The Midnight Recording: How a Pentagon Signal Officer Used His Wife's Own Voice to Cover Up a $185,000 Treason Scheme
👉 Previous Choice: You chose Option B – Slowly crouch down with the flashlight to inspect the darkness beneath the bed frame.
The receiver slipped from Evelyn’s trembling hand. It dangled, emitting a faint buzz. Her own voice, panicked and raw, still echoed in the silent house. The scraping sound, rhythmic and deliberate, continued under her bed.
She gripped the brass flashlight, its weight cold in her palm. Every muscle screamed at her to run, but Julian’s face flashed in her mind – brave, steadfast. She dropped to her knees.
The dust ruffle hung low, obscuring the view. Evelyn took a deep breath, fighting the urge to scream. She pushed the fabric aside and clicked the beam under the bed.
The harsh light cut through the gloom. It revealed not a crouching figure, not a pair of heavy combat boots, but a compact, dull-grey box. It was ticking quietly, the sound emanating from within. Wires snaked from it, disappearing upwards toward the mattress.
Evelyn reached under, her fingers brushing against the cold metal. She pulled the unit out, dragging it onto the hardwood floor. It was a reel-to-reel tape machine, military-issue, humming with a low thrum. A flat magnetic speaker was clamped directly to the bed springs, its surface facing upwards.
Her eyes fell on a small, rectangular brass property tag stamped onto the housing. Her breath hitched.
“PROPERTY OF DOD SIGNAL CORPS – ASSIGNED TO MAJOR A. HALLOWELL.”
The words glared up at her. Arthur. It wasn’t an intruder. It wasn’t a hallucination. Her own husband, Major Arthur Hallowell, had staged the terrifying midnight call, using recorded wiretaps to force her into a panic response. He had not left for emergency duty. He had returned home.
➡️ Read CHAPTER 5 to continue the story.
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