Chapter 6 - The Dead Man's Signature.
By evening, Maren had been moved to a private hospital room under police guard.
The doctors told her she had been lucky.
The substance in her system had been detected quickly, and the amount was not enough to cause permanent damage.
Maren did not feel lucky.
She felt hunted.
Detective Ruiz placed an officer outside the door and confiscated every bouquet, food tray, and package that entered the room.
Vivian remained in a chair near the window with Thomas Hale's notebook on her lap.
Neither woman had opened it beyond the first page.
They were waiting for Ruiz to return with authorization to copy it as evidence.
At 7:14 p.m., Ruiz entered with a grim expression.
"The federal order that removed Lila is fake."
Maren gave a humorless smile.
"We guessed that when you said the signer was dead."
"The signature is fake."
Ruiz closed the door.
"The access code is not."
Vivian looked up sharply.
"Nathan's code?"
"Yes."
"Impossible."
"It was used to enter a federal records portal from a terminal registered to Vale Holdings."
Maren sat straighter.
"Reed's company?"
"A compliance office on the twenty-second floor."
Vivian's face hardened.
"Graham has access to that floor."
Ruiz nodded.
"So do fourteen other people."
Maren looked at the notebook.
"Open it."
Ruiz hesitated.
"Maren."
"Open it now."
Vivian studied her.
"She's right."
Ruiz photographed the evidence seal and carefully opened the sleeve.
The notebook smelled faintly of old paper and cedar.
Maren recognized her father's compact handwriting immediately.
The first ten pages contained dates, account numbers, and initials.
Most of it meant nothing to her.
Then Vivian turned to a page marked with a black triangle.
Three names were written beneath it.
CHARLES VALE.
GRAHAM MERCER.
R.V.
Maren stared at the initials.
"Reed Vale."
Vivian nodded slowly.
Beside Reed's initials, Thomas had written a sentence.
THE BOY IS NOT FOLLOWING ORDERS ANYMORE.
Maren's mouth went dry.
"What does that mean?"
Vivian turned the page.
Another note had been written six days later.
R.V. ASKED FOR THE BRAKE SERVICE RECORDS.
HE KNEW WHICH CAR SHE WOULD TAKE.
Vivian stopped moving.
The room seemed to narrow around her.
Maren looked at her.
"Vivian."
The older woman did not answer.
"Did you know this?"
Vivian's eyes remained fixed on the page.
"Not then."
"When did you learn?"
"Years later."
Maren's voice hardened.
"How many years?"
Vivian swallowed.
"Nine."
Maren stared.
"You knew for six years that Reed may have caused your crash."
"I knew Thomas suspected him."
"That's not the same answer."
Vivian closed the notebook.
"I had no proof."
"You had this."
"A dead man's notes are not enough to convict someone."
"So you waited."
"Yes."
Maren's anger rose.
"Until he tried it again."
Vivian's eyes filled with pain.
"I prayed he never would."
Maren looked away.
The words felt almost obscene after what had happened on the foyer floor.
Ruiz reopened the notebook.
"There is more."
She turned several pages.
A hand-drawn diagram showed a network of companies connected by arrows.
At the center was Vale Holdings.
Off to the side, Thomas had written WINTER GLASS PROTOCOL.
Maren leaned closer.
"That's the phrase used to freeze the accounts."
Vivian nodded.
Under the heading, Thomas had listed three conditions.
ONE: IMMEDIATE FREEZE OF TRUST-CONTROLLED ASSETS.
TWO: RELEASE OF SEALED RECORDS TO AUTHORITIES.
THREE: NOTIFY V.V. ONLY AFTER FREEZE CONFIRMED.
Maren looked at Vivian.
"V.V. is you."
"Yes."
Ruiz traced the line with a gloved finger.
"If the protocol activated before Maren pressed the panic button, someone triggered it manually."
Maren turned the page.
A final note sat alone at the bottom.
ONLY N.W. HAS THE SECOND KEY.
Vivian whispered.
"Nathan Ward."
Ruiz frowned.
"The dead deputy director."
Maren looked between them.
"If Nathan had the second key and he died six years ago, where did it go?"
Vivian stood suddenly.
"His daughter."
Ruiz straightened.
"Name?"
"Rebecca Ward."
Maren searched her memory.
The name meant nothing.
Vivian reached for her phone, then stopped.
"I haven't spoken to her since the funeral."
Ruiz was already messaging her team.
"We'll locate her."
The hospital room phone rang.
Everyone froze.
Ruiz answered first.
"Detective Ruiz."
A pause.
Her face changed.
"Put it through."
She pressed the speaker button.
Static filled the room.
Then Lila's voice came through, thin and terrified.
"Maren?"
Maren gripped the bedrail.
"Lila."
"Listen to me."
A muffled sound interrupted her.
Lila began speaking faster.
"Reed wasn't the one who chose the dose."
Vivian stepped closer to the phone.
"Who did?"
Lila inhaled sharply.
"The person who froze the accounts."
The line went dead.
Ruiz brought coffee for herself and tea for Vivian.
Maren asked for ice water and watched the cup as if it were evidence.
The detective noticed.
"You may feel suspicious of food and drinks for a while."
Maren gave her a tired look.
"That sounds inconvenient."
"Trauma usually is."
Vivian lowered her tea.
"We can bring in sealed meals."
Maren shook her head.
"I don't want my life rebuilt around Reed's choices."
The sentence surprised even her.
She repeated it more quietly.
"I don't want him deciding what I am afraid of after this."
Ruiz nodded.
"Then decide slowly."
Maren took one sip of water.
It was a small act.
It felt enormous.
The room settled again.
Then Maren looked at Thomas's notebook.
"My father built a system around the assumption that people would be corrupted."
Vivian nodded.
"He had reason."
"But if Winter Glass requires multiple people, then the person behind this had to corrupt more than Reed."
Ruiz's eyes sharpened.
"Or persuade them they were doing the right thing."
May you like
Maren thought of Lila's unsent message.
"That may be worse."
