Dad drove the cemetery truck east with Carter\u2019s tracker hidden beneath the passenger seat.<\/p>\n
Vale watched through the dining-hall window until the first SUV followed.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo vehicles took the bait.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many remain?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reagan checked the rear exit.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s voice came through the old phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll circle south and dump the tracker near the quarry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not playing hero,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m driving a maintenance truck.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith armed men following you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I\u2019ll drive responsibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost told him that was not funny.<\/p>\n
It was.<\/p>\n
That irritated me more.<\/p>\n
Vale led us through the dining hall\u2019s kitchen and out a delivery entrance into dense trees.<\/p>\n
We moved on foot for nearly a mile before reaching a county maintenance road.<\/p>\n
Reagan had left a second vehicle there weeks earlier.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
She unlocked it.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Carter started following me after Camden\u2019s death.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale looked at the car.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI stopped telling anyone everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire would approve,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Reagan gave me a tired look.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. She would tell me I\u2019d learned the wrong lesson.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer sounded honest.<\/p>\n
We drove toward Dennis Industrial.<\/p>\n
The company occupied forty acres outside town, bordered by railway tracks on one side and old manufacturing buildings on the other.<\/p>\n
I had spent half my childhood there.<\/p>\n
Dad used to bring me on Saturdays when Mom needed quiet. I learned multiplication by counting machine parts. At sixteen, I could identify most production equipment by sound.<\/p>\n
Now the front sign read DENNIS INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS\u2014CARTER DENNIS, PRESIDENT.<\/p>\n
Seeing his name beneath Dad\u2019s made my stomach tighten.<\/p>\n
Reagan parked behind an abandoned textile warehouse across the tracks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe main building will be monitored.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know another entrance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cCamden?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Me.\u201d<\/p>\n
When I was seventeen, a group of us used to sneak from the employee lot to the railway diner through a gap behind the loading dock.<\/p>\n
Dad eventually discovered it.<\/p>\n
Instead of closing it, he installed a gate because he knew employees would simply create another route.<\/p>\n
Carter probably never knew.<\/p>\n
The gate was still there.<\/p>\n
Its padlock had rusted.<\/p>\n
Vale broke it with a tire iron.<\/p>\n
We crossed behind the loading area.<\/p>\n
The factory was quiet.<\/p>\n
Carter had reduced overnight production after taking control.<\/p>\n
Through high windows I saw idle machinery and half-empty floor space.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened here?\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
Reagan answered, \u201cCarter sold three production lines.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor cash?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor debt.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company Dad had protected at the expense of nearly everything was being dismantled anyway.<\/p>\n
I wondered if he knew.<\/p>\n
We entered through an old tool room.<\/p>\n
My employee badge obviously no longer worked.<\/p>\n
Reagan\u2019s did.<\/p>\n
The green light surprised all of us.<\/p>\n
\u201cCarter hasn\u2019t disabled you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thinks I\u2019m still useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo him? I intend to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
The archive room had moved from the lobby to the third floor after renovation.<\/p>\n
I knew because I had helped box the old photographs shortly before my arrest.<\/p>\n
Carter had supervised the project.<\/p>\n
That memory suddenly mattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe specifically asked me to pack the lobby photographs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he know about Claire\u2019s clue?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reagan said, \u201cMaybe he knew there was something in the photographs without knowing which one.\u201d<\/p>\n
We reached the archive.<\/p>\n
Locked.<\/p>\n
Reagan\u2019s badge failed.<\/p>\n
Vale produced a small pry tool.<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo detectives normally carry that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRetired habits.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not retired.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEmotionally.\u201d<\/p>\n
The door opened.<\/p>\n
Boxes filled metal shelves.<\/p>\n
Years written in marker.<\/p>\n
Company picnics.<\/p>\n
Awards.<\/p>\n
Construction.<\/p>\n
Press.<\/p>\n
I found the oldest section.<\/p>\n
No incorporation photograph.<\/p>\n
Reagan searched another shelf.<\/p>\n
Vale checked catalog sheets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a removal log.\u201d<\/p>\n
I took it.<\/p>\n
One entry had been added six months before my arrest.<\/p>\n
ORIGINAL LOBBY PHOTO\u2014TRANSFERRED TO EXECUTIVE STORAGE.<\/p>\n
Authorized by C. Dennis.<\/p>\n
Carter.<\/p>\n
\u201cExecutive storage where?\u201d<\/p>\n
Reagan pointed upward.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis office suite.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale looked toward the hall.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat will have cameras.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we move quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter\u2019s office had once been Dad\u2019s conference room.<\/p>\n
The door was unlocked.<\/p>\n
That bothered me.<\/p>\n
Inside, a wall of photographs displayed Carter shaking hands with politicians, clients, charity directors.<\/p>\n
No old company picture.<\/p>\n
I searched cabinets.<\/p>\n
Reagan checked behind framed certificates.<\/p>\n
Vale went directly to the desk.<\/p>\n
\u201cLocked drawer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBreak it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did.<\/p>\n
Inside were casino markers, two passports, cash, and a small black notebook.<\/p>\n
I picked it up.<\/p>\n
Names and numbers.<\/p>\n
Not the Kestrel ledger.<\/p>\n
Personal debts.<\/p>\n
Carter owed more than eight million dollars.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s worse off than Dad knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reagan looked over my shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are old.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow old?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore your arrest.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned pages.<\/p>\n
Several debts had been crossed out.<\/p>\n
Beside each was a Kestrel code.<\/p>\n
Carter had used the network to erase what he owed.<\/p>\n
Vale said, \u201cFound something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Behind a cabinet was a flat archival case.<\/p>\n
We placed it on the desk.<\/p>\n
Inside lay a large framed photograph.<\/p>\n
Dennis Industrial\u2019s original incorporation ceremony.<\/p>\n
Dad stood in the center, younger by decades.<\/p>\n
Mom beside him.<\/p>\n
Three other people.<\/p>\n
I recognized one immediately.<\/p>\n
A much younger Reagan.<\/p>\n
Dad had never seen this photograph.<\/p>\n
That much was obvious from everything he had said.<\/p>\n
Vale stared at the fifth person.<\/p>\n
His face lost color.<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is that?\u201d<\/p>\n
He did not answer.<\/p>\n
Reagan did.<\/p>\n
\u201cHoward\u2019s father.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went quiet.<\/p>\n
I studied the man.<\/p>\n
