Chloe\u2019s first reaction was denial.<\/p>\n
Not loud denial.<\/p>\n
Worse.<\/p>\n
Quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz did not soften the facts.<\/p>\n
\u201cNina\u2019s phone is off. Her assigned vehicle remains here. Her credential was used at the evidence corridor twenty-eight minutes after Martha arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNina wouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at my daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe stayed with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe protected me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe could have hurt me whenever she wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
None of those facts proved innocence.<\/p>\n
None proved guilt either.<\/p>\n
Ortiz ordered Nina\u2019s photograph distributed internally.<\/p>\n
No public alert yet.<\/p>\n
The building\u2019s camera archive was searched.<\/p>\n
At 5:09 p.m., Nina entered the temporary processing room where Martha had been held.<\/p>\n
At 5:13, she exited carrying nothing visible.<\/p>\n
At 5:18, she entered a restroom.<\/p>\n
At 5:22, she emerged wearing a different jacket.<\/p>\n
At 5:27, she left through a staff exit.<\/p>\n
The camera outside had been disabled.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemote administrative command.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose credential?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel\u2019s again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel swore when told.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone cloned my token.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou also drove Chloe toward the annex after receiving an anonymous message.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was stupid, not treason.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAn important distinction.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did not appreciate it.<\/p>\n
Forensic technicians examined his devices.<\/p>\n
A credential-stealing program was found on his laptop.<\/p>\n
Installed through an email attachment two months earlier.<\/p>\n
Sender appeared to be an internal records office.<\/p>\n
It was not.<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s credentials had been compromised long before the current investigation began.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho sent the malware?\u201d Chloe asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cRouting is obscured.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBell?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNina?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cElliot?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
She rubbed her forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m beginning to hate that word.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 6:04, investigators searched Nina\u2019s apartment.<\/p>\n
No sign of forced departure.<\/p>\n
Closet half empty.<\/p>\n
Passport gone.<\/p>\n
Cash missing.<\/p>\n
Planned.<\/p>\n
On her desk sat one photograph.<\/p>\n
Nina as a child.<\/p>\n
Beside her stood a younger woman.<\/p>\n
Behind them:<\/p>\n
Edward Crane.<\/p>\n
I stared at the image.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is the woman?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz checked the identification found in the frame.<\/p>\n
\u201cLaura Foster.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNina\u2019s mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat connection to Edward?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re tracing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
They did not need long.<\/p>\n
Laura Foster had worked at Treasury.<\/p>\n
Executive assistant.<\/p>\n
Edward Crane\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
For nine years.<\/p>\n
She left shortly after Adrian disappeared.<\/p>\n
Died five years later.<\/p>\n
\u201cCause?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCancer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cActually?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz gave me a look.<\/p>\n
\u201cVerified.\u201d<\/p>\n
I accepted the correction.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Nina do before joining federal service?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCybersecurity contractor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral agencies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould she access camera systems?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the right credentials.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould she clone Daniel\u2019s token?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chloe looked sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas she assigned to me deliberately?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz answered carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cNina volunteered for the protection detail.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Not proof.<\/p>\n
But intention.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho approved her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA supervisor who had no known connection to the old case.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she know who Chloe was before volunteering?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re checking.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 6:41, the answer came.<\/p>\n
Yes.<\/p>\n
Nina had searched Chloe\u2019s name in an internal database two days before requesting assignment.<\/p>\n
She had also searched mine.<\/p>\n
Marcus.<\/p>\n
Victor.<\/p>\n
Samuel.<\/p>\n
Thomas Bell.<\/p>\n
Martha Keene.<\/p>\n
She had entered this investigation already informed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d Chloe asked.<\/p>\n
Nobody knew.<\/p>\n
Then my phone rang.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
Ortiz motioned for me to answer on speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cNina?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chloe closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomewhere safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat phrase is becoming unpopular.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have Adrian\u2019s tape?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Bell cannot have it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBell is in custody.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCustody has never stopped him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen give it to Ortiz.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Phoenix contains names that should not be trusted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSpecific names.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can. You are choosing not to.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sound exactly like my mother said.\u201d<\/p>\n
Laura Foster.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did your mother tell you about me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat you were the only person Edward feared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdrian said something similar.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother knew Adrian.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was new.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe scheduled Edward\u2019s meetings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIncluding the hotel meeting?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she know what happened afterward?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPartly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat part?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew Martha was involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she know Bell killed Adrian?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe suspected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not come forward?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome forward to whom? Martha?\u201d<\/p>\n
Fair.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy join federal service?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo find the records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPhoenix?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long have you known it survived?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not expose it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I had only fragments.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Chloe appeared with the drive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
There.<\/p>\n
