Chapter 5 - The Man Who Sent Her There.
Mara stared at the screen until the letters blurred.
Her supervisor, Paul Denning, had spent three years acting like the most forgettable man in city government.
He wore the same brown shoes every day, brought soup for lunch, and apologized when meetings ran longer than twenty minutes.
He had also been the person who ordered her to delete the Mercer scans.
"I trusted him," Mara whispered.
Cal leaned against the window ledge.
"That's why people like him stay useful."
Nina zoomed in on the recovered metadata.
"The message came from Denning's official municipal account, but it was routed through a remote login."
"That could mean he sent it from home."
"Or someone had access to his credentials."
Mara shook her head.
"He knew about the files."
"He knew I made copies."
Cal asked, "Did he know where you kept them?"
Mara hesitated.
"No."
Nina looked up.
"Are you sure?"
"I never told anyone."
A new voice entered from the door.
"Then perhaps you should tell someone now."
Detective Lena Ortiz stood in the doorway with a city police badge clipped to her belt.
She was compact, calm, and visibly unimpressed by the tension in the room.
Hale hovered several steps behind her.
"Ms. Ellis, Detective Ortiz would like to speak with you," he said.
Mara's eyes narrowed.
"Is she actually a detective?"
Ortiz almost smiled.
She handed Nina her identification without offense.
Nina checked it carefully.
"She's real."
Hale looked irritated by the verification.
Ortiz entered and shut the door behind her, leaving him outside.
"I received an anonymous report about missing hospital footage and possible evidence tampering."
Her eyes moved to Nina.
"I assume anonymous has a name."
Nina sipped her coffee.
"Anonymous prefers coffee before introductions."
Ortiz pulled a chair closer to Mara.
"I need to hear what you remember."
Mara described the parking garage, Dylan's face, the black SUV, the argument, and waking in the hospital.
She kept her voice controlled until she reached the missing phone.
Then anger broke through.
"Someone came into this room after I was admitted and removed my property."
Ortiz wrote everything down.
"Do you know why these men wanted to meet you?"
Mara glanced at Cal.
He nodded.
"Because I found municipal records connected to Mercer Development."
Ortiz stopped writing.
"The Mercer case?"
Cal's eyes hardened.
"You know it?"
"Everyone in financial crimes knew it."
"It was one of the fastest corporate collapses in the county."
Cal said, "My brother was blamed for all of it."
Ortiz considered him.
"I remember."
Nina slid a copy of the recovered message across the table.
Ortiz read it.
"Paul Denning."
Mara nodded.
"My supervisor."
Ortiz stood.
"Then I need to find him before anyone else does."
Her phone rang before she reached the door.
She answered.
Her expression changed immediately.
"When?"
She listened.
"Was anyone inside?"
Another pause.
Ortiz lowered the phone.
Mara whispered, "What happened?"
The detective looked at all three of them.
"Paul Denning's office was cleared out before dawn."
Cal frowned.
"Cleared out by who?"
Ortiz's answer landed like a weight.
"According to the building log, Paul Denning himself."
Mara stared at her.
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
Mara's voice dropped.
"Because Paul called in sick yesterday morning."
May you like
She looked at Cal.
"He said he was in the hospital."
