Possible intoxication.
And the woman he had chosen to humiliate outranked him.
Crawford swallowed.
“I had a drink last night.”
Jessica said nothing.
The MP asked, “What time?”
“I don’t know.”
“How much?”
Crawford’s jaw tightened.
“This is ridiculous.”
The MP remained professional.
“Sir, step with me.”
Crawford looked at Jessica.
Something close to hatred flashed in his face.
“You set me up.”
Jessica finally allowed emotion into her voice.
Not anger.
Disappointment.
“No, Captain.”
She glanced at the marks on her arm.
“You kept being given exits.”
That sentence silenced him.
He looked toward the staff sergeant.
Then the coordinator.
Then the Marines.
Everyone had heard the same thing.
Jessica had repeatedly told him to stop.
Her mother had told him.
The coordinator had questioned him.
A staff sergeant had advised him.
The military police had ordered him.
At every stage, he had chosen escalation.
The twist was not that Jessica had tricked him.
