be comfortable giving a brief statement with me present.
I agreed.
The interview was simple.
Where had Susan placed the bag?
When did Emma notice the badge?
What had Susan said?
What had she tried to cover?
Then Hollis thanked her and paused.
“There’s one thing you should know,” he told me after Emma left the room.
“Susan Blake is an alias.”
“What’s her real name?”
“Pamela Sutter.”
That meant nothing to me.
He continued.
“She worked contract jobs around three airports over the last five years using different surnames.”
“And the other identities?”
“Likely part of a larger theft and trafficking scheme.”
My stomach tightened.
“The pills?”
“Under investigation.”
“The crew badge?”
“Stolen.”
I looked toward Emma in the kitchen.
“She was trying to get to Raleigh for someone?”
“We believe so.”
That phrase—we believe—always sounds worse coming from a federal investigator.
Then he said something that stayed with me.
“If your daughter hadn’t pulled that badge when she did, there’s a good chance she would have walked off the aircraft with everything.”
I thanked him, hung up, and sat still for a long time.
Emma wandered back in.
“Was that about plane lady?”
“Yes.”
“Am I in trouble?”
I laughed despite myself.
“No.”
“Okay.”
She picked up a marker.
“What did they say?”
I looked at my daughter.
“They said you noticed something important.”
May you like
Emma nodded like that was simply confirmation of what she already knew.
Then she returned to drawing.