Nina had not joined the current investigation accidentally.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do after Chloe brought us Phoenix One?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStarted looking for Two.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you send the anonymous messages?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chloe stepped closer to the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich ones?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe message telling you Sylvia knew about the crash.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel had not sent all of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about the photograph from inside the federal building?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou accessed the camera?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUsing Daniel\u2019s credentials.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy frame Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t trying to frame him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou used his identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo hide mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is framing with better public relations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina was silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about the message saying my mother was with the wrong Dalton?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo make you question Samuel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know Samuel was lying?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother left records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat records?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEdward\u2019s private calendars.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSafe.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone has a safe place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou would too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI use evidence lockers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThose didn\u2019t work particularly well today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Point to Nina.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you arrange Samuel\u2019s escape?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGreenhouse shooting?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRoad attack?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRedshore fire?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know Claire was there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI followed her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was searching for Phoenix Two.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not tell Ortiz?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I wanted her to lead me to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were running your own investigation inside a federal investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you understand the number of laws you have broken?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chloe looked at me as if I were interviewing a witness in our kitchen.<\/p>\n
Perhaps I was.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy steal Adrian\u2019s tape?\u201d<\/p>\n
I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it contains the end.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe end of what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis final hour.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBell had the complete recording.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot excerpts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe complete recording.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it prove?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Bell killed Adrian.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already have substantial evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt proves something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Bell did not act alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartha?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArden?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEdward?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cNina.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chloe stared.<\/p>\n
Samuel had spent years describing Bell as Adrian\u2019s killer.<\/p>\n
Perhaps because that was true.<\/p>\n
Just incomplete.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Samuel do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the warehouse?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor said Bell drove Adrian there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did Samuel arrive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEdward sent him.\u201d<\/p>\n
That made no immediate sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cEdward trusted Samuel enough to send him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Edward threatened Marcus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel was ordered to retrieve Adrian\u2019s evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Adrian?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRefused.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBell hit him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the tire iron.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t stop him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not the same as acting with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina\u2019s voice became quieter.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdrian was still alive after Bell stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt the room narrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow alive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConscious.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould he have survived?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Samuel do?\u201d<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
Chloe whispered, \u201cNina.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe left him.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was ugly.<\/p>\n
But still not murder.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel heard police sirens in the distance. He panicked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who killed Adrian?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBell came back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel had left?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Bell still killed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why say Bell didn\u2019t act alone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Samuel returned too.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Bell called him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo move the body.\u201d<\/p>\n
There.<\/p>\n
Samuel had not merely learned about the burial afterward.<\/p>\n
He helped conceal it.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Samuel strike Adrian?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he order Bell to?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen legally his liability depends on\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina cut me off.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdrian asked Samuel for help.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence hurt in a different way.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Samuel say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMarcus.\u201d<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel told Adrian he couldn\u2019t risk Marcus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adrian had tried to protect Marcus.<\/p>\n
Samuel chose Marcus over Adrian.<\/p>\n
Not by harming Adrian directly.<\/p>\n
By refusing to save him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened after Bell returned?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdrian was unconscious. Bell struck him again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Samuel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWatched.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chloe looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen they moved him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the warehouse foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas he dead?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina did not answer immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cNina.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe recording doesn\u2019t make it certain.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was worse.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean Adrian might have been alive when they placed him there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence swallowed the room.<\/p>\n
