"I don't conduct investigations to tell clients what they want to hear," she told Susan during the engagement meeting. "If you're hiring me to find one bad executive and close the folder, save your money. I will follow the records."
Susan accepted the terms. William did too, although he understood that their acceptance would eventually be tested when the records became uncomfortable. Priya Shah was assigned to facilitate access without determining which employee statements Lena could review. The board created a reporting channel outside the normal operations hierarchy, and notices went to crew members, gate agents, supervisors, and customer-relations staff inviting them to speak without going through Nathan's former direct reports.
Clare was among the first interviewed. She arrived with a union representative and a folder of notes written in the days after the flight. Lena began by explaining that she was investigating Northstar's systems, not acting as Clare's personal lawyer. Clare's own conduct could still face employment consequences; speaking truthfully would be considered, but it did not guarantee immunity. Clare said she understood, though her hands trembled as she opened the folder.
For nearly two hours she described the boarding, the pressure from Nathan, her calculation about her schedule, and the words she had chosen when asking security to remove Ethan. Lena asked whether similar instructions had occurred before. Clare paused for a long time, then named three incidents she remembered clearly enough to document. In one, a family had been separated so an executive's acquaintance could sit with a traveling companion. In another, a Black business traveler had been asked to explain why he was in a premium cabin after his boarding pass had already been scanned. In the third, a crew member had been criticized for refusing to characterize a compliant passenger as disruptive.
"Why didn't you report these incidents?" Lena asked.
Clare looked down at her notes. "Some of us did. The complaints went back through operations. We'd hear that management had reviewed them and everything was resolved." She swallowed. "After a while, you learn the difference between reporting something and believing anyone will listen."
Lena did not offer comfort or scolding. She asked for dates, flight numbers, supervisor names, and any messages Clare had retained. By the time the interview ended, Clare looked exhausted but less confused about what her responsibility required. She could not make her choices disappear. She could make certain that the people investigating them received an accurate account.
Raquel Soto came in the next day. She had worked in the aft galley on Flight 1876 and had heard parts of Nathan's conversation with Clare. Her testimony confirmed the sequence but added a detail Clare had not mentioned: Nathan had told the purser that the passenger would probably accept a voucher because "people like that always take the money." Raquel could not swear precisely what Nathan meant by the remark, and Lena did not ask her to guess. She recorded the words and sought corroboration from other witnesses.