He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a small black notebook.

“Mr. Whitmore, my name is Chief Warrant Officer Harris, Army Criminal Investigation Division,” he said.

“Army?” Daniel said. “Rachel is a civilian consultant. She works in logistics.”

“General Mercer is the Deputy Commander of Army Materiel Command,” Harris said.

The silence that followed was heavy.

Daniel looked at me, his eyes scanning my face as if searching for a lie.

“That’s impossible,” Daniel whispered. “She’s always home for dinner. She does the taxes.”

“She is also a senior officer of the United States Army,” Harris said. “And you have just spent the last twenty minutes threatening her.”

“I didn’t threaten her,” Daniel said quickly. “We were having a marital dispute.”

“We have secure audio transmission from General Mercer’s government-issued device,” Harris said.

He tapped the small receiver pinned to his lapel.

“We recorded you stating that you would ruin her career if she did not comply with your demands,” Harris said.

“That was just talk,” Daniel said, his hands beginning to twitch at his sides. “You can’t use that.”