“I’m sorry.”
The chairwoman lowered her hand.
“You don’t get to use that yet.”
Silence.
“I’m not saying never.”
“I’m saying not yet.”
The friend cried quietly.
The chairwoman asked:
“Did you see how she obtained it?”
“No.”
“Did she ever say she took it from the passenger?”
“No.”
“Did you see the engraved clasp?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know it was the same watch?”
“She opened it.”
“The initials were there.”
The chairwoman closed her eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell the investigator?”
“I almost did.”
“The notes say you were nervous.”
“I was.”
“They asked if I’d seen her with something metallic.”
“I said I didn’t know.”
“Which was a lie.”
“Yes.”
The friend’s voice was barely audible.
“Yes.”
The chairwoman looked toward the wall.
“Will you give a formal statement now?”
Silence.
Then:
“Yes.”
The chairwoman exhaled.
“Do not do it for me.”
“What?”
“Do it because the record needs to be correct.”
The friend cried.
“Okay.”
“And get your own lawyer if you need one.”
“I don’t—”
“Get one.”
The chairwoman ended the call.
Then she cried alone for fifteen minutes.
The regional president waited outside.
He did not knock.
When she finally opened the door, her eyes were swollen.
He looked away slightly, giving her the dignity of not pretending not to notice.
She said:
“The watch was in the attendant’s possession the night after the flight.”
His face changed.
“Witness?”
“My former friend.”
He stared.
“She knew?”
“Yes.”
“All these years?”
“Yes.”
The chairwoman’s voice went flat.
“She was the person who helped me survive losing the job.”
The president said nothing.
There was nothing safe to say.
The formal statement from the former friend arrived two days later.
Detailed.
Signed.
Sworn.
Her lawyer present.
She described the hotel room.
The lead attendant arriving late.
Nervous.
Showing the watch.
Saying she found it in a service cart.
Begging the friend to keep quiet until she figured out what to do.
The friend refusing to physically hide it.
The attendant leaving with it.
Then the investigation focusing on the Black employee.
The friend staying silent.
The statement did not establish original theft.
But it established possession within hours of the reported loss.
That changed everything.
The attendant’s attorney requested a meeting.
The detective and independent counsel attended.
The chairwoman did not.
She refused.
“I don’t want my presence changing what she says.”
The attorney asked:
“You don’t want to confront her?”
“No.”
“Not even after twelve years?”
The chairwoman looked toward him.
“Especially after twelve years.”
The proffer lasted four hours.