Ortiz\u2019s expression changed from investigative focus to something colder.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive us the tape.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I know the master Phoenix archive is protected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bank box contained the authentication index.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot the master.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdrian called it the master index.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe lied deliberately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo protect the real one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know where she believed it was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cEdward\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edward Crane had been dead for years.<\/p>\n
His former home had been sold twice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere in the house?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBehind the study fireplace.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would Adrian hide evidence in Edward\u2019s own home?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Laura Foster.<\/p>\n
Edward\u2019s assistant.<\/p>\n
The woman nobody had investigated because she appeared to be a secretary on the edge of powerful men.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she hide?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEdward\u2019s private ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another ledger.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop calling everything a ledger and tell me what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time, Nina almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cA handwritten control book. Names, vulnerabilities, payments, instructions. Edward kept it himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would Laura steal it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause after Chloe\u2019s crash, she understood what Edward was capable of.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes closed briefly.<\/p>\n
Another person had known.<\/p>\n
Another person had waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not give it to me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe package sent to Chloe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat came from Adrian.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe note and tape did. My mother added the bank key after Adrian disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
That explained how the package had been assembled later.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did she get Adrian\u2019s materials?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdrian gave her instructions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Laura was helping him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Bell know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Edward?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is the control book now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf nobody found it, still behind the fireplace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz was already moving.<\/p>\n
Edward\u2019s former house stood in Arlington.<\/p>\n
Current owners were awakened by federal agents shortly before midnight.<\/p>\n
A warrant followed.<\/p>\n
The study had been remodeled.<\/p>\n
Fireplace retained.<\/p>\n
Brick replaced.<\/p>\n
Thermal imaging showed a cavity behind the rear masonry.<\/p>\n
At 1:18 a.m., investigators removed three bricks.<\/p>\n
Inside was a metal document tube.<\/p>\n
Sealed.<\/p>\n
Dry.<\/p>\n
Undisturbed.<\/p>\n
It contained a black leather notebook.<\/p>\n
Edward Crane\u2019s handwriting filled the pages.<\/p>\n
Not accounting.<\/p>\n
Control.<\/p>\n
Martha Keene \u2014 husband debts.<\/p>\n
Thomas Bell \u2014 money\/career.<\/p>\n
Samuel Dalton \u2014 Marcus.<\/p>\n
Victor Hale \u2014 exposure\/prosecution.<\/p>\n
Philip Arden \u2014 payments.<\/p>\n
Laura Foster \u2014 daughter.<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cNina.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edward had leverage on Laura through Nina.<\/p>\n
Chloe read over my shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he have on her?\u201d<\/p>\n
The entry was short.<\/p>\n
L.F. \u2014 DAUGHTER, NINA. FATHER IDENTITY MUST REMAIN SEALED.<\/p>\n
I looked at Ortiz.<\/p>\n
\u201cFather identity?\u201d<\/p>\n
She was already turning pages.<\/p>\n
Near the back, beneath a section marked PERSONAL LIABILITIES, we found it.<\/p>\n
NINA FOSTER.<\/p>\n
Biological father:<\/p>\n
Edward Crane.<\/p>\n
Chloe whispered, \u201cAnother child.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina was Elliot\u2019s half-sister.<\/p>\n
Marcus\u2019s half-sister.<\/p>\n
Edward had kept another daughter hidden.<\/p>\n
Unlike Marcus, Nina had grown up near the machinery without knowing why her mother feared it.<\/p>\n
Ortiz called Nina\u2019s number.<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Then a text arrived on my phone.<\/p>\n
NOW YOU UNDERSTAND WHY MY MOTHER COULDN\u2019T LEAVE.<\/p>\n
Another followed.<\/p>\n
EDWARD THREATENED TO TAKE ME.<\/p>\n
I typed:<\/p>\n
COME IN.<\/p>\n
Nina answered:<\/p>\n
NOT YET.<\/p>\n
I wrote:<\/p>\n
THE BOOK IS SAFE.<\/p>\n
Three dots appeared.<\/p>\n
Then disappeared.<\/p>\n
Appeared again.<\/p>\n
Finally:<\/p>\n
CHECK THE LAST PAGE.<\/p>\n
I turned to it.<\/p>\n
One final entry.<\/p>\n
Dated six days before Edward Crane died.<\/p>\n
ELLIOT KNOWS ABOUT LAURA.<\/p>\n
IF I DIE, HE WILL CLEAN THE REMAINING EXPOSURES.<\/p>\n
Below it was a list.<\/p>\n
Samuel Dalton.<\/p>\n
Thomas Bell.<\/p>\n
Martha Keene.<\/p>\n
Philip Arden.<\/p>\n
Laura Foster.<\/p>\n
Eleanor Ward.<\/p>\n
And beneath my name:<\/p>\n
CHLOE WARD \u2014 CONTINGENCY.<\/p>\n
Edward\u2019s death had not ended the threat to my daughter.<\/p>\n
He had passed the list to Elliot.<\/p>\n
For years Elliot possessed the same blueprint his father used to destroy investigations, manipulate witnesses and frighten families.<\/p>\n
The current crimes were not a new conspiracy.<\/p>\n
They were the final stage of the old one.<\/p>\n
My phone rang again.<\/p>\n
Nina.<\/p>\n
I answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI checked the page.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m bringing you the tape.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe place Edward first tried to recruit Bell.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich is?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour old courthouse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNina\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCome alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Ortiz brings a team, I leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have spent days proving that secret meetings are a terrible idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t secret.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why alone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause somebody still inside the investigation is warning Elliot.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Ortiz.<\/p>\n
Elliot was in custody.<\/p>\n
\u201cElliot cannot run.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t need to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has one person left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nina lowered her voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe person who authorized Samuel\u2019s medical transport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cName them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know the name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I intercepted the authorization.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich office?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
Then Nina answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel Reeves\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel went completely still.<\/p>\n
Not his credentials this time.<\/p>\n
His office.<\/p>\n
His staff.<\/p>\n
Someone working directly beneath the man I had trusted for years had authorized Samuel\u2019s escape route.<\/p>\n
And if Nina was right, that same person had been feeding Elliot information from the beginning.<\/p>\n
Chloe\u2019s first reaction was denial. Not loud denial. Worse. Quiet. \u201cNo.\u201d Ortiz did not soften the facts. \u201cNina\u2019s phone is off. Her assigned vehicle remains here. Her credential was used … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13963,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feel-every-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13983"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14018,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13983\/revisions\/14018"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feeleverystory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}