Free An Unlawful Order (The Chase Anderson Series) by Carver Greene Page A

it through proper channels. But please refrain from calling my private—”
    “Have you seen the paper this morning, Captain Anderson?”
    Public Affairs received the Current each morning. One of North’s duties was to scanthe paper and clip any article that pertained to the Corps, especially Hawaii-based Marines. Each article was scanned and emailed to DC for review. This was DC’s way of keeping a worldwide pulse on the Corps’s image as it played out in the press.
    “No, I haven’t.”
    “Bottom of page 5—I’ll hold.”
    Chase punched the button that placed Shapiro on hold. She hit the intercom button. “Sergeant North, please bring me the first section of the Current .” A few moments later, North appeared in the doorway. “Have you already clipped this section?”
    “I was just getting to it, ma’am,” he said apologetically.
    “Thank you—close my door on your way out.”
    She waited for the door to close before punching the hold button. “Okay, Paul, I’ve got the paper. I’m turning to page—” She gasped when she read the headline and recognized the face in the small photograph that was embedded within a column. WOMAN’S SUICIDE LEAP SHOCKS FAMILY, FRIENDS . Major White’s mystery woman was dead.
    “You see why I need to meet with you?” he asked, his voice breaking with emotion. When Chase didn’t answer, he said, “ Please , Captain Anderson. I’ll tell you everything I know.”
    Shapiro had insisted they meet after the lunch crowd rush in a tiny obscure restaurant called The Hungry Fisherman on the windward side of Oahu. He seemed surprisedChase actually knew the place. In fact, for a second, her knowing about it almost caused him to reconsider until Chase explained that she and Stone had only stumbled across it during their early weeks on the island when they were sightseeing. She could only remember the name, vaguely the restaurant sign, but not the location, and Shapiro had provided directions.
    After they agreed to a time, she stepped out of her office with the proofed pages of the Hawaii Marine and located Cruise and Staff Sergeant Martinez in the pressroom. They were discussing story ideas for the upcoming issue. Chase could hear North on a telephone call down the hall in his office. She set the newspaper pages on the long conference table in the middle of thepressroom. “Nothing big, here,” she said to Cruise. “I’ve circled a few typos. Good job on the photo layout of 167’s crew chiefs.”
    “Thanks, ma’am,” Cruise said. “I’ll email the files to the Current right now.” Ironically, the very paper for which Shapiro reported was the Hawaii Marine ’s printer.
    Martinez teased Cruise, “They’ll faint if you email it before deadline.” He was right. Cruise was meticulous in her duties as editor. So much so that Chase found herself occasionally apologizing to the Current for missed deadlines. Still, Cruise was good and it showed. The paper had just been nominated for its first award.
    “And to think I was going to offer to bring you back lunch,” Cruise said with a smile to Martinez.
    On the way back to her office, Chase paused in the doorway. “By the way, I nearly forgot about an appointment I have this afternoon with Molly’s teacher. I’ll be leaving around 1430.”
    “Aye-aye, ma’am,” Cruise said, distracted by Chase’s copy editing marks in the galleys.
    Back in her office, she was about to dial O’Donnell’s number at headquarters to leave word about her afternoon appointment when she remembered O’Donnell was still in the base hospital. She dialed the XO’s number, and was startled when General Hickman picked up instead.
    “ Captain Anderson.” His voice had a sing-song quality that made her wonder if he’d had too much vodka with his morning orange juice and had wandered into the XO’soffice by mistake. “I want to commend you for how you’ve handled the media since Saturday. Outstanding job.”
    “Thank you, sir.”
    “Now,