The chairwoman removed her headscarf.
Not because she needed to.
Because her scalp felt hot.
Her hair beneath was pulled into a simple low wrap.
The regional president looked toward her.
“Do you need anything?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“A timeline.”
He opened his notebook.
She began.
“Boarding time.”
“First interaction.”
“When security was requested.”
“Officer arrival.”
“When gate verification occurred.”
“When you arrived.”
He wrote.
She continued.
“Then separate the two matters.”
“Current passenger-treatment incident.”
“Historical watch investigation.”
“Do not merge them in reporting.”
The president nodded.
“Understood.”
The corporate security director asked:
“Why separate them?”
The chairwoman looked toward him.
“Because one is almost fully documented.”
“The other is not.”
She pointed toward the door.
“She may have treated me improperly today and still possess that watch lawfully.”
“She may have obtained it later.”
“Purchased it.”
“Inherited it.”
“Received it as a gift.”
“Or it may only look identical.”
The detective nodded.
“Correct.”
The security director asked:
“And if the serial matches?”
“Then we investigate how it moved from the passenger to her.”
The chairwoman leaned back.
“No shortcuts.”
The regional president looked toward her.
“You’re very calm.”
She almost laughed.
“I am not calm.”
“What are you?”
She looked toward the blank conference-room wall.
“Disciplined.”
That was different.
The watch was photographed first.
The flight attendant’s attorney arrived before any voluntary examination.
That slowed things.
Good.
Processes should slow down when rights matter.
The detective explained that no one would compel surrender absent legal authority, but serial verification could be requested voluntarily.
The attorney spoke privately with the attendant.
Twenty minutes later, she agreed.
A jewelry specialist from an airport luxury store came to the police office under witness.
The watch remained visible throughout.
The clasp opened.
Initials.
Correct.
The caseback number was photographed.
The detective entered it into the old property record.
Then called the conference room.
The chairwoman listened on speaker.
“Serial matches the watch reported missing twelve years ago.”
Nobody spoke.
The chairwoman felt no triumph.
Only cold.
The detective continued.
“That does not establish theft by the current possessor.”
“I know.”
“We’ll contact original reporting party and insurer.”
“Good.”
“We may need the airline’s old investigative file.”
“Already being retrieved.”
The detective paused.
“Do you want to make a supplemental statement regarding the old event?”
The chairwoman looked at the regional president.
Then at counsel on screen.
“Yes.”
“Today?”
She thought.
“Yes.”
Because she knew memory would already begin changing around the edges.
She wanted the record before new facts contaminated old recollections.
The detective interviewed her for nearly two hours.