Older than Mom and Dad. Dark suit. Silver tie. One hand resting on a folder marked KESTREL DEVELOPMENT.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was his name?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFinancial crimes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father was a banker.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reagan said, \u201cHe financed Dennis Industrial\u2019s expansion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire discovered it later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDiscovered what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Arthur wasn\u2019t simply financing Camden.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale looked toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was using the company?\u201d<\/p>\n
Reagan nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cKestrel began because Arthur proposed the structure.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of Dad insisting he had created it.<\/p>\n
Maybe he had created the machinery.<\/p>\n
Someone else had supplied the purpose.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy isn\u2019t Arthur\u2019s name on the ledger\u2019s first page?\u201d<\/p>\n
Reagan touched the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Claire couldn\u2019t prove whether he had designed the illegal transfers from the beginning or whether others corrupted his proposal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale stepped away.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father died twenty years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOfficially,\u201d Reagan said.<\/p>\n
Vale turned sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
She hesitated.<\/p>\n
I noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did Dad,\u201d I said. \u201cApparently death certificates have limited authority in this family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReagan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale\u2019s voice was dangerous now.<\/p>\n
She opened her mouth.<\/p>\n
The office lights came on.<\/p>\n
A speaker above the door clicked.<\/p>\n
Carter\u2019s voice filled the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wondered how long it would take you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale drew his gun.<\/p>\n
The office door locked automatically.<\/p>\n
Carter laughed through the speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cHoward, you really should know better than to carry a weapon into a building where every door is electronically controlled.\u201d<\/p>\n
I searched the ceiling.<\/p>\n
Camera.<\/p>\n
Carter was watching.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou planted the photograph,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you wanted us to find it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted you to find enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo stop believing Camden\u2019s version.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad never knew Arthur Vale was involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale stepped toward the camera.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClose.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did my father do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter was quiet.<\/p>\n
Then he said, \u201cAsk Reagan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale looked at her.<\/p>\n
Reagan said nothing.<\/p>\n
Carter continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s known longer than any of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKnew what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Arthur Vale didn\u2019t die twenty years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCarter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Claire found him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale stared at Reagan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Reagan whispered, \u201cSwitzerland.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSix months before Claire got sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale looked as though the floor had moved.<\/p>\n
Carter\u2019s voice returned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould you like the interesting part?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur came back.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the office door.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
My arrest.<\/p>\n
Carter continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cSame month Finnley discovered Benton Materials.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale\u2019s gun lowered slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father is alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve been working for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe anonymous source who kept sending you information about Kestrel. The one who knew which inmates were targeting Finnley. The one who arranged Camden\u2019s private clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale looked toward Reagan.<\/p>\n
She had tears in her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot at first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Camden\u2019s crash.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you said nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe threatened Finnley.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone threatens Finnley,\u201d I said. \u201cApparently that\u2019s the preferred method of communication.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carter\u2019s voice came through again.<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur built the modern Kestrel network. Claire discovered it. Camden ignored it. Reagan infiltrated it. Howard spent his career cleaning up consequences without realizing whose consequences they were.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned from the best.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lock clicked.<\/p>\n
The office door opened.<\/p>\n
No one stood outside.<\/p>\n
Carter said, \u201cYou have five minutes before security arrives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy let us leave?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I need Finnley to take the ledger somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hand went to my jacket.<\/p>\n
He knew I still had it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll understand soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
The speaker went silent.<\/p>\n
Vale grabbed the photograph.<\/p>\n
Reagan took the black debt notebook.<\/p>\n
We left.<\/p>\n
At the stairwell, my old phone vibrated.<\/p>\n
Dad.<\/p>\n
\u201cI lost them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDennis Industrial.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then: \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found the photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s on it?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Vale.<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know the name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought he was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad inhaled sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinnley, leave the building.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur Vale was the first person Claire ever told me to fear.\u201d<\/p>\n
The stairwell lights went out.<\/p>\n
Emergency lighting came on.<\/p>\n
Then a phone rang inside Carter\u2019s office behind us.<\/p>\n
Not ours.<\/p>\n
An old landline.<\/p>\n
Once.<\/p>\n
Twice.<\/p>\n
Three times.<\/p>\n
Vale turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
He walked back anyway.<\/p>\n
We followed.<\/p>\n
The phone continued ringing.<\/p>\n
Vale answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression changed.<\/p>\n
A man\u2019s voice was faintly audible.<\/p>\n
\u201cHoward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale gripped the receiver.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad?\u201d<\/p>\n
The voice answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cBring Finnley to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad drove the cemetery truck east with Carter\u2019s tracker hidden beneath the passenger seat. Vale watched through the dining-hall window until the first SUV followed. \u201cTwo vehicles took the bait.\u201d … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11325"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11345,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11325\/revisions\/11345"